Mercedes S-Class, BMW 7 Series, Audi A8: It is these luxury limousines that set standards that (still) fuel the myth of German premium manufacturers worldwide. Even the revised A8, which is actually "already" five years old, easily outperforms almost all other vehicles in terms of comfort, workmanship and (old) technology.
If you spend at least 100.000 euros on a car, you may not necessarily want to splurge with the expensive gem, but at least you want a vehicle on the have absolute amount of time. This is not so easy for the manufacturers of luxury sedans, because after a certain period of time, every car automatically falls behind newer competitors in terms of technology and/or appearance. In the case of the facelifted one at the end of last year Audi A8, which made its debut in 2017, meant that it had to be on par with the much fresher Mercedes S-Class, which was only launched a year and a half ago.
Behind the somewhat awkward-looking model name of ours Test car - Audi A8 60 TSFI quattro - hides the variant with a large V8 petrol engine, which generates a whopping 4 kW/338 hp from a displacement of 460 liters. These numbers make it clear that the Ingolstadt is designed neither to save fuel nor to other restraint.
This can also be seen in the optics, which have been slightly but noticeably revised for the facelift and obviously not exactly adapted to European tastes. For example with the radiator grille, which has become even wider and in connection with the more prominent headlights awareness seems to demand. That doesn't necessarily appeal to the managing director of a German joint-stock company, but it probably does to Asians who have made money, and who usually attach more importance to presenting their economic success. Here follows Audi obviously the BMW line and their increasingly chunky grills, but without overdoing it like the people of Munich sometimes do.
The revised side view is very successful, with a classy body fold that slopes slightly towards the front at the level of the wheels. The rear, which has also only been slightly modified, emphasizes the width of the vehicle with its continuous strip of lights, which at 1,95 meters without exterior mirrors is even 3 centimeters more generous than that of the S-Class.
How good the Audi A8 was five years ago is also shown by the fact that the interior hardly had to be changed and, as is to be expected with this brand and especially with the flagship, impresses with the very best processing of details and user-friendliness. Only in a direct comparison with the main competitor from Stuttgart does one notice that the cockpit is not as ultra-modern as in the S-Class. But for some self-propelled drivers who are tired of the monitor overkill, that could even be a reason to buy it.
Of course, the A8 is not only finely decorated, but as the flagship of the brand and proof of German engineering, it also has all the usual little technical helpers that exist today. That is to be emphasized anticipatory chassis, which detects bumps on the road early on and prepares the air suspension accordingly and individually for each wheel. There is a new feature in the "Comfort+" setting. When cornering between 80 and 130 km/h, the vehicle is raised slightly on the outside of the curve and lowered slightly on the opposite side. This is to suppress sideways tilt.
Also in the Audi A8 is now the latest LED matrix technology on board, which, in addition to its basic task of very good illumination, can also do a few things. For example, there is a lane and orientation light. With its help, the driver can be guided safely through a narrow construction site.
The drive itself, especially the long-distance, is of course a pleasure, one is inclined to say: but with a basic price of 120.500 euros (plus a number of extras from the more than 100-page option list), it has to be. The V8 either whispers along at low speeds and just about reasonable consumption, or it gives the sportsman with stronger pressure on the accelerator pedal, sprints to 4,4 km/h in 100 seconds and further up to 250 km/h seemingly effortlessly. Okay, let's just assume the latter because we didn't manage more than 220 km/h. Meanwhile, in his fantastic seat, the driver revels in the pleasure of carrying over 2 tons of weight 660 Newton meters maximum torque move as lightly as if he were driving a small car. However, the greater pleasure also has its price. Fast drivers on the autobahn have to reckon with around 20 liters; despite great restraint and “gentlemen driving”, we still needed over 14 liters.
In this respect, one could consider a vehicle like the Audi A8 to be out of date. Which is why he probably won't get a direct successor anymore. In around three years, Audi will be using the in terms of size comparable Grandsphere launch a purely electric model. Then the newly revised A8, which now looks fresh and modern again, will probably look pretty old all of a sudden.
Audi A8 60 TFSI quattro – Technical data:
Four-door, five-seater luxury class sedan; Length: 5,19 meters, width: 1,95 meters, height: 1,47 meters, wheelbase: 3,00 meters, trunk volume: 505 liters
4,0-liter eight-cylinder petrol engine; 338 kW/460 hp, maximum torque: 660 Nm at 1.850 - 4.400 rpm, all-wheel drive, eight-speed automatic, 0-100 km/h: 4,4 s, Vmax: 250 km/h, standard consumption: 10,9- 11,8 liters/100 kilometers, CO2 emissions: 249 - 269 g/km, emission standard: Euro 6d, efficiency class: E, test consumption: 14,4 liters/100 kilometers
Price: from € 120.500
Brief description:
Why: Comfort, comfort, comfort - everywhere you look and feel
Why not: the S-Class is more up-to-date and the interior is much more modern; the practical consumption is simply too high
What else: just that S-Class or rather a large electric car?