Audi A8 55 TSI 2018 Review

Before we get into the Audi A8 please consider that in 2017, when BMW’s 7 Series was leading the upper-large luxury car segment 7 Series with a total of just 164 sales for the year (it was an admittedly lacklustre time) and the second-place-holding Mercedes-Benz S-Class followed up with a seemingly-dismal annual figure of 113 sales, it’s understandable why you don’t see a whole lot of these expensive limousines. In fact, small cars outsell them at the approximate rate of 160 to one.

In the upper-large luxury car segment, where the 2018 Audi A8 sits, it’s less about volume than dollars. With one base-model Mercedes-Benz S-Class or BMW 7 Series equalling, in dollar value, something like eight regular small cars, the math becomes more attractive.

These are the thoughts that circulate as I ponder Audi’s latest, fourth-generation upper-large luxury-class contender, the latest Audi A8. Already named as 2018 World Luxury Car of the Year at the New York International Auto Show in March, it comes to Australia at a time when all-new arrivals from Mercedes-Benz S-Class and BMW 7 Series are still relatively distant. The only freshly-minted competitor is Lexus’ new LS500 that was launched in April 2018.

Certainly, standing back and taking in the big, elegant Audi A8 is an almost overwhelming experience. The amount of new tech that has been crammed into this car, plus its underlying attributes such as full-time quattro AWD, the application of aluminium/carbon-fibre in much of its basic construction and a revised V6 petrol/diesel engine range that now factors in MHEV mild-hybrid technology, all clamour for attention.

Our review Audi A8 is a regular-wheelbase petrol 55 TFSI model, powered by the company’s 3.0-litre twin-turbo 250kW/500Nm V6 and driving through an eight-speed tiptronic auto transmission to all four wheels via Audi’s three-differential quattro system. Adaptive, four-mode air suspension is standard, as is a list of standard fittings that are claimed to raise the A8’s actual dollar value, over the previous model, by as much as $36,000 even though, at $192,000 for the diesel-engined regular-wheelbase A8 50TDI, the entry price is notably lower.

The Audi A8 55 TFSI comes with matrix LED headlights, Audi’s Virtual Cockpit with two touch-screens, an iPad-style remote controller for rear-seat passengers and head-up display.

There’s a raft of safety tech including high and low-speed autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control with stop-start and traffic-jam assist, 360-degree cameras giving all sorts of views of the car including bird’s eye and lifelike images of the A8 in situ from side and rear.

There’s also Audi’s passenger harm-minimalising pre-sense system front and rear, active lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, exit warning to advise exiting passengers of approaching cars/trucks/cyclists and oncoming traffic-monitoring turn assist. Add to that intersection assist, which checks out upcoming side roads and, if necessary, takes steps to avoid potential collisions and you are factoring in just about every new-tech system available today.

That’s not the half of it of course. Stepping into the Audi A8 55 TFSI for the first time, what really impresses is the internal architecture. There’s an absolute cleanliness about the big Audi’s cabin that is at once inviting, elegant and relaxing.

The dash dispenses almost completely with push-button or rotary controls and replaces them with a glossy, sweeping arc stretching from pillar to pillar, barely disturbed by the big display screens at the centre and directly ahead of the driver.

There is more to it though than pure cleanliness, which we’ll discuss a bit later.

The impressions deepen as you press the (easily-spotted) starter button on the centre console and the A8 softly comes to life, not necessarily via the cranking sounds of a regular starter motor but more often by a seamless alternator-activated, belt-driven system that immediately signals you’ve got something other than a regular petrol engine working for you – initial, cold start-ups where the belt is at risk of slippage, are handled by a conventional starter motor.

Backed up by 48-volt electrics, the A8’s mild hybrid system stores energy in a boot-mounted, compact 10 Ah lithium-ion battery feeding, and being fed, by the belt alternator starter (BAS) to contribute as much as 12kW and 60Nm to the overall power output.

It’s simpler in operation than a regular hybrid, but it does introduce a distinctive character to the way the A8 drives: In fact, there are times when the electrically-assisted driveline shows some uncertainty, hesitating or over-responding to throttle input, or sometimes (softly) thumping when under mild acceleration.

Although it’s hard to detect, the system will briefly operate electrically at cruising speeds up to 160km/h as well as at takeoff. The A8 is mild, not wild, but still quick: The claimed zero to 100km/h time of 5.6sec seems pretty consistent with its calm, assertive feel on the road.

The mild-hybrid helps with efficiency too: Claimed to reduce consumption by as much as 0.7L/100km it helps the 55 TFSI A8, in regular and long-wheelbase form, achieve 8.2L/100km on the combined cycle, which is pretty good for an all-wheel-drive, two-tonne luxury car. This is a bit better than the 3.0-litre petrol Benz S450 L (8.4L/100km), a lot better than the 3.4-litre Lexus LS500 (9.5L/100km) but unable to match the 3.0-litre BMW 740i’s 7.0L/100km. The combined CO2 output of 186g/km isn’t bad either.

The A8’s ride is sublimely cushy and mildly floaty on the softest setting, still soft but more collected when the adaptive air suspension is left to its own devices – the auto setting preferred by most occupants. And, in our car which was optioned with the $11,000 Premium Plus package that brings 10-spoke 20-inch alloys, TV reception and – among other tactile titillations – sinuously-pleasant, ventilated and massaging front seats, the size and weight of the A8 were concealed by its quick and accurate responses and the one-metre sharper, 11.4-metre turning circle that comes with the ($4,500 extra) four-wheel steering.

The A8’s new ASF Audi Space Frame platform with its selective use of aluminium and carbon fibre helps lower the regular-wheelbase 55 TFSI’s tare weight (1995kg) by a claimed 10 per cent compared to the previous model – and below that of most of its competitors other than the featherweight, 1674kg tare BMW 7 Series. It’s also said to be 24 per cent more rigid than the third-generation model. The overall dimensions are basically the same as the previous A8 and essentially comparable with the competition, except for a slightly shorter 2992mm wheelbase and a slightly wider 1949mm body.

It’s hard to think of a more silent, more comfortable cruiser than the Audi A8 55 TFSI. The almost obligatory use of active noise cancellation technology obviously helps, but the underlying benefits of intensive sound insulating design and the virtual absence of wind noise play an important role.

I’m no fan of Audi’s MMI touch-screen-reliant control system. Similarly to the Range Rover Velar long-term test car we drove, the Audi A8’s impressively elegant dash can often leave the driver confused and frustrated even when attempting what should be a straightforward, simple function.

Despite the factoring in of haptic/acoustic feedback technology, handwriting recognition and the large, clearly-seen touch-points, the impressive-looking dash can be confusing to operate, even to those comfortable with a button and knob-free world. Accessing the navigation controls, for example, can be tricky, sometimes leaving the A8 stationary at the side of the road as the driver vainly tries to punch-in a destination before finally reverting to the voice control – often to find it incapable of understanding spoken instructions.

What I did like were the Audi A8’s standard-equipment adaptive matrix headlights, which worked better than other systems I’ve experienced. The effect, as the LED lights avoid blinding the oncoming diver by creating a dark halo around the approaching vehicle, is startling. I came close to actually trusting the system.

There’s so much about the fourth-generation Audi A8 that it’s difficult to take it all in at once.

The technology, extensive now, will become even more comprehensive if, and when, the A8 is legally able to activate its already inbuilt level 3 autonomous capabilities, while Audi says other functions such as remote-controlled parking pilot and garage pilot will be rolled out “soon.”

As it stands, there’s little wonder that the fourth-generation A8 is already attracting global attention. There’s almost a sense of over-refinement in every aspect of Audi’s flagship sedan that, hopefully, will help secure it a more prominent place in the upper-large luxury passenger car segment where Mercedes-Benz and BMW currently rule.