Audi A8 3.0 TDI
Having Beaten The Rest To The Punch With Britains First V8 Diesel Luxury Saloon,
Audi Aim To Beat The Opposition At Their Own Game With A 3.0-litre V6 TDI Version. Andy Enright Reports
Two hundred and thrirty-two horsepower doesnt sound all that impressive when tasked with hauling something the size of an Audi A8 around. Lets face it, some hot hatches pack more power than this. There are, however, horses and horses. Lead this horse to water and itll start drinking from a black pump.
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This sort of power from a diesel engine spells monster torque and some serious shove in the back. Couple that with the sort of fuel economy youd expect from a shopping hatch and the
Audi A8 3.0 TDI represents quite a package.
Audi bill the car as the worlds first large luxury diesel saloon to meet the strict Euro4 emissions regulations, lauding its superior cleanliness over rivals from
BMW and Mercedes. Mind you, dont be lulled into thinking Audi are simply content to rule the roost at this end of the diesel sector. They have bigger aspirations for the A8 3.0TDI, namely tilting at the best petrol powered cars in the class.
Peruse the statistics and you have to contend they have a point. Fuel economy and carbon dioxide emissions we can take as a given. A diesel is virtually always going to walk all over its petrol equivalent in these regards but performance? Thats a whole different ball game, yet the A8 will accelerate to 60mph in 7.6 seconds and on to a top speed of 151mph.
Contrast that with the Mercedes S280 (9.5 seconds/144mph), the BMW 730i (7.9s/145mph) and the
Jaguar XJ6 (7.9s/145mph).
To be fair to these cars, they can all be found for considerably less than the Audis £48,365 askng price but it does drive the point home. Diesel is no longer the poor relation. Drive the cars back to back and youd swear the performance differential was even greater. Thats because the BMW, which generates the most torque of these three rival offerings at 300Nm, is utterly trounced by the 450Nm of muscle available under the Audi drivers right foot.
This translates into effortless overtaking ability and a relaxed gait. You get a hint as to how little you need to stretch the engine to get results when you realise that peak torque is attained with the rev counter barely above tickover at just 1,400rpm.
"One danger for Audi is that the A8 3.0 TDI suddenly makes the 3.0-litre and 3.7-litre petrol models look utterly superfluous"
This sort of performance really puts the fuel economy figures in the shade, but theyre worth reiterating. On the combined cycle, this A8 will manage 33.6mpg per gallon of diesel, the massive fuel tank meaning that you may only have to fill up once every 665 miles! Emitting just 226g/km of carbon dioxide, the big Audi wont slaughter those who choose one as company transport, the EuroIV compliant engine neatly sidestepping the three per cent benefit in kind taxation surcharge. One danger for Audi is that the A8 3.
0 TDI suddenly makes the 3.0-litre and 3.7-litre petrol models look utterly superfluous. Boasting a maximum five-star rating for security by the insurance industrys Thatcham Research Centre, its reassuring to know that its unlikely your A8 will go walkies in the night.
It is, after all a very covetable good. Just take a look at the depth of thought that has gone into the design of the interior. Heeding the flak BMW took when they introduced their iDrive interface into the 7 Series, Audi responded by offering a simpler, more intuitive control system. Like iDrive, MMI features a rotary knob that marshals a bunch of functions indicated on the dash-mounted LCD display.
Unlike the BMW system, it doesnt throw too much information at you too quickly. Whereas its possible to change the rear damper settings on a 7 Series when all you wanted to do was blip up a little more air con, the Audi system feels altogether less threatening. Its but one feature in an interior that now looks like it belongs in this rarefied atmosphere. One criticism that could once be levelled at Audis otherwise impeccable interior design was that buyers of the top line A8 werent getting anything markedly different to the rep whod lucked into an A3.
The themes were all the same, many of the materials felt much alike and there were so many common parts. Great if youre the one with the A3, but not so good if you want something a little more exclusive. Audi has recognised this and has given the latest A8 an interior quite different to the usual classy coalhole. The instrument dials are raked back and trimmed with a light metallic theme that is dotted about the cabin.
The latest models with their Audi trademark single frame grilles also feature LED interior lighting system. Accommodation is better than the old A8, a car that, unless you opted for the long wheelbase version, was pretty tight on rear legroom. The rear seats lack side support and are quite hard, but theres plenty of space. Headroom is acceptable without feeling as airy as an equivalent S-Class, but this helps in making the A8 feel smaller than it actually is, an asset when the time comes to confront a twisty road.
Its here that youll notice the A8s other key development. Like the S-Class, it adopts a full air suspension set up with four different set ups to suit differing needs. The A8 feels lighter on its feet than before but ride quality has improved. This was the one big complaint with the old car, namely that the handling was good but you had to pay for it with significant bump and thump from the suspension.
The power steering has been retuned to offer more feel, but it reverts to a fingertip lightness at parking speeds. Its still probably the only weak point in the A8 makeup. Its not often that somebody steals a march on the likes of BMW and Mercedes but at this precise moment, theres clear blue sky between the best that Munich and Stuttgart are producing and the Audi A8 diesel models. The 3.
0-litre TDI version only adds to Ingolstadts superiority in this regard and will be a hard act to better. Its time to realign your sights if you want to take aim on the state of the luxury car art.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Audi A8 3.0TDI
PRICE: £48,365 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 19
CO2 EMISSIONS: 226g/km
PERFORMANCE: 0-60mph 7.6s / Max Speed 151mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (average) 33.6mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front, side and SIDEGUARD airbags/ABS
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Height mm 5051/1928/1444
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