Mercedes-Benz S430 4Matic

It was enlightening to fall into this car directly after spending a couple of hours in the Audi and the BMW. It was a physical and mental relief. The oldest car in our group of four, the Mercedes S-class is comforting and familiar. The seats are instantly and easily adjustable. The controls are all where you expect them to be and work in ways that are familiar to anyone who has ever driven a modern car. The only caveat is the totally counterintuitive navigation system, and for that you could call some friend with a Cadillac and ask him to help you out.

Although it's been around the longest and was down on power compared with the others, the S-class acquitted itself very well against the new kids on the real-world roads of Kentucky and Tennessee and never seemed to be suffering any dramatic power deficit. It delivers every erg of performance available without apparent strain, and it sounds great in the process. Nonetheless, we would order this car with the optional 5.0-liter V-8. Like the Jaguar J-gate, the Mercedes manual-shift arrangement is simple, straightforward, and much nicer to use than the high-tech alternatives offered by either Audi or BMW. Just grab the shifter and twitch it right or left for up or down, and the change is smooth and instantaneous. This wonderful five-speed gearbox is going to be replaced by a new seven-speed this year, but we feel no urgent need for that upgrade, based on this driving experience. The fact that our test car was equipped with 4Matic all-wheel drive was a very nice bonus. Let us pray, however, that Mercedes-Benz will resist any notion of following BMW into the iDrive jungle.

In conclusion, this comparison test proves that performance numbers and detailed specifications do not define cars-particularly cars like these.

In this case, the Audi made the best demonstration of ultra-high tech at work; the BMW demonstrated that ultra-high tech improperly managed is actually a detriment to a great road car with great performance; the Mercedes-Benz demonstrated that there's no substitute for sound engineering and inspired development work and never mind the ultra-high tech; and the Jaguar demonstrated that reduced weight and increased power output in a structure developed with enthusiasts in mind can result in a sedan that is much like your favorite sports car. Net-net, the Audi A8L Quattro got the most favorable nods, but the Jaguar was the most fun, and the Mercedes would probably be the most pleasant ownership experience.

Jaguar XJ8

Our Jaguar turned out to be a base XJ8, which is just fine. The base car is a nimble and agile athlete, while the Vanden Plas, with more content and more heft, is more of a luxurious chaise in which those who have arrived can arrive. There were complaints about our XJ test car: The interior design wasn't "special" enough. The styling was dated. It failed to advertise all the things about the Jag that were breakthrough new. How, one wonders, are they supposed to design a car that says, "Look here, Bub, my structure is aluminum through and through!" Audi hasn't managed it with the A8, and BMW was unable to do so with the new Rolls-Royce Phantom. Perhaps aluminum architecture is meant to be enjoyed, not seen. Three of our four test drivers felt that the new XJ looked too much like the old XJ. I alone disagreed. I thought that the new XJ-with more head, hip, and luggage room-was beginning to look a bit like the Buick LeSabre. Recent Jaguar sedans have been low, sleek, and narrow. The decision to make the new car more commodious comes at a price, and that price is a loss of exclusivity.

Nonetheless, it is very much a Jaguar, and therein lies an explanation for the complaints we hear from some corners of the automotive press. The XJ8 does not feel like an Audi, a BMW, or a Mercedes-Benz. It is very proudly not a German car. It is an English car, and England has a greater grasp of the sports car tradition than any country on the planet. England has the kinky, narrow little country roads where the whole idea of the sports car was first realized. There have been fat, lazy, butter-and-egg sedans among the Jaguars of the last fifty years, but there have been plenty of dancers and athletes, too. This new XJ8 falls into the latter category. It is a very graceful dancer and a very powerful athlete, and that description does not conjure up very many German cars.

The main thing one takes away from this comparison is the Jag's feeling of lightness and quickness. The new aluminum unibody really has made a difference in that regard. At times, by comparison, the weight of the other three cars seemed ponderous. The 4.2-liter XJ V-8 engine is without doubt the best thing to have happened to Jaguar since the Ford takeover. It offers exactly the right kind of power for this relatively light sedan, and the sound it makes is pure performance car, smooth yet ribald enough to let you know it's sharing your good time. The traditional Jaguar J-gate manual-shift arrangement really proved its worth in these mountains-better by far than either Audi's or BMW's, it was completely intuitive. If it had been introduced this year instead of fifteen years ago, the automotive press would have done a collective swoon.

BMW 745Li

The BMW 7-series is a highly controversial car. The automotive press has complained bitterly about its styling, especially the awkward and bulky backpack that it carries just above its rump. More controversial still, however, is the multitasking iDrive. The iDrive system consists of two components-an armrest-mounted knob and an IP-mounted display screen-that preside over the 7-series' auxiliary systems. Pushing or turning the knob provides access to eight submenus displayed on the screen, including those for GPS navigation, telephone, climate control, and vehicle service. It is a well-intended attempt to bring one-control logic to a variety of functions. But the 7-series still has as many as or more small controls than the other three cars in this test drive. There are four control stalks protruding from the steering column plus an array of buttons on the steering-wheel spokes.

Some controls, such as the one for seat adjustment, are counterintuitive, and a simple series of actions-such as sliding the seat back an inch, reclining the backrest slightly, and lowering the seat as far as it will go-can take five minutes and still not be accomplished to the occupant's satisfaction. We have reports of owners-including some BMW dealers-giving up their iDrive-equipped 7-series cars in frustration and anger after only a few weeks. One member of our test team questioned a woman who delivers her daughter to school every day in either a 7-series or a Porsche 911 Turbo. Her description of the 7-series? "A car that you don't feel connected with. My husband and I hate it." She went on to say that they cannot work the iDrive or adjust the seats. They sold their former 7-series to friends and get to drive it from time to time. They regret its loss.

The BMW 745Li should be the numero uno in this test, but its excellent performance at the test track and its even more impressive performance on challenging country roads are badly offset by iDrive. The iDrive system represents a layer of complexity that actually detracts from what ought to be a breathtaking driving experience. BMW bills itself as "the ultimate driving machine," and our test car would have been all that and more without the iDrive.

Luxury sedans

2004-2005 Audi A8, 2002-2006 BMW 745Li, 2004-2005 Jaguar XJ8, and 2001-2006 Mercedes-Benz S430 4Matic

These four test vehicles are pretty fair representatives of a mixed breed called "luxury performance sedans." About all they have in common is that classification, their level of performance, and their prices, which are all in the same ballpark. Two of them-the Audi A8L 4.2 Quattro and the Mercedes-Benz S430 4Matic-have all-wheel drive. Two of them-the Audi A8L and the Jaguar XJ8-have body structures consisting largely of aluminum. One of them-the BMW 745Li-boasts a mind-boggling number of controls and menu options. These cars are as different from one another as they are different from the Lexus LS430 and the Cadillac DeVille DTS, which were not included in our deliberations.

There isn't much evidence that America is weeping and rending its garments for want of luxury performance sedans. One could argue that most Americans would opt for a Lexus if they could afford one, or for the Lincoln Town Car, which defines luxury for Mercury owners and promgoers. Nonetheless, BMW, with its very comprehensive portfolio of luxury performance sedans, has nudged all of the other luxury-car manufacturers emphatically in that direction. Even Rolls-Royce now offers the Phantom, a sedan that can crank off 0-to-60-mph times in the neighborhood of five seconds.

These are intensely lovable cars, particularly for the enthusiast. They are fast and sure-footed, and any drivers worth their salt would check all the "Very Good" or "Excellent" boxes on their road reports after driving them through the mountains of Tennessee, as we did. Whether they really answer a crying need among all those people who have worked their way up to the luxury-car class and just want a nicer, quieter ride to work remains to be seen. But this single, central fact remains: Each of these four cars is superb in its own way. They have idiosyncrasies of technology, style, and national origin, but they are no-kidding-folks grown-up automobiles, and they came to play.

Audi A8L Quattro

Referring to the Audi A8L, one member of our test team said, "If we look at the history of Audi's attempts to take on the Mercedes S-class and the BMW 7-series, it's clear that the third time is the charm." This Audi A8 is head and shoulders above the previous attempts. If the car has a flaw, it would be the way in which it distances itself from its driver. There is no feeling of involvement, no sense of becoming one with the machine. It is terrifically fast, behaves flawlessly on mountain roads, and exudes competence from every pore of its beautifully crafted leather interior, but it doesn't really seem to care much whether you love it or not. It's there to do its job. It seems to say, "I'm very sophisticated and totally up-to-date, and you're not."

In terms of pure over-the-road behavior, the BMW 7-series has a slight but significant edge, mainly as a result of the BMW's superior steering and rear-wheel-drive configuration, but the Audi's adaptive suspension provides an ideal blend of compliance and firmness. When we finally got behind the wheel on a twisty road, the A8L handled the ever-changing curves better than its smaller and supposedly sportier sibling, the RS6, which tends toward too much understeer. In fact, Audi's most luxurious car, the A8L, is now the marque's second-sportiest car, just behind the RS6. The A8's V-8 engine produces 330 horsepower and makes no attempt to cloak that power with refinement. The six-speed automatic transmission is brilliant, although its manu-matic shift gate is fussy and complex in operation and, truth to tell, not as nice in use as the full-automatic mode, which matches revs on downshifts, shifting for an instant to neutral, blipping the throttle, then selecting the lower gear just as a sequential-manual gearbox does. It is all perfectly seamless. The engine's power delivery is such that you could probably deal with most winding roads by leaving it in third, but the very sensitive shift-mapping in full automatic makes even that unnecessary.

The Audi was ranked number one by 50 percent of our four-man test team.

Audi A8 2008 Video

Related comments:


Unless you are very observant the changes are barely noticeable. Maybe they should of fitted LED sidelights like the A5 perhaps???


Na the Audi A8 dont got good sales in Denmark..Mercedes S-Class is dominating the market on that kind of cars..


It looks diff from the 07..The front end rear end and side skirts all have been changed and it looks very nice. Now just need 500bhp and that will be perfect :)


Just some subliminal changes in the front, LED rear lights, new mirrors and a new design of rims


Whats the difference? We have the 2007 model and it looks like the same ;).

Audi A8 2008 Press Release

At the seventh annual 'Interior of the Year' awards, conducted by Ward's AutoWorld magazine in America, the Bang & Olufsen Advanced Sound System specially designed for the Audi A8 scooped the top audio prize. A jury of 69 automotive journalists voted it 'best sound system.

The winners of the annual 'Interior of the Year' awards -- which also included categories for best overall interiors, best navigation systems and best interior innovations -- were selected from a field of 53 finalists picked by the editors of Ward's Auto World's various magazines and newsletters. To be eligible, a vehicle had to be new or redesigned for the 2006 model year car, or a 2007 model available for sale in calendar year 2006. Selection was based on overall styling, functionality, quality, fit and finish, convenience, and special features.

The Audi A8's sound system is specially designed by Bang & Olufsen and is tailor made to the exact acoustic requirements of the A8's interior -- its size, shape and materials. It is the first in-car sound system from the renowned Danish hi-fi experts. Its acoustic brilliance is achieved partly by the use of innovative new Acoustic Lens Technology that ensures an even horizontal dispersion of higher frequencies into the car interior, and partly by using Bang & Olufsen's patented digital amplifier technology, ICEpower, that supplies the 14 speakers -- each with its own dedicated amplifier -- with more than 1,000 watts of power.

The award was presented in Detroit at the opening of the Auto Interiors Show. Now in its 13th year, the Auto Interiors Show is presented by Ward's Automotive Group and is recognised as the automotive industry's leading trade show and conference for vehicle interiors.

Audi A8 2008 review

The Audi A8 has been one of our favorite premium luxury sedans of the past few years. With its polished demeanor, spacious and luxurious cabin, and capable road manners, Audi's flagship sedan leaves little to be desired. In fact, it's even been a winner three years in a row, from 2004-'06, of the Edmunds.com Editors' Most WantedSM Awards category for "Sedan over $45,000."

On the outside, the 2007 Audi A8 exudes class. Neatly tailored styling lines are complemented by handsome wheels that fill out the wells, giving the A8 the presence of an athlete in a custom-made suit. Inside, Audi has worked its usual magic. Even when pitted against ultra-luxury cars costing twice as much, the A8's interior impresses with its fine materials, attractive design flair and thoughtful features.

In addition to its all-aluminum construction and standard "quattro" all-wheel-drive system, the A8 boasts other high-tech features, such as an adaptive air suspension that provides a plush freeway ride but automatically stiffens up when the car is being pressed on a twisty road. The driver can select one of four settings for the adaptive system: Dynamic (lowest ride height and firmest damping), Automatic, Comfort and Lift (which raises the car up for travel on rough roads). For power, a quietly powerful V8, which has been upgraded for 2007, or a 450-horsepower W12 engine ensure performance in keeping with the A8's autobahn breeding.

For all of its mechanical and design brilliance, the Audi A8 typically trails its main German rivals, the BMW 7 Series and the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, by a considerable margin in annual sales. Brand awareness, marketing or perceived levels of prestige might all be to blame, but not the car. Though there's new and very impressive competition this year, including fully redesigned entries from Lexus and Mercedes-Benz, we strongly encourage any shopper in the premium luxury sedan segment to check out the underappreciated Audi A8.

There are three versions of the 2007 Audi A8: A8 (V8-powered and a standard wheelbase), A8 L (the V8 with an extended wheelbase for increased rear-seat legroom) and A8 W12 (W12-powered with the long-wheelbase body). Even on the standard A8, virtually every high-end luxury feature is standard, including a navigation system, 16-way power front seats, HID headlights and a 12-speaker Bose audio system (with a glovebox-mounted CD changer). The W12 adds keyless startup, power door closers, parking sensors, four-zone climate control, ventilated/massaging front seats, seat heaters and four-way lumbar adjustment (for all passengers), an Alcantara headliner and a wood steering wheel. Most of the W12's features are optional on other A8s. Other options include a 1,000-watt Bang & Olufsen audio system, adaptive cruise control, a personal refrigerator, a sunroof and a Sport package for V8 models that includes a sport-tuned suspension, 20-inch wheels and steering wheel shift paddles.

The 2007 Audi A8 comes standard with a large array of safety features, including antilock brakes with electronic brakeforce distribution; stability control; a tire-pressure monitor; full-length side curtain airbags that protect occupants' heads; front and rear seat-mounted side airbags that protect occupants' torsos; and active front headrests.

Whether you're driving or riding in the back, there's not a bad seat in the Audi A8 house, especially if you're in the L version, with its 42 inches of rear legroom. Everything you see and touch in the A8 bespeaks the highest quality. Generous amounts of real wood, suede trim and aluminum accents are arranged attractively. With 16-way power adjustment (including upper seatback angle for the shoulders) and a power tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel, finding a comfortable driving position is easy for short and tall folk alike.

The dash is uncluttered by buttons thanks to Audi's Multi Media Interface (MMI), which handles everything from the navigation and audio systems to the adjustment of the driver-selectable air suspension. Mounted in the console and operated via a simple twist-and-press knob and four large surrounding buttons, Audi's MMI may draw comparisons to BMW's iDrive system. But unlike iDrive, MMI is simple and intuitive to operate.

Throttle response is gratifying with either engine. Whether taking off from a stoplight or jetting up to cruising speed on the freeway, a solid rush of power is always on tap. Powerfully reassuring brakes that are easily modulated have no problem reining in the A8. The air suspension is well sorted; left in automatic mode the system works just fine, providing a soft but not mushy ride and solid composure through the twisty bits. And when used in the "Dynamic" setting, body lean is kept to an absolute minimum, making the Audi A8 feel more like a compact sport sedan rather than a large flagship luxury car.