Audi A8 2010 review

Anyone who is a fan of driving movies will know what I mean when I say The Transporter should up his asking price and add "delivery guaranteed." That is, of course, if he’s upgrading to the new Audi A8 the pricetag now starts at a tickle over $225,000 but there’s a stack more gear, more grunt and less fuel being burnt.

It’s subtle, perhaps too conservatively styled, but it feels like it could tackle any sealed road excursion with the best of German composure.

VALUE

The 4.2 V8 is priced from $225,904 a $19,000 price rise over the old car, but there’s more vehicle for the money as the wheelbase has grown 48mm to 2992mm, contributing to an overall increase in length to 5137mm, up 75mm.

The features list is extensive (and some of the options expensive) but the interior is dominated by a redesigned centre stack and dashboard, with a new multimedia interface. There’s the full sat-nav system which has the touchpad for manual entry of letters or numbers (probably easier for a left-hander to use), a Bose surround-sound 600-watt 14-speaker sound system, power-adjustable seats and quad-zone climate control.

The options list includes a Valcona leather trim package for $26,385, plus there's an additional leather package that ups that again by a little over $20,000. Also available are full LED headlights for $2700, adjustable rear seats for an additional $9440, $5500 of heating and cooling for the front seats, the 1400-watt Bang and Olufsen 19-speaker sound system (including subwoofer) at $14,430 so if your bank balance can deal with is then the pricetag could easily approach $300-large and that’s before you get to the safety equipment options.

TECHNOLOGY

The drivetrain has benefitted from the latest in engine tweaks, with outputs from the 4.2-litre direct-injection V8 up a little to 273kW and 445Nm, but the increases are offset by the use energy recovery systems, lower internal friction and an on-demand oil pump.

Team all that with a very clever eight-speed auto and a lean (for its girth) 1835kg kerb weight and it all adds up to 13 per cent lower fuel consumption the claim is 9.5 but in the real world (with some enthusiastic use of the V8) that rose into the teens.

SAFETY

Top of the pile in safety equipment is the Audi pre-sense drive safety system, which offers three levels of driver assist systems (up to $10,000 on the options list). The accident anticipation system keeps an eye on the road ahead and will prep the car, warn the driver and then take action if it deems necessary to reduce or avoid an accident. We didn’t test it to that extent but it does get your attention.

There’s also dual front and side airbags (front and rear), full-length curtain airbags, anti-lock brakes, stability control The test car had the $5400 optional night-vision system (that uses thermal imaging) and the adaptive cruise control system (with Stop and Go function), but its the former that was tested with interest.

The pedestrian spotting function I had dismissed as a bit of a gimmick not just on Audis version either but a dark suburban street with two hidden walkers soon changed my mind.

The adaptive headlights also proved worthwhile on a night run, probably saving the life of a dawdling koala on the exit to a corner he was lit up a few valuable seconds earlier.

DRIVING

It might not be a lakeside retreat but it was easy to ask "How’s the serenity?" A very quiet cruiser, the lack of any exterior noise was near the top of the class.

The big sedan feels light to drive in its comfort or automatic (the latter the better for most driving) suspension mode, easily taking in its stride road imperfections that would previously have had this breed thumping a little, even riding on 45-profile tyres.

Switching through to dynamic mode offers very effective body control without the same level of nervous jiggle that the top handling mode can deliver in such systems. There’s also much less of the remote feeling that some adjustable air suspensions can return.

The big V8 sings sweetly but almost too quietly (bring on an S8 please) as it zips with almost no discernible change through the eight gears, swiftly and quietly dispatching of a back road run with unruffled elegance and a grin on the drivers face.

The new-look transmission selector, reminiscent of a fighter-plane video game control, makes selecting Sport mode easy but in the other direction more than a few times I overshot Reverse and went into Park at in-opportune moments.

The cabin is a beautifully lit cocoon, with comfortable seating and climate-controlled tranquility. If you had to drive from Perth to Sydney there are probably few better machines in which to do it.

Unfortunately, not everything worked to plan Audis normally unflappable systems were marred by a sat-nav/infotainment freeze, which included shutting down the Bluetooth. The driver was well looked after by the active bolsters and massage function but the front passengers system stopped and (unlike the infotainment problem) failed to return.

VERDICT

A seriously capable uber-saloon that covers a broad breadth of duties with aplomb a few niggles did take the shine off and for this money you’d want everything to work.

AUDI A8 4.2 FSI QUATTRO

Price: from $225,904
Engine: 4.2-litre DOHC continuous intake and exhaust camshaft adjustment 32-valve direct-injection V8
Transmission: eight-speed tiptronic auto, all-wheel drive with self-locking centre differential
Power: 273kW at 6800rpm
Torque: 445Nm at 3500rpm
Performance: 0-100km/h 5.7 seconds, top speed 250km/h (governed)
Fuel consumption: 9.5 litres/100km 95 RON, on test 14.6, tank 90 litres
Emissions: 219g/km, EU5
Suspension: Five-link front suspension, upper and lower wishbones, tubular anti-roll bar, air Suspension (front); trapezoidal-link suspension with wishbones, tubular anti-roll bar, air suspension (rear)
Brakes: four-wheel ventilated discs, with ESP/ABS/EBD, brake booster; hydraulic brake assist, electromechanical parking brake
Dimensions: length 5137mm, width 1949mm, height 1460mm, wheelbase 2992mm, track fr/rr 1644/1635mm, cargo volume 510 litres, weight 1835kg
Wheels: 19in alloys.