2018 Audi A8 Australia
2018 Audi A8 Australia welcome to audicarusa.com discover New Audi sedans, SUVs & coupes get our expert review. This is my third meeting with the newest A8 and the first with a A8 without the Bouton’ai’pour the auto-driving Level 3 system of Audi. Which is probably a good thing, because it prevents the car-is-in-control of the debate from overshadowing the rest of what Audi has shipped with the latest A8. And the efforts of the brand Ingolstadt have not been reluctant as it seeks to fill the Canyon in sales to the class S (but the sale gap of the BMW 7 series seems imminent “do”). Not that you would have noticed at a casual glance. A fleeting visual capture seems to stamp the whole new A8 as a moderate evolution of the old model, but with a grid so hugely wide, it seems to occupy 95 percent of the Sedan’s face.
Of course, it is more complex than that, and it must have been a brutal challenge for Audi’s production engineers, even if the end result seems much simpler. Compared to the outgoing model, it is only 6 mm longer in the wheelbase and, in 5172mm, is 37 longer overall … but, as always with the German brands, the detail is monumental. For example, the edges of the Bonnet begin life flanked by horizontal shutlines before they twist half way to become vertical shutlines, which then become the line of tornado bordered that stretches the full length of the car and ends at Inside the taillight. And the folds of the Bonnet themselves are so sharp that they have their own shadows and could have been manufactured by Gillette or Schick. Then there’s the slight hips on each wheel-arch, which crashes the car to highlight its all-wheel drive chassis.
And all this is before you get to the taillights that provide a theater-like show across the width of the car, and come complete with four OLED tapes per side, each with a lighting element only 1 2-hundredth as thick as the Human hair. The LED lights are standard at the front, or there is an optional matrix LED configuration and, topping up the range, is a laser system that takes lessons learned from the R8 plus supercar with ratchets the whole laser game up a notch or two. Audi abandoned OSRAM as its laser supplier (although it does the oleds yet) and moved to Nichia from Japan, so that each light now has a single diode laser while the R8 had four. As a result, the spread of light is more diffuse and there is now a massive bright area instead of a relatively small light tunnel (although Audi insists on the critical area of light is 150 to 250 meters in front of the car). But the lights and crunchy design are not going to sell a limousine in a tiny segment of the new car market where, frankly, anything other than an S-class is still considered a courageous choice.
2018 Audi A8 Australia Interior
At Audi’s credit, compared to the S-class, the interior of A8 ‘s has always oriented its own course, delivering a combination of luxury, very technical, as opposed to the more ostentatious cab of Mercedes. This theme has been postponed to the newest version, with higher technology levels than ever, hermetic fit and finish, rich materials and liberal space. The entire cabin atmosphere begins at the front, where the experience is dominated by digital screens (three are significant). Dropped are the scroll and touchpad of the previous generation. These functions are now in the lowest of the three screens, the 8.6-inch unit that generally governs the climate control system. It works well, too, and seems to be able to understand most levels of unreadable gibberish. You no longer need to write a word because it will understand if you keep writing letters on top of each other.
The multimedia screen is 10.1 inches diagonally and could be the most intuitive user interface in the world to date. It absorbs some smartphone ideas that seem to have become largely intuitive, like pinching to zoom out, pushing to zoom in or swipe left or right to move through options. There is also the virtual digital cockpit screen just in front of the driver, and a high-resolution, full-color head display. As a result, the number of buttons have been reduced with touch screen functions to a large extent support for their work, leaving a more clean, horizontal dashboard area.
Behind the steering wheel, the driving position is pretty much perfect … otherwise, the vast range of settings available will soon be perfect for most bodies. The driver’s seat is also terribly favorable and comfortable over long distances, although it does not have the S-class of the immediate softness, in-your-face. But you mark an array of different massage functions, so the personal well-being goes well beyond the heating and ventilation
While the Audi A8 long wheelbase is ridiculously well endowed for the legs, the one standard is pretty good, too. The rear seat’s entertainment information extends to the mat-screen shelves that click behind the head headrests of the front head. They can also be removed to be used outside the car, while the center console has another removable tablet to remotely control all the functions of the rear seats.
2018 Audi A8 Australia Engine
Available at launch in mid-2018 will be standard and long wheelbase (A8L) models powered by the choice of turbo-petrol with a turbo-Diesel V6 coupled with eight-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission and full traction Quattro and 48 volts Soft-hybrid systems. The A8 3.0 TFSI offers 250kW of power between 5000 and 6400rpm, and 500 of torque from Just 1370rpm to 4500rpm. That’s enough for it to hit 100 km/h in a claimed 5.7 seconds (SWB), but it consumes 7.8 l/100 km and emits 178g/km of CO2 on the NEDC cycle. The 3.0 TDI produces in the meantime 210kW power and a larger torque 600nm of 1250rpm, and Hits 100 km/h in a claimed 5.9 seconds (SWB). Two other gasoline engines have been announced for the upcoming A8 worldwide, but are not confirmed for Australia: A 4.0-litre Biturbo V8 and a Twin-turbo 6.3-litre W12.
There are more: on models V8 and W12, plus the clunkier 3.0-liter TDI V6, there are active motor supports that wipe the top layer of vibrations in the first place, as well as aid to handling by minimizing the weight transfer in the corners. With 250kW power between 5000 and 6400rpm, the petrol V6 relies heavily on its soft hybrid system to provide 500 torque of only 1370rpm up to 4500. It is strong enough to be fast, pushing seamlessly at 100 km/h in 5.7 seconds (0.2 sec in front of diesel), but managing 7.8 l/100 km on the NEDC cycle (for 178g/km CO2).
The diesel could have only 210kW of power, but it does for it in the real world with 600nm of 1250rpm torque, making it strong and flawless around the city, with the standard eight-speed automatic sliding between gears as a Invisible hand. You only hear a thumping of one or the other engine, even on the hard acceleration, and then it’s the chassis turn to shine.
2018 Audi A8 Australia
The transmission options of Australia for this new fifth generation of A8 have not yet been locked and confirmed, but Shaun Cleary, corporate communications manager for Audi Australia and wrote the two more likely to be offered will be 3.0 liters turbo V6 petrol and 3.0 liter V6 turbo-diesel. These two engine options are said to “[cover] off most of the market”. If it works to be the case, the Australian initial lineup will miss on the V8, plug-in hybrid and W12 engine options, which should be on sale abroad by then. The V6 gasoline of 3.0 litres (55 TFSI) is 250kW of power between 5000 and 6000, and 500 of torque between 1370 and 4500rpm.
Meanwhile, the turbo-diesel V6 (50 TDI) churns 210kW power between 3750 and RPM, and 600nm torque between 1250 and 3250rpm. Both Motors drive the four wheels using an eight-speed automatic transmission and are equipped with a 48v light hybrid installation system incorporating a small lithium-ion battery. The soft-hybrid configuration allows energy recovery, and the internal combustion engine can be stopped at low speed and during cabotage. The real world fuel savings are allegedly as high as 0.7 l/100 km.
2018 Audi A8 Australia Price
Price for the 2018 is yet to be revealed, but should remain competitive with direct rivals like the new BMW 7 Series, coming Lexus LS (due around the same time) and facelifted Mercedes-Benz S-class. Therefore, only anticipate the minimum movement of current model prices, which are listed at $200 800 for the A8 3.0 TDI SWB, $212 900 for the A8 3.0 TDI LWB and $253 510 for the A8 4.2 TDI SWB. The range of the outgoing A8 is the S8 ($282 327) and the S8 Plus ($329 927), both powered by a 4.0 liter V8 TFSI.
