2004 Audi A8L Test Drive

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. It's meant for those CEOs whose perquisites include a chauffeur. The A8's 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.

First Glance

The Audi nameplate has a storied past. Created by German automaking legend August Horch in 1909, Audi became part of the Auto Union group in 1932. After WWII, Auto Union was absorbed into Volkswagen AG. VW's original Wolfsburg factory, which was on the western side of the Iron Curtain had by 1946 been sufficiently rebuilt that it could again start manufacturing Beetles. At first, Beetles were produced exclusively for the British Army. The original Audi factory located in the former communist part of Germany built the dreadful Trabant, which is by any measure a leading contender for worst-ever car. (For more of this, see March 2004 Automobile Magazine's fascinating feature on August Horch). Audi began to get traction in North America in the early 1980s. However, the so-called "unintended acceleration" fiasco, which involved top-of-the-line automatic transmission versions of the Audi 5000, nearly put the division out of business here. Audi fought back with new models and new numerical designations (Audi 80, 100, etc). By the mid-'90s, these earlier models had morphed into the spectacularly successful A4, A6 and A8.

In the Driver's 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 don't 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 couldn't see the directional indicator lights when power operated driver's seat and telescopic/tilt steering wheel were set in my ideal position. The most talked-about feature in the new A8 is Audi's take on BMW's much-maligned I-Drive. If you're over 15 years of age, you flat won't 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 you've settled into one of Lufthansa's 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

The all-aluminum space age frame and body shaves about 1000 lbs off the weight of a comparable sized steel-frame-and-body automobile, which means better power to weight and better fuel efficiency. The downside is you can’t take it to your local body shop. The A8L is very quick – 0-60mph is less than 6.5 sec. It also has a huge top speed. In Europe, that's limited to 155mph; in North America, to 130mph. Which is still plenty fast. The A8 holds well on sharp corners but there’s some wallow and the slightest hint of refined squealing from the immense P255/45 R18 Continentals on my test car. Regardless of what's going on where the rubber meets the road, the cabin’s occupants experience no unpleasant noises. It's all very, very civilized. The A8L is chock-full of wizard engineering features. However, the standard air suspension may be an example of the kind of engineering overkill you get with this car. I was not able, for example, to discern any difference between the automatic, dynamic and standard settings at normal city speeds. But in this country, the A8L is all about those short hops between your lender’s suites and your lawyers’ offices with you in the backseat and the chauffeur holding the fort at the curb down below.

Journey's 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, it's also got all manner of side and front airbags. In Europe, there's also a short-wheelbase version of the A8. That one is apparently due here in 2005. Over 50% of the A8's 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.