Category: Large Executive 
Price Range: £49,975 to £80,260
Refined engines, very good automatic gearbox, quality interior.
Some tyre hum, a little conservative on the inside.
Doesn't come across as all that sporting, but it is competent and accomplished.
The biggest running cost problem with the A8 and cars of its ilk has been depreciation, and the A8 tends to suffer more than comparable S-Class and 7-Series models.
Fuel economy isn't great either: the Quattro four-wheel-drive system is heavy and high on friction, even if the rest of the car is (relatively) light. Audi reckons you'll see about 23mpg from both the 3.7 and the 4.2, while carbon dixoide emissions are, unsurprisingly, in the highest tax bracket.
The 4.0 V8 diesel will work out the most cost-effective. Repairs to that aluminium bodywork could be dear, though Audi claims that these will work out cheaper than traditional steel structures and panels. Reliability and million-mile capability means that repair costs shouldn't be too bad, but if anything serious does go wrong, it's going to cost.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Audi A8
wrote on 05 05 2007