RJC

We were offered an opportunity to do an overnight test drive of a new 2016 Audi A8. The car was a gorgeous color floret silver metallic/black and also had the very sharp 21" wheels.

Pros:
Much more engaging to drive than the S.
Better handing.
Sportier interior.
Nav screen disappears into the dash.
More supportive seats and with more adjustments.
Not seen on every corner/a bit more exclusive.
Excellent 8 speed gearbox with an excellent and sharp looking console mounted shifter.
Quattro standard.
Similarly equipped to the S costs approx. $15,000.00 less.
Very good fit and finish.
No run flats.
Excellent and smooth power.

Cons:
Very noisy albeit smooth riding tires (Conti DP5's) on certain sections of interstate. Drove the S with Goodyear F1's over the exact same sections of road and the difference was night/day. This would be a deal breaker if it were the only tire offered (confirming this today).
Very limited center console space.
No ionizer for the AC, even as an option.
Less torque than the 550.
Does not have that S class/MB glide.
No USB.
Cabin not as quiet as S even thought it too has double glass and glass does not have the extra reflective properties the S does.
Odd intermittent rattle coming from under the car. To be fair the S we tested overnight had an interior rattle coming from the cup holder and a very poorly aligned fuel filler door, which the Audi did not have.

All in all, the A8 is quite nice, especially for those that might enjoy not as common a car as the S and one that's a sportier more engaging car to drive. Leasing this car is the only way to go, as the all new completely redesigned A8 will be here in about 16 mo's and from what I've seen it appears is going to be quite impressive in design and tech.

The all new 7 will be here soon and we look forward to making our final comp in this large sedan purchase.

pdeacon

Recently rode in an A8L diesel. It is a fine car with excellent fit and finish and good performance. I don't think the interior is anywhere near as luxurious as the S. There are a lot of Audis in my area and even though I consider myself a car guy, I have difficulty differentiating one model from another without reading the badging on the trunk. I suppose one could argue that MB is moving in that direction also where a C and E class are hard to distinguish from each other. Having owned a few Audis I can attest to the fact that they depreciate like a rock compared to MB and BMW. A friend has an order in for a new BMW 7 that is scheduled for delivery at the end of this month. Curious to see the interior upgrades everyone is talking about. For me, having been exposed to a number of luxury makes and models, it is difficult to beat an S all things considered.

RJC

The Audi and 7er have much sportier interiors and purposely so, just as the S follows a true luxury approach. The one looks like another, is an MB issue as well, although the large A8 and MB S class are still quite distinguishable from their lesser brethren. I'm very much looking forward to testing the new 7.

Wolfman

The current Audi A8's are very competent cars but look incredibly dull. Since the new design language can be seen in the new Q7 I fear it is getting worse.

Audi is the new Volvo for building the boxiest cars apart from the G-Wagon. I think they hate curves of any kind.

BMW on the other hand has done a lot to make the new 7 as luxurious as the S. They have certainly taken most features, down to MBC and Air fragrance. If they have the quality under better control than with the prior model , this will be a serious alternative to the S.

Hopefully they also dropped some of their idiotic features (like having to pull the door handle twice to open the cars or pressing the engine stop button twice to actually shut the car off, just to name a couple)

RJC

We found the A8 (with the 21's) actually looking sharper than the S (with the 20" AMG multi spokes). You should go drive a new A8 sport...I think you 'll be in for a pleasant surprise especially if you prefer more of a driver's car. The S is still the king however for the true luxury German car.

Here's info for the new A8...quite stunning imho.
http://www.carscoops.com/2015/03/new...-will-get.html

RJC

Here's some pics of a 2016 A8 Sport

Wolfman

I have driven A8's a fair amount (including several thousand miles on the autobahn) so I am quite familiar with the car.

Never heard anyone call an A8 stunning but if you like it, then great for you

hyperion667

hmmmm, I much prefer the S Class styling to the Audi

jrpisha

I'm with you, Wolf. I drove an A8 diesel a few times before buying my S550. I was attracted to the exterior styling & the diesel fuel economy. The interior is no where near what MB puts in the S Class. I'm 6' 4", and the seat backs were too short for me.

LovinMercedes

I am with you. We looked extensively at the A8 for my wife, and it didn't even make that cut. She is not as critical as most of us.

Richard991

Traded same generation A8 (2013) for 2016 S550. The S class is heads and shoulders above the A8 in terms of quality, fit and finish. We got rid of Audi after 35K miles because every 6 months it spent a week at the dealer getting electronics repaired, cameras re-aligned etc. While it was fun to drive, the S in Sport mode (with active body control) is also a joy and it has a very much quieter ride.

RJC

If you read it correctly,"stunning" was describing the new A8 in the link I provided, not for the current car

Here's info for the new A8...quite stunning imho.
http://www.carscoops.com/2015/03/new...-will-get.html

RJC

They must have dramatically improved things then for 2015+ as the fit and finish of the 16 we tested was excellent and better than the S we tested (for the aforementioned reasons). Although both cars had rattles, the Audi had no fit issues where the MB did. Yes, as I stated the S is definitely a quieter car but not as engaging to drive even in sport mode, although the S we tested did not have ABC.

RJC

I hear ya Hype, the S is very sweet indeed, but for us and even our friends we showed both cars to, we all actually preferred the A8 Sport, although I wish it has the same level of interior quietness as the S, but this may be due to the very aggressive tires on the A8 Sport. I see you're no longer in S FL?

hyperion667

^wonder if the A8 is named after the famous section of Autobahn......
there's a really neat picture in this months copy of the star on the A8

RJC

Cool, post it if you can. When did you leave FL and how's NC? You can PM me if you wish.
Thnx

hyperion667

I think you may have me confused with someone, as I've never taken up residence in the sunshine state
been there to visit many times

RJC

Gotcha. Did you visit the MB store here in Pompano by chance?

wilassasin

A8 is a nice car but falls short of an S-Class IMO.

hyperion667

must have been the other guy

darkgable79

S8 looks killer. A8 looks boring.

clembo

I had A8's in each of the last two generations. They were really nice cars, performed great, and were "under the radar". After switching to the W222 I wouldn't see how I would go back to Audi. The Benz is very rewarding to own and drive. It may be a little less sporty, so what, these are large sedans, we have other cars to be sporty.

The combination of styling, features, luxury, driving dynamics, ownership experience etc.., makes the Benz tough to beat. Maybe the new 7 series will stop the bleeding that has been going on at BMW, and the A8 needs a refresh, hopefully it will get a bit more exciting. We all benefit when competition is strong between these brands.

Jason B

Too bad that's only the concept photo.

hyperion667

^reminds me a bit of Cadillac with their boxy lines

RJC

That's all there is for now, but it gives a good indication of Audi's new direction.

How do you get the large pics to post vs. just thumbnails?
Thnx.