First Look: 2012 Audi A8 TDI – Review and Report – The Diesel Driver – The Joy of Diesel Driving
INTERIOR AND INFOTAINMENT
The interior was smart and elegant. Leather was practically everywhere. Ambient LED lighting and wood inlays completed the look. A great deal of attention to the smallest details was evident and ample storage space was available.
The titanium grey cloth and leather seats had Alcantara seating surfaces surrounded by grey leather. A week of sitting in these seats made me only want to figure out a way of getting the A8 into my checked baggage so I could take it home.
One of the features I grew to like quite a bit is the new interface, which uses a touch pad for tracing letters with your fingers. This allows the driver to bypass the inefficient rotary entry method (and the sometimes pot luck voice entry method) and quickly input letters on the touchpad. You can keep your eyes on the road as the system provides verbal confirmation with each entry.
Audi also changed the main menus in the system–for navigation, phone, and audio–to an ellipse style. These aesthetically pleasing menus are very easy to read at a glance, and present a substantial amount of information.
The 3-D maps, rendered by an Nvidia graphics processor, are worth writing home about. The way buildings in a city center are presented makes it very easy to recognize landmarks and get a sense of where you are and where you need to be.
The navi itself worked quite well and provided flawless directions.
BOTTOM LINE
The Audi A8 TDI’s V-6, with its 406 pound-feet of torque, provides plenty of power and the eight-speed transmission helps it deliver excellent Autobahn and highway fuel economy. The combination of active suspension, all-wheel drive, and dynamic steering endow the A-8 with superb road manners and translate into excellent handling. The navigation system is easy to use and provides some of the best 3-D maps we’ve seen. Finally, the audio system sounds good and can accept everything from streaming audio to iPods.
The Audi, when not chauffeuring the Bundeskanzler or visiting dignitary, is a superb Autobahn cruiser and cocoons its occupants with the greatest of comfort. For a car that’s longer than 5.1 meters, it is surprisingly nimble and the only time you start to remember its length is when looking for a parking spot, something the Bundeskanzler’s driver probably doesn’t have to worry about.
Next: The Drive to Bregenz in the Audi A8 TDI
| 2012 Audi A8 TDI | |
| Base price/price-as-tested | €73,600/€95,590 |
| Drivetrain | Front engine, all-wheel drive |
| Engine | 3.0-liter turbocharged V-6 |
| HP/Torque | 250/405 |
| Transmission | 8-speed automatic |
| Curb weight (lbs) | 4,221 |
| Wheelbase (inches) | 117.8 |
| Length x width x height (inches) | 202.2 x 64.7 x 64.4 |
| 0-60 mph (seconds) | 6.1 |
| City/Highway fuel economy (mpg) | 29/42 |
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