Category: Large Executive 
Price Range: £49,995 to £81,100
Quality interior, low emissions, stylish looks.
Multitronic CVT's occasional lack of low-speed refinement, no long wheelbase option, poor residuals.
A fine low-CO2 limo, let down by savage depreciation.
As well as the mild exterior facelift, under the skin Audi engineers have been busy, working hard to improve refinement and driving pleasure.
The steering has been tweaked in an attempt to reduce some of the vagueness the old model suffered, while the air suspension has been completely retuned for better ride and handling.
The biggest engineering change by far is the adoption of the 207bhp 2.8 FSI petrol engine mated to the CVT autobox.
With 207lb-ft of torque available from 3,000rpm, and a kerb weight of a comparatively low 1,690kg, the A8 has brisk rather than quick performance, completing the 0-62mph dash in 8.0 seconds dead and topping out at a respectable 147mph.
Curiously, on the road and at part throttle, the 2.8 feels seriously quick, quicker than the figures suggest, pulling strongly at low revs and giving the impression endless amounts of torque. This illusion is thanks to the CVT Multitronic gearbox that, in effect, is always in the optimal ratio. Prod the throttle and the illusion shatters and the 2.8 reveals it isn't quite the V8 bruiser you first thought.
In fact, despite similar on-paper performance figures, the diesel's more generous 332lb-ft of torque at a lowly 1,400rpm (allowing a 0-62mph time of 7.8 seconds) feels more than man enough to shrug off a hard-driven 2.8 petrol - important when considering the diesel's paltry £1,000 premium.
The 230bhp 3.0 TDI has another ace up its sleeve over its new petrol sibling - it has Audi's trademark Quattro all-wheel drive. In the damp slippery conditions we drove the petrol this would have allowed for better balance.
That aside, our test car on the whole huge levels of grip (thanks in part to the optional 19" alloys fitted (£1,250) and wasn't and did react marginally to the throttle through hard corning, helping the nose tuck in.
The revisions made to the steering have helped improve placing the big Audi on the road, but still lack the faithfulness you can rely with the Jaguar XJ.
Despite providing relaxing performance and fine fuel figures the Multitronic can sometimes struggle in low speed traffic with the odd amount of jerkiness that is at odds with the high otherwise levels of refinement.
Latest Readers' Drives About the Audi A8
wrote on 05 05 2007