Never, ever make a radical change in the shape, only gradual, leaving the leaps of technology and comfort for underneath and inside.
So it is no surprise that as I strolled up on an Ibis White 2011 Audi A8L parked outside Audi of Jacksonville during its local premiere, I initially discerned a familiar shape – long and lean, with no aggressive body shape or chrome accents. Then I looked closer at it, the trio of black A8 and long-wheelbase A8Ls on the gleaming showroom floor inside, and the silver A8L in the pristine bay behind. As I looked, I saw the details.
* Audi appearance – This is Audi’s D4 (fourth generation flagship) sedan, which does battle with the likes of the Mercedes-Benz S Class, Jaguar XJ and BMW 7 Series. Unveiled in April, it had only been on the road a few weeks when I checked it out. Audi says the regular wheelbase car is positioned more as a “sporty” driver’s car, and is 16.85 feet long, with a 9.82-foot wheelbase. The long wheelbase “balances prestige, sportiness and comfort,” all of 17.28-feet long, about five inches more than the last generation. The one we focused on looks low, but it gains a millimeter in height, and is longer and wider than its predecessor and long-wheelbase competition.
The first change on the new A8 is its more refined single-frame grille that does away with the previous black bumper bar and replaces it with eight chrome bars. It is more prominent, at the start of a more rounded power dome hood, the hooded angular headlights that flank it containing L-shaped LED running lights with inset HID main beams. But we also checked out cars with the optional full LED light set, low beams comprised of 10 individual modules forming an arc over another of 22 white and 22 yellow LEDs for daytime running lights and the turn signals. The look is crystal clear and bright, very sinister on the black cars under spotlights in the showroom and a real eye-catcher – no one will mistake a new A8 for anything else with the new grill and exotic LED lights. Twin chrome lines accent the fog lights, while a design line rises behind them, and then does a sharp curve aft to become a design edge just beneath the windows sill. Flowing wheel arches tightly frame 10-spoke alloy wheels wearing meaty 19-inch Continental -inch rubber, the short front overhang and long wheelbase giving the A8L a long, lean look with more muscle in its shape thanks to a gentle bulge in the upper flanks, and a slight channel below it with an upswept lower sill line. At the rear, a bit less drama and a bit more edge, with a sharper corner under LED taillights, a better-defined bumper with twin chrome-tipped exhausts and an aero edge to the trunk. Those taillights, with 72 LEDs per side, appear 3-D. Some at the event said the rear end doesn’t look like it changed too much, but I liked its evolutionary feel.
The overall shape is lean and more finely detailed, striking without being overwrought. I especially liked the overall muscle the shape shows, with the gentle wheel flares that sit under the shoulder design line and near-fastback rear window flowing into the trunk – very sinister and stylish, especially in silver or black.
* Audi atmosphere – Audi interiors have always been refined, solidly done pieces of functional art, with wood and alloy on top of the usual leather and suede. The fourth-generation A8 evolves that technique. Our A8L had stitched brown leather over tan with glossy dark wood dash and door trim. The four-spoke power tilt and telescoping wheel hosts simple VW-Audi thumbwheel scroll and tap controls for audio, trip computer, voice command and Bluetooth, facing big legible 180-mph speedometer/gas gauge and 8,000-rpm tach/temperature gauge with a 7-inch-wide color LCD screen in the middle for trip computer, navigation and night vision camera displays. Alloy trims the main gauges, with bright white numbers and orange needles.
The dashboard center is simple and clean, wood accented with alloy and a simple round analog clock dead center over a felt-line slide-out drawer. Above, another piece of alloy trim hides the power slide-out 8-inch satellite navigation screen, its functions controlled by the next-generation Audi MMI (Multi-Media Interface) that sits ahead of the new yacht throttle-shaped electronic gearshift. With its padded leather top and asymmetrical design, some of the folks at the premiere didn’t like its shape much. But as soon as I rested the heel of my right hand on it, the alloy knob, main MMI function buttons and the new touch pad fell right under my fingers, so I liked its ergonomic shape and look.
Tap the main function buttons (Navigation, Menu, Telephone, Car, Info and Back) and you can use the MMI touch to trace the letters of a navigation destination, telephone number or even adjust the balance and fade on the stereo. When you are in stereo mode, six presets are there. And all finger tapping gets audio feedback, so you don’t need to look down. It worked fine in the few minutes we had to drive, and I look forward to a full test drive to see if this new MMI, always one of the more intuitive to use, is as easy as it seems.
The power seats up front have three memory pre-sets, and can be had with up to 22 adjustment settings including heating, cooling and massage, and were supportive and comfortable, with great head and leg room. Alloy accented the leather-clad doors with nice map pockets, and all of this was illuminated gently with overhead LED light strips, white, red or amber light accents under the door wood trim and white LED accents in the door kick plates. Discrete LED map lights are also part of the scheme, while traditional red backlighting handles all the controls at night, including the alloy start/stop button behind the gearshift. Base cars get dual-zone climate control, while options include rear a/c controlled off alloy buttons and knobs on the counter-weighted center armrest or in the A8 L W12, a full-length console with a folding table or a refrigerator. And that rear seat has ample head and leg room in the A8, and limo-like room in the A8L after you open its long rear door. There’s manual sun shades for the rear side windows, and a power shade for the rear for comfort and privacy. And for those who really like to travel in style, there is what Audi calls “Business-class” rear seat entertainment with dual 10-inch screens with a separate MMI, media jukebox, Audi music interface and Bluetooth headphones. They work great and show off navigation as well, but look a bit aftermarket sticking out of the alloy and wood trim at the back of the front seats. And some of those who saw it wondered if someone might break one off grabbing it to get out.
Speaking of the audio, the optional Bang & Olufsen Advanced Sound System gets 19 speakers for AM-FM-CD-Sirius XM-MP3/iPod-Bluetooth audio, and more than 1400 watts of power, 400 more than the previous generation. Our brief sample on the road showed it sounded superb and was easy to control via voice or MMI. Other high-tech in this luxury ground craft included Audi lane assist, which vibrates the steering wheel if you drift out of lane. The night vision system uses a thermal imaging camera to identify persons on the road up to 1,000 feet ahead of the car, displayed in the LCD screen between the gauges. If you get too close, the person’s image is outlined in red and a warning sounds. Get too close to a car and the car warns you, starts pre-braking and tightening seat belts, and will even brake automatically in order to minimize a rear-end collision. Audi side assist warns you of cars in your blind spot with amber LEDS in the sideview mirror which strobe if you hit the turn signal and try to change lanes. A new online service works with Google and the car phone to capture news and current information on weather or points of interest off the Internet, even images and information from Google Earth as part of a navigation route. The driver uses these services with his or her cell-phone contract. When you get below 65 miles range, the navigation system will ask if you need to find a nearby gas station, and a voice command does it. In fact, voice command offers the next prompts on the screen.
Overhead, a panoramic glass roof with two glass panels that can be tilted up, the front one opening wide. There also an adaptive cruise control. As for luxury, Valonea leather tanned with plant extracts was soft and lush on the seats, while a hard-wearing but supple buckskin accents the head restraints and gear shift. There’s even wood accents on the roof-mounted grab handles and rear. The power–operated trunk has neatly hidden hinges, a wide opening and so much room one person at the preview event started to climb in as a joke, Audi says there’s room for four full golf bags, with a ski pass-through to the rear seats for long stuff.
· Suffice to say it was beautifully crafted, quiet and very comfortable, with an understated design that had just the right elegance.
*A8 power – Of course, there’s an available 6.3-liter W-12 with 500-hp, and a 0 to 60 time under 5 seconds. Our model had the 4.2-liter V-8 with 372 hp and 328 lb-ft of torque. We got a 30-minute blast in an A8L, and saw 60 mph come up in under six seconds, the 8-speed automatic shifting quickly and precisely into the right gear, with neat kickdowns and a meaty, yet muted melodic V-8 rumble. Audi claims estimated EPA fuel mileage at 17-mpg city and 27-mpg highway, better than the D3 generation and on par with the Mercedes-Benz S400 hybrid, the company claims. Plus, the electronic gearshift had a precision feel and heft, nicer than the mini-toggle on one of its German competitors.
The 1997-2003 D2 A8 was the first series production car with an aluminum space frame, and the 2011 D4 has one where Audi claims a 25 percent increase in static torsional rigidity, with new welding technologies which lead to better fuel consumption and better handling thanks to 40 percent less chassis weight than a comparable steel structure. The wheel control arms are made of aluminum, with five locating arms for the front suspension and a controlled-track wishbone rear suspension, with adaptive air suspension. The result on our short drive, a mixture of urban four lanes and six-lane highway, was supple and comfortable, yet firm and in control. We heard almost no wind noise from the sleek body, while the servotronic power steering system was easy to use at parking lot speeds, yet firmed up nicely at highway speed and during some sporty maneuvering has a direct operating ratio and operates at high efficiency. Audi drive select (standard) let me select suspension, steering, accelerator, 8-speed transmission, sport differential, adaptive light and seat belt tensioner settings in Dynamic, Comfort, Auto or Individual. Tap “Dynamic” and the car hunkers down a bit and feels sportier. We left it in Auto most of the drive.
The quarto all-wheel-drive allots 60 percent to the rear axle and 40 percent to the front. If a wheel slips, the differential sends more torque to the axle with the better traction. The best example was a quick turn from north to sounthbound, where it cornered as if on rails with none of the understeer squeak I should have heard, and no body roll. Other electronic nannies include ESP stability control with electronic all-wheel-drive torque vectoring. The disc brakes also had a precision pedal feel and scrubbed speed off well – can’t wait to try them more without a co-pilot.
Suffice to say, for a sports sedan that’s an inch or two longer than a long-wheelbase BMW 7-Series, Lexus LS460 or S-Class Mercedes-Benz, two of which I’ve tested in recent months, our short test drive revealed a long Audi that has great road manners.
* A8 added up - Built in Neckarsulm, Baden Wuertemberg, Germany, the Audi A8 starts $78,050, with the 4.2-liter V-8, 8-speed Tiptronic transmission, MMI and touch technology, 19-inch alloy wheels, adaptive air suspension and other goodies. The A8L starts at $84,000, and added: $6,300 Bang and Olufsen advance audio system, $3,000 drive assistance package (adaptive cruise with stop and go, lane assist, side assist, pre-sense plus and multi-function steering wheel with shift paddles), $2,300 night vision, $2,000 premium package (22-way power front seats and wood inlay on their seatbacks), $1,300 panoramic sunroofs and $800 dual-pane acoustic side glass. Final price - $100,375. The aforementioned Lexus has a 360-hp V-8 and a luxurious ride, with lots of tech, for $30,000 less, while the closest rival in feel, tech and presence is the 400-hp BMW 740iL, which costs about the same. The beauty queen in all this class may be the new 206.6-inch Jaguar XJL, which was about $82,000 when we tested it recently and hit 60-mph in 5.2 seconds thanks to its base 385-hp V-8.
* Bottom line – Audi says the premium luxury car segment had a 39 percent drop in sales last year, but the new A8 will reverse that trend. Sleeker, with detailed design changes that make it three inches longer and two inches wider, yet faster and with better fuel mileage and more standard equipment (8-speed auto transmission, pre sense basic, keyless go, power trunk, etc.), they might be right. It looked like an Audi should, with a commanding presence due to the redesigned grill. It’s shape looked great under the spotlights at my night visit, felt comfortable in all seating positions, has a silky precision feel to its alloy controls, and a commanding feel on the road. Let’s see if those impressions hold up when I go out on a longer second date.
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