Manual Transmision

2006 Audi A8L Review

The Audi A8L is an automotive anomaly. It isnt as fast as the BMW 750Li or the Mercedes-Benz S550. The brakes are less vigorous—by quite a lot--and it certainly doesnt carve the curves with the same verve.

It doesnt have as many gadgets, and the seats don’t massage you, cool you, or hold you in place with powered bolsters. It doesn’t do any of these exciting things, but at the same time, it doesnt do anything wrong either.



New this year, the all-aluminum Audi A8L is the flagship of the stunning Audi line-up of sports and luxury-sports vehicles. The "L" in A8L signifies the long wheelbase version. Its meant for those CEOs whose perquisites include a chauffeur. The A8s interior may be best in the industry. The back seat is absolutely world class. However, the electronic and engineering features are just this side of overkill. Price: US $69,220; Warranty: 4 years/50,000 miles.

Like a custom-made suit from one of the shops along London’s Saville Row, the A8L manages to turn heads without resorting to the kind of trendy styling that inevitably winds up looking painfully dated after a few short years. And, just as with the work of a master tailor, the essence of the A8L’s appeal is the way your appreciation of it continues to grow over time.

An Expanded Line-Up

Originally launched in June 2003, the Audi A8L has already done its engineers and designers proud. The über-sedan has garnered a host of awards in the 18 months since its introduction, including being named one of the “Top 10 Cars for CEOs” from the editors of Chief Executive magazine.


In the Drivers Seat

The A8 was completely redesigned for 2004. The 2004 A8L has as much sheer presence as any luxury vehicle sold here today. Even if you dont know anything about cars, you know this one is something special as soon as you lay eyes on it. It oozes class and privilege. The interior – long an Audi strong suit – may be the best in the industry. Both front seats feature 16-way power adjustable seats. Four of those adjustments are for the lumbar support.

One major ergonomic difficulty for me: I couldnt see the directional indicator lights when power operated drivers seat and telescopic/tilt steering wheel were set in my ideal position. The most talked-about feature in the new A8 is Audis take on BMWs much-maligned I-Drive. If youre over 15 years of age, you flat wont get it. Therefore, you have to pay careful attention when the sales guy runs through the pre-delivery lessons. Then practice, practice, practice. The back seat of the A8L is both immense and very supportive. With the rear seat control panel under your fingertips, it feels like youve settled into one of Lufthansas new Recaro business class seats. In my test week, I was not able to figure out how to raise and lower the power rear seat headrests.

On The Road

you’re one of many luxury car buyers who’d prefer to remain serenely isolated from pavement irregularities, you may find theis big German car’s suspension a bit too taut for your liking. If, on the other hand, you count yourself among those who drive as much out of pure enjoyment as necessity, you’ll likely find the Audi A8L’s air suspension provides an optimal balance of road feel and comfort.

In the automatic mode—one of four driver-selectable settings—the suspension system continuously evaluates driving conditions and adjusts itself accordingly. For enthusiastic driving along a glorious stretch of twisty two-lane, the system allows you to dial in a firmer setting that gives this big sedan sporty handling that belies its substantial size and weight. In fact, perhaps the biggest compliment that can be paid to this suspension set-up is that it simply makes the A8L feel like a much smaller car than it is.

To make things just that much better, the A8L’s rack and pinion steering with speed-variable power assist is amazingly precise and communicative, with just the right amount of weighting and on-center feel. Combined with the car’s standard stability control, the steering and suspension set-up has the very flattering ability to make most anyone feel like a better driver than they probably are. All this wouldn’t amount to much without the means to bring the big car to a safe, sure stop. The A8L’s massive four-wheel antilock discs brakes handle that chore very nicely, delivering excellent pedal feel and impressive stopping power.

Ultimate Power

is befitting a car of this stature, the Audi A8L is powered by one of the best V8 engines on the market. The 335-horsepower, 4.2-liter aluminum motor produces gobs of power across a wide rev range, making athletic bursts of acceleration a simple matter of applying a liberal dose of your right foot. The big car claims to do the 0-to-60 freeway on-ramp sprint in just a hair over six seconds, which is no small feat for a 4,400-pound sedan. Top speed is electronically limited to 130 miles per hour, a speed it’s easy to believe that this autobahn-bred engine could do all day long without breaking a sweat. Even its EPA fuel economy estimates of 18 city and 24 highway are quite respectable, although filling the 23-gallon tank with pricey premium-grade fuel is bound to be a sobering experience.

The V8’s considerable thrust is routed through a silky smooth six-speed automatic transmission. Though there’s no manual gearbox available, the sophisticated automatic does adapt its shift patterns to fit your driving style. The transmission’s push button-activated Sport mode will also hold a given gear longer to wring maximum power out of the motor before it upshifts. If that isn’t satisfying enough, the Tiptronic transmission will allow you to run up and down through the gears manually via a firm tug on the gear shift lever or a tap of the optional steering wheel-mounted shift buttons.

From the transmission, power is fed to all four wheels via Audi’s standard quattro all wheel-drive system. The system automatically senses slip at any wheel and can route power front to back or side to side to the tires with the best grip on slick surfaces.

Journeys End

The A8 competes in the big leagues with the likes of the 7-series BMW, the S-Class, the Lexus LS430 and the top line Jaguar. The A8L has a lot of superlatives going for it: Lightest automobile for its size in the industry; fabulous and somewhat incomprehensible Bose 12-speaker sound system; super-refined 4.2 liter, 40-valve V-8 engine putting out 330hp and 320lb-ft of torque; silky-smooth six-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission and most power adjustments in a passenger seat (16).

The A8L is also about engineering elegance. It has continuous damping driver-controlled air suspension and auto load levelling, airbags to protect your knees in a crash, and automatic headlight washers. Of course, its also got all manner of side and front airbags. In Europe, theres also a short-wheelbase version of the A8. That one is apparently due here in 2005. Over 50% of the A8s that will be sold in Europe in 2004 will come with a TDI diesel engine – a 3.0L V-6 and a new 4.0L V-8 diesel are available. If Volkswagen AG has its corporate way these engines (or more likely their even more refined successors) will soon be available in Audi A8s sold in North America.

Is the Audi’s Multi-Media Interface (MMI) better than BMW’s i-Drive system?

Audi’s MMI consists of a large central knob surrounded by four buttons you use to navigate through a wide variety of functions from setting radio presets to adjusting the temperature of the optional seat heaters. Even with all the sophisticated systems on these cars, there simply has to be a more intuitive—and less infuriating—way to control them.