What do we think of the Audi S8?

Does that seem like good value anyway? The S type is such an old design, 10k seems like a lot of money!
 
Had an S-Type R. Great car though it was I don't fancy another.
V10 M5 / M6, nah. Not my style. Needs a proper auto box rather than an SMG.

Phaeton W12s are really rare these days. Quite fancy one though.
 
I test drove both the S8 & S6 a few years ago before getting the older generation RS6 instead.

The engine in the S8 is lovely but it really needs rev'd a surprising amount to really get a feeling of Speed out of it which is surprising given the 5L size of it. The body is huge and feels it too with significant body roll for an S-series car but at over 2 tonnes thats probably not a surprise, however it's extremely comfortable on the M-way and over long distances which is whats it's designed for really, not B-road blasts.

I think the S6 is the "better" car of the two as it's less wobbly in the tight stuff & easier around town but again it's subjective and it has the same engine feel as the S8 so not a massive difference.

Build quality can be hit/miss too. The interior of the S8 I drove wasn't well put together (amazing considering the premium mark!) but thats just 1 car so hopefully they're not all like that (trim loose, creaky, wind noise etc).
 
[TW]Fox;29415667 said:
I drove a 730d once and it was great. I can't imagine that a 4.4 litre V8 Turbo in the same car is a 'depressing bag of ****'. It might be useful if you expanded on your view.
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I just slipped into depression when sat inside. Probably a personal thing but I find the S-Class far superior inside.

Out of all of them the XJ is the one to have but you will need to deal with the Jaguar quirks however a HA FOX warranty sees you out of this cheaply.
 
pepsilol said:
I just slipped into depression when sat inside. Probably a personal thing but I find the S-Class far superior inside.

Out of all of them the XJ is the one to have but you will need to deal with the Jaguar quirks however a HA FOX warranty sees you out of this cheaply.
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Personally my preference would be W222, then F01, then X351 XJ. I really wasn't that impressed with the X351 - feels cramped for that class of car and the infotainment system is terrible.

Still a lovely car in its own right, but it doesn't stack up to the competition IMO.
 
Hehe, not going to even think about a Mazza at this money. I can see it being a one-way ticket to financial ruin.
 
I have a D3 A8L and you know what after a month the length seems perfectly normal and you think why aren't all saloon cars this sensible size. It's only 13cm longer which is about the diameter of a CD or ~2.6% of the car's length.
 
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The Mad Rapper said:
Have you driven both of them?
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I can't talk for Fox but I have driven both and own one:

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Fox is right, the A8 is a better car. Everyone thinks they are the same car but they couldn't be further from it, the only thing they remotely share is the engine and even that differs slightly. The Phaeton is less powerful, much heavier and due to that slower. The A8 is all Aluminium Space Frame and Pannels, the Phaeton is all Steel and because of that weighs 1000 lb more than the A8, the Phaeton W12 has a wet sump and 30hp less compared the the A8 W12's dry sump setup, the Phaeton is also a whole second slower to 60 and feels so much heavier for it. Inside the Phaeton is just not as well equipped or finished as the A8, now the D3 A8's interior isn't exactly modern by todays standards but it's really well thought out and a nice place to be, the Phaeton however looks even older and the one thing I really hate about it is the Entertainment/Nav screen slapped in the middle of the centre console at knee height! If I need to check say the Nav map which most people with Nav very often do when they are using it I don't want to have to take my eyes off of the road completely and look down to do it! Any info screen like that needs to be roughly head height so you don't have to look down and completely away from the windscreen to see it. Audi got it right with the screen raising up out of the dash to the same height as the instrument cluster.

Anyway, my point is get the A8.

It will be hard to find a short wheel base A8 W12, they only made them for a year as hardly anyone bought one. If you are going to stump up for an A8 W12 you might as well get the LWB with the extra foot of rear leg room, foot rests, rear entertainment (DVD changer and screens in back of front headrests). The W12 is really for wafting along (albeit pretty fast) in comfort and style, if you want anything remotely sporty (if you can really call it that) you get an S8, yes 2 cylinders less but same power, short wheelbase and louder!

As for getting used to the length of the LWB, I really didn't and don't find it a problem, you fit in most normal parking spaces, you can overhang slightly but it's never been an issue, some tight car parks you may have to three point it into and out of spaces where a normal car wouldn't but again not an issue, takes an extra 5 to 10 seconds out of your day!
 
Thanks for that RenoRanes007. Back in 2005 when I bought my first D3 A8 I did drive the Phaeton and A8 back to back and your post has reminded me of why I bought the A8 back then. The 4.2 A8 was as fast as the W12 Phaeton in a straight line due to the weight difference and just handled better. And I remember now how bloody awful the infotainment system is in the Phaeton.

Thanks man, I'll maybe stick with the A8 idea. TBH, I might just save some cash and get a 4.2 FSI again, assuming I can find a nice one.
 
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