There area unit a number of faculties of thought once it involves huge, big-ticket luxury sedans. Some wish ostentatious luxury — styling that wows and announces your arrival before you've got rolled down a window. Others wish subtlety — the flexibility to navigate traffic while not inflicting a stir, flying underneath the measuring instrument whereas barreling down a route at superlegal speeds. The Audi S8 positively falls into the latter class.
Rolling past crowds in Daytona grey Pearl with titanium-finish matte wheels, the massively powerful sport sedan gets no second appearance. apart from the large wheels, the conservative-looking S8 offers away none of its formidable talents, however slide behind the wheel, stir up the rumbling, boosted V-8 engine and you are going to smile — you are driving one among the world's best concealing fighters. There are some minor styling and color updates for the 2015 model year (see the changes from 2014 to 2015 here), however the S8 principally carries over from its last major update in 2012.
Exterior & Styling
As has been the case with Audi sedans for a number of decades currently, if you wish the approach one appearance, you will like all. The proportions, the creases, the design of the headlights, grille and taillights — from the little A3 to the large A8L, all of them look nearly identical aside from their size. Thankfully, the design continues to be stylish, and therefore the larger every automobile within the lineup the higher the easy lines and arciform roofline seem.
New for 2015 area unit some updated diode headlights, a rather revised grille, new taillights and quad oval tailpipes. you have got to park a 2015 next to a 2014 to identify any variations, however seeing as however the design continues to be comparatively recent and enticing, there is very little to complain regarding. It ought to be noted that the S8 comes solely within the shorter-wheelbase version of the A8; the longer A8L with its further backseat legroom does not get the gaudy S treatment.
How It Drives
Perhaps the most effective facet of the large S8 is that the car's simple trait. it is a huge street cruiser after you wish it to be, soft and sleek with extremely boosted steering, muted exhaust rumble and a firm nonetheless fully comfy ride. Push a handful of buttons and switch everything into Dynamic mode, though, and you suddenly have a very totally different animal: loud and blisteringly fast, with stronger steering effort needed, the S8's gaudy ride in Dynamic mode can knock your kidneys loose over bumps; its throttle sensitivity transforms the S8 into a muscle automobile. A refined muscle automobile, to be sure, however the speed at that the automobile responds and therefore the brutality with that it accelerates build the S8 one among the foremost fun huge sedans within the world.
It will have company, however: different huge, quick sedans just like the Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG and BMW B7 Alpina area unit worthy challengers. If you wish your luxury British-flavoured, there is the cat XJR. All 3 have similar missions: money, a lot of luxury, unostentatious appearance and big power. All handle even as well because the S8, that includes their own adjustable suspensions. the largest distinction is maybe the supply of long-wheelbase versions for the cat and BMW — one thing you cannot get on the Audi or Mercedes-Benz.
The S8 is steam-powered by Audi's twin-turbocharged four.0-liter V-8, a similar motor which will be found underneath the hood of the Bentley Flying Spur, tho' during this application it makes 520 power unit. not like the Bentley applications, the response from the Audi V-8 here is instantaneous; there isn't any lag between pressing the accelerator and move. the facility courses through AN eight-speed automatic drive to all or any four wheels via Audi's commonplace quattro all-wheel-drive system.
With that a lot of power on faucet, you ne'er ought to worry regarding route passing or impromptu stoplight drag races — what you are doing ought to worry regarding is all that power and therefore the quiet refinement of the S8's interior combining to lure you into driving at speeds well in far more than the legal limit while not realizing it. Some powerful cars area unit just fast; the Audi is each quick and quick, able to cruise at triple-digit speeds all day long while not criticism. it is a pity there is obscurity within the U.S. to really (legally) expertise what this autobahn-focused luxury cruiser will do, wanting a track.
Despite its formidable motor, the S8 is outgunned by all 3 competitors: The Benz makes five77 horsepower with its twin-turbo 5.5-liter V-8, whereas the BMW produces 540 horsepower with its twin-turbo four.4-liter V-8 engine. The cat goes a unique route with forced induction, pumping five0 horsepower out of its supercharged 5.0-liter V-8. Its aluminum-intensive construction suggests that it is also the lightest automobile within the cluster by a major margin — four,129 pounds versus the S8's four,685 pounds. they are each lighter than the Benz or Bimmer, however, that tip the scales at quite four,800 pounds every, mitigating any power unit benefits.
Judicious use of the go pedal will produce a bit symptom at the pump, however not a lot of. The S8 is rated 17/27/20 mpg city/highway/ combined, and my week of testing — including regarding five hundred miles of route driving — attained a twenty four mpg result; large for such a giant and powerful automobile. The competition isn't as good: The S63 AMG is rated 15/23/18 mpg, the all-wheel-drive Alpina B7 comes in at 16/24/19 mpg, whereas the XJR is rated 15/23/18 mpg. it should not be as powerful as its competitors, however the S8's smaller motor pays off once it involves fuel economy.
Interior
Debuting for 2015 may be a new interior color combination that came on my check vehicle: Green Mountain State Brown animal skin with "carbon twill copper" trim items. It's a noteworthy combination, with a carbon-fiber weave that includes copper threads to present it a golden hue in direct daylight. i am not oversubscribed on the mixture of brown interiors and dark grey exteriors, however each German luxury car manufacturer appears to assume it's smart, as I've seen it on numberless check cars within the past number of years.
Everything is screwed at the side of the standard one expects from Audi — that's to mention, flawlessly. each button clicks with a preciseness different automakers still haven't with success traced, and each knob turns with a heft and weight that creates you think that there is a difficult mechanism at work behind the dash rather than simply electronic bits. Nothing is touch-sensitive except AN nonmandatory pad which will be used for inputting letters and numbers for the transmission screens, if you wish.
The seats area unit all-day comfy, infinitely adjustable and supply many area for four passengers (five is tight). It appears like a correct luxury automobile, wrapped in some sportier duds keep with the S8's a lot of athletic mission.
The competition is not too shabby, either; the Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG bests the S8's aboard physics and style. If the S8 feels luxurious, the Benz feels downright deluxe, with even higher materials, design, skill and trim. The cat XJR is equally deluxe, with a method that mixes ancient British wood and animal skin with trendy touches, sort of a disappearing rotary shifter, whereas the BMW displays that brand's rather Spartan aesthetic.
Ergonomics & physics
The S8 feels acquainted within, as Audi's MMI multimedia- and feature-control system has been around for a minute currently. The acquainted configuration of the rotary selector knob enclosed by four buttons (corresponding to the four corners of the screen) continues to be one among the most effective systems around. it is easy to use while not having to look at the console and therefore the buttons you propose to push, creating it an easy system to work whereas driving. It's fast and intuitive and connects to mobile diversion devices, like smartphones, quite simply.
The transmission systems found in most of Audi's competitors provide similar practicality and property, however the Audi maintains a plus in usability and on-the-fly operation. The S8 and Alpina B7 each provide commonplace head-up displays; one is accessible on the S63 however not on the cat. The Audi's is straightforward to use and clear even whereas carrying polarized glasses.
Cargo & Storage
Despite being a lifesize luxury automobile, the Audi S8 doesn't have a spacious trunk. In fact, it is the smallest of the four competitors listed here, with simply thirteen.2 cuboidal feet of house. Compare that with fifteen.2 cuboidal feet within the cat, 16.3 cuboidal feet within the Mercedes-Benz and therefore the comparably immense seventeen.7 cuboidal feet within the BMW, and you will surprise why such an oversized automobile has therefore very little area for your stuff. If you wish to expand the cargo deck by folding down the seats, well, you are out of luck there, too — of the four competitors, solely the Mercedes-Benz offers a split-folding rear seat, ANd it's an possibility.
Safety
The S8 has not been crash-tested. Like all cars during this class, safety instrumentality is plentiful, high-tech and big-ticket, as not all of it comes commonplace even at the S8's lofty costs. it's a blind spot monitor system commonplace, as will the cat, a feature that is AN possibility on different vehicles. just like the remainder of the pack, most of the S8's safety instrumentality comes in extra-cost possibility packages; my check automobile had a number of, together with a Driver help Package, that adscititious adaptative control, lane keep assist and lane departure warning. It lacked Audi's sight system, that uses AN infrared camera to assist the driving force see oncoming threats within the dark. The Mercedes-Benz and BMW conjointly provide such systems as choices. to examine all the S8's commonplace safety options, click here.
Value in Its category
The Audi S8 starts at $115,825 together with destination, that you get a major quantity of ordinary instrumentality, together with a full animal skin interior, navigation, 21-inch wheels and a lot of. There aren't any extra-cost paint choices, however your list of hues is quite boring — everything is grey, beige, white or black. the inside on my check automobile sported the Green Mountain State Brown possibility, that mechanically adds the atmospheric condition Package and $6,250 to the sticker worth.
The Driver help Package adds $2,100, whereas the wonderful Bang & Olufsen premium audio system adds another $6,300. Special 21-inch wheels ring in at a discount $250, whereas sport exhaust topnotch things off with another $1,500 for a grand total of $132,225 for my check automobile. Build AN S8 to your specifications here.
The S8's sticker worth is truly less costly than its competitors, creating the Audi one thing of a discount. The Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG starts wherever the S8 leaves off, with AN entry worth of $142,375 — totally $26,000 quite the S8. The Benz will beat the S8 in terms of amenities and luxury, and offers choices that cannot be had on the Audi, like some serious backseat government packages together with massaging rear seats and inbuilt tables. Add all the choices, and you will pay quite $186,000 for AN S63.
The BMW Alpina B7 is equals big-ticket, beginning at $129,250 for a short-wheelbase, rear-wheel-drive version. To check it with the S8, though, one should pick AN all-wheel-drive model for $132,250. That automobile comes well-equipped with solely a handful major package of safety things to feature. Tick each box, and it'll high out at simply quite $157,000.
The cat is way a lot of competitively priced, beginning at $116,925 for a base model or $3,000 a lot of for the XJR L. It already includes a premium Meridian audio system, however adding things like AN adaptive control package, a rear seat government package and carbon fiber dress-up engine bits can bring the full for a loaded model up to $140,025. Compare all four competitors.
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