Audi A8 (2003-) Review

On the road

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For a car of this girth, the A8 is very easy to punt along. Visibility is restricted a little about the rear, but you'll get a parking radar, so it shouldn't be a problem.

The automatic gearbox is one of the smoothest around, the brakes have a good weight and progressive feel, while the steering, which weights up as speed rises, becomes extremely light (disconcertingly, actually) at manoeuvring speeds to make parking easier.

The dash-mounted screen for the controls might be in the right place, but the MMI system's control panel, which you use to scroll through the menus, isn't, as it's down behind the gearlever, so you have to shift your gaze to find the right buttons to press.

The A8 is aimed at the enthusiastic driver in this segment, so it's reasonable to expect a trade-off in comfort for a bit more action behind the steering wheel. On the models we've tried, it doesn't give away much of either. It's still comfortable, but it's not much more sporty than its rivals. An optional Sport pack lowers the ride height by 20mm and has thicker anti-roll bars, and loses the 'Comfort' setting in favour of 'Ultra-dynamic'.

In standard form, the A8 doesn't feel as dynamic as the old Sport model. The steering steers, but offers no tactility and feels very artificially weighted, while the benefits of that aluminium construction certainly don't surprise you when you push into a corner like a previous A8, which felt more nimble. The Sport models promise to be a little more agile, but the A8 is still not particularly involving.

There's a 3.0-litre six-cylinder petrol, two V8 petrol motors (3.7 and 4.2), plus two diesels - 3.0 six and 4.0 V8. A W12 petrol is coming. None of the petrol engines is short on pace, though the 3.7 doesn't feel quite as powerful as expected. All are extremely quiet and refined. So is the four-litre turbodiesel, possibly our choice of the range, while the 3.0-litre straight-six is fine.

Power for all is delivered through a good, smooth, six-speed automatic gearbox, with tiptronic over-ride on the gearshift lever, or via optional paddles on the steering wheel.