Category: Large Executive 
Price Range: £49,975 to £80,260
Superb build quality inside and out, understated style, excellent quattro chassis, fine engines, spacious cabin
Potentially expensive body repairs, ride quality not best in class
Discreet, but beautifully engineered luxury car.
The A8 is a big car, but it's the width of the body that can be daunting. Standard-issue transmission is a semi-automatic which gives the option of either manual changes or full auto-control. It's the latter which makes this hefty car easy to guide, especially in town. Light controls and nimble steering help too. With quattro four-wheel-drive, A8s are astonishingly able cars, offering surprisingly sporting performance. No matter what the road surface or weather, the four-wheel drive system helps make this executive car feel a size smaller - aided by lighter weight because of its aluminium construction. Non-Sport models can feel a little floaty at the front.
All versions are swift, even the entry-level 193 bhp 2.8, partly because the aluminium A8 is lighter than rival executive cars. The V8 engines are particularly lively, especially the range-topping S8 which is blistering.
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wrote on 05 05 2007