There are said to be people who have a problem distinguishing an Audi A6 from an A8. Or an A5 from an A4. And with the facelift of the Audi A8, Audi once again demonstrates how much work it can be to revise a vehicle so extensively and still not give the viewer a chance to see the changes. The design of the new A8 impresses with adjustments that you have to take a close look at.

Audi presents the new A8

Manufactory character in the upper class?

The first impression:

The grille has lost a little of its trapezoidal shape, but it works wider than ever. The new Matrix headlights in the front are really striking, but otherwise the big A8 looks as calm and confident as ever. How difficult it is to distinguish between old and new shows that Comparison photo by Lisa [click].

Political, classic and cool in beauty

Nobody will be able to tell the differences on the sidelines, but it's just a facelift and not a new model. At the rear, the narrow taillights and the large oval, chrome-plated exhaust pipes in the rear apron stand out. A feature that was previously only reserved for the W12, now all A8s have the powerful exhaust pipes. With the exception of the S8 - which can continue to cheer with four individual tailpipes. Outside and inside, the Audi A8 impresses with its incredible perfection in workmanship. Gaps? Surface feel? With the latest facelift, Audi is underscoring its claim to the throne of the “best choice of materials” and workmanship in this segment. In order to make it understandable for the last one, we now speak of the “manufactory character” of the Audi A8.

So he drives:

Before you set off, you should suck the leather. Seriously. The Ingolstadt-based company calls the seat cover made of exclusive leather tanned with pure vegetable extracts. No paint applied, no artificial stain - this seat cover is too good to fill it with your wrapped up bottom. Comfortably warm, soft and with its own moisture regulation, this leather wants to make life more beautiful for the occupants.

Nice living

The quality of the interior of the large Ingolstadt limousine is well known. Almost notorious. The controllers in the other companies flinch in awe when the question is asked: "Why are they allowed to do this - and we are not?"

And the question is legitimate. No automobile manufacturer is currently able to beat this interior atmosphere. There is no plain plastic, leather, aluminum or wood where the eye looks and the hand can reach. You can just do that, the Audi guys. The A8's cockpit really deserves the name cockpit. Rotary actuators, rotary and push actuators, buttons, knurled wheels and buttons in abundance and everyone wants to be the best. Cool touch when touching the temperature dials, gentle click-click when turning the MMI controller and the full pressure point of simple info buttons. It seems like you are buying the Audi A8 not to drive it - but to live in it.

And it is good to live. It sits perfectly, even if the “blind operation” of the electrically 22-way adjustable comfort seats does not come close to the ideal solution of the Stuttgart-based company. However, that should only be of interest to people who are only briefly and constantly changing in the premium upper classes. Owners are happy about other features and probably only adjust the seat once a quarter.

Second row, second class

In China, Audi AG only sells the “L variant” of the Audi A8 (with the exception of the S8) and the average buyer is 37 years old. The “average". What a blessed country one would like to think. At this age, to be able to lounge comfortably in the rear of your own A8. But at this point, the chronicler's guilt should be a note:

Wailing at an extremely high level, but the difference between the seat in the rear of the new S-Class and the L-variant of the A8 is significant. And the message of the Ingolstadt is clear: The Audi A8 is a driver car.

Experience

6.3 liter displacement, 12 cylinders in the unique W design, 500 hp and 625 Newton meters of torque. The W100, which is only available with the long wheelbase, sprints from zero to 12 within 4.6 seconds, whereby you simply cannot hear or feel anything from this engine when idling and you are embarrassed to knock on the cockpit instruments check whether the unit has come to life at all. The S8 with its bi-turbo V8 and only available in the version with the short wheelbase even manages this exercise in 4.1 seconds. But whether these 0.5 seconds influence a purchase decision? Probably not. Even if the Audi A8 is a vehicle for the “self-drive”, in our latitudes the CEOs and managing directors prefer the “only” three-liter, 258 hp “clean diesel” V6. With 580 Newton meters you don't feel underpowered in this “small diesel” either. On the contrary, the V6 remains largely silent at work, but it pushes the 1.880 kilogram workstation emphatically over the left lane of the autobahn.

The everyday life behind the wheel of the A8 is a sweet one. 

It was the Audi V8 that brought four-wheel drive paired with an automatic transmission to the luxury class 25 years ago. Back then, Audi was still a brand for people with a farm or for accountants. But with each new generation of the A8, the claim to a leadership role in the luxury sedan segment grew and all-wheel drive was retained. So no A8 drives without "quattro ” off the assembly line in Neckarsulm - apart from the little demanded technology carrier “Hybrid”.

At the same time, the tuning of the air suspension in each A8 is a little sportier, tougher, chosen than for example in the S-class of colleagues with the star. To have to speak of sporting hardship, abstinence or even renunciation, however, is obsolete. The A8 just wants to be closer to the asphalt - it remains a driver's car.

That will not be forgotten:

“Sucking on the leather” - no, nobody - not even the scribbler - has sucked on the leather. But, it was tempting. The interior is a masterpiece, a perfection in the premier class of workmanship. The PR experts of the four rings rightly speak of the “manufactured character” of the Audi A8. It may not be new, it may only be a modest facelift and there may also be cars that are certainly better suited to chauffeuring - but the A8 is in a league of its own when it comes to “tangible quality work”.

Technical data:

Download: Specifications Audi A8 3.0l TDI  |  Price List Audi A8, S8, A8 W12L