Audi A8 2015 Review

The Lord of the Rings

Buy either Prada or Gucci or LV, all will have their pros and cons. This is one segment, where you do not consider value for money. It is more about the styling, brand value and the pampering. Similar is the case with the Indian luxury car market. Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz battle out on the top with their best products. Everything isn’t about value for money either. But there is something about Audi cars that has made it the best selling luxury brand in the country. We lay our hands on the new Audi A8, to find out how much better is the new flagship model.

The A8’s new matrix headlamp has changed how the flagship looks.

The new bonnet, single frame front grille and the new front bumper makes the stylish a lot more pronounced than before. What has actually changed with the styling is the perception, the new facelift version does look a lot more aggressive with sharp styling, while the previous design was a lot wider. The 25 LEDs form one light and these can be adjust brightness depending on the oncoming traffic and other road light conditions. The A8’s side profile and even rear styling haven’t seen a major upgrade.

The interiors of the A8 haven’t changed to a great extent, but they still look contemporary. There are a lot of functions and you feel like sitting inside a luxury cockpit, with the large pop-out screen, display and one aspect that I really like is that of the new steering wheel, which is thinner, smaller and a lot sportier. There is the huge gear lever that doesn’t even need a slide but a gentle push.

The front row seats are large and very comfy, even the second row has comfortable seats. The optional features on the A8 are ventilated seats, massage option, cooled box and rear LCDs. These all will add to the convenience factor and none of these comes as a standard fitment. The space offered for the rear passenger is massive. If you opt for the rear seat package, you could remove your Armani shoes and relax while heading towards your destination.

The A8 comes with multiple engine options, one of the best is the 4.2-litre V8 diesel, and the 6.0-litre W12 petrol. If you aren’t getting behind the wheel at any point of time, then the 3.0-litre V6 is the best bet. All have sufficient power to be driven in city or on the highway and get touch 200km/hr in no time. Now, the real question is how comfortable is it to drive around in city? There have been some changes made that the new A8 feels a lot more compact and easier to maneuverer than what its size is, but in reality there aren’t been any change in the dimensions of the A8. In city somewhat it does feel long than wide, but on the highways it is very nimble.

The ride of the A8 is composed and from our experience the best mode while driving in the city is “Auto”, while even out on the highway we liked “Dynamic” but preferred “Auto” there as well. You do not need Dynamic unless you are redlining in every gear and that might just a bit difficult to happen on Indian roads. We preferred the auto mode even over “Comfort” in city. One hassle with this car is its ground clearance. You can raise the suspension, but still the chances of the underbelly scrapping are high, as majority of the speed bumps aren’t well engineered. The A8 was a good handler and at that cost, it has to be. But there are certain enhancements that make the A8 feel a lot more nimble than before.

The A8 is a great technology marvel from Audi, which shows how well the Ingolstadt-based manufacturer could package its cars.

You can’t compare it to other German flagships and all of them are in their own league and they aren’t value for money packages. If you are looking at something “value for money” than these cars aren’t meant to be considered in that category. These are luxury on wheels.