Audi A8 3.7
Audis Aluminium Bodied A8 Has Long Offered A Cerebral Alternative In The Luxury Car Market. Does The Latest 3.7-Litre Car Continue That Theme? Andy Enright Reports
Okay youve just been made a partner in the firm, you need a car that says all the right things in the company car park but you dont want to upstage the boss. What do you do? Easy you buy an entry-level luxury car, treading just the right balance of automotive power dressing and respect for the hierarchy. The
Audi A8 3.7 is just such a vehicle, smooth, powerful and a car which knows its place in the greater scheme of things.
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Of course, it isnt just business bigwigs wholl appreciate the A8: a fair few are snapped up by private buyers keen to land one of the finest luxury cars on sale today. But does the 3.7-litre A8 make as much sense as its larger sibling, the 4.2-litre model? Its £53,070 price represents over 92% of the 4.
2-litre cars £57,140 price but customers only receive 83% of the power. Both cars will retain a similar residual percentage after three years and theres next to nothing between them in terms of CO2 emissions. Were we spending the money, it would be hard not to make a case for the more powerful car, safe in the knowledge that the additional £4,000 had purchased an additional 57bhp and the power to bruise a few egos amongst Mercedes and
BMW drivers. Youll need £5,500 more to get into the 4.
0-litre TDi diesel and the 6.0-litre W12 engine starts from over £73,500. Mind you, the A8 3.7 is still a rapid machine, packing a hefty 280bhp wallop from its eight-cylinder 40-valve engine.
Itll get to 60mph in just 7.3 seconds on the way to a top speed of 155mph. The reason for its verve is its relatively light 1,770kg kerb weight, tipping the scales some 40kg lighter than a Mercedes S350. Only Jaguars XJ8 3.
5 SE which apes its aluminium body construction can pip it. But whereas the big cat directs power to its rear wheels, the A8 3.7 utilises Audis trademark quattro four-wheel drive transmissions. A six-speed automatic gearbox is a standard feature and its possible to flip it into a mode where knocking the stick backwards and forwards approximates a manual sequential shift.
It seems a little pointless, however, as the software that controls the automatic box is so good youll rarely feel the need for manual intervention.
"The A8 3.7 remains whisper quiet even at motorway cruising speeds."
Identifying the A8 3.7s true competition is a process of elimination. It stacks up eye to eye with the BMW 735i and the
Jaguar XJ, all three cars offering a similarly sporting bias. Cars like the VW Phaeton V6, the Mercedes S350 and the
Lexus LS430 are a little too comfort-oriented to directly compare with the firmly sprung A8.
This is a car that rewards the driver. At the limit of its handling prowess, the
Audi feels a fair bit softer than the equivalent Jag, but it vies for the position of second sportiest luxury car. Many will argue that a luxury car that tries to be sporting is missing the point. Luxury cars in the eyes of many buyers at least should try to be luxury cars and not adopt the often opposing characteristics of a sports car.
Whatever your perspective on this, you cant deny that some cars carry this apparent contradiction off better than others and the A8 3.7 is a case in point. If youre looking for a car that will turn heads with its dynamic looks, the A8 may well disappoint. The styling has followed an evolutionary theme, looking even more slippery than the rather bluff outgoing car, the sides now being contoured into an almost Jaguar-like fuselage.
The front features the Audi familys single frame grille and below bumpers which look rakishly aggressive, whilst the back features a high mounted light cluster which doesnt. The interior is a similarly slick piece of work with the latest models benefiting from an enhanced LED lighting system. One criticism that could 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 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 steering wheel is a classy looking four-spoke item, nattily dished with recessed arms.
It manages to make BMWs 7 Series tiller look rather inelegant. 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.
Nevertheless, those looking for a genuinely sporting drive may well prefer the latest Jaguar XJ8 and those preferring limousine like ride quality will opt for the Mercedes. The Audi offers a compromise similar to the BMW 7 Series. 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. Audi never seem to quite crack well-weighted steering and although the A8 isnt bad, its still not top drawer.
Its unreasonable to expect it to excel at everything. The Audi A8 3.7 would probably benefit from its 4.2-litre sibling being bumped up by few thousand pounds.
As it stands, theres precious little breathing space between the two cars, the more powerful of which offers markedly superior performance. On a pure value for money basis then, the 3.7-litre car has a few issues to overcome, on top of being pricier than its direct rivals form BMW, Mercedes and Jaguar. Even so, it feels worth the money when taken in isolation.
Perhaps this is all part of Audis scheme, to bait us with the 3.7-litre car and then switch us to the more expensive 4.2-litre model. Whatever the rationale behind the A8 range pricing, theres no getting away from the fact that the 3.
7-litre variant is a thing of beauty, a car which offers the sort of build quality many of its rivals could only wish for. Whether that will prove enough remains to be seen. In this market sector, more than any other, there are hierarchies to observe.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Audi A8 3.7
PRICE: £53,070 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 19
CO2 EMISSIONS: 286g/km
PERFORMANCE: 0-60mph 7.3s / Max Speed 155mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (average) 23.7mpg
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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