CityMotoring Fox finds flaws


From what I had seen and heard the Audi A8 had everything going for it. Top Gear described the A8 as “one of Audi’s most underrated and yet brilliant cars”.


Ronnie Fox, Past Master,


Motoring Correspondent


I had been driven in A8s used as courtesy cars at a Salon Privé held at the Hurlingham Club and had been impressed by the high quality of the interior. The car looked imposing and felt solid. Technically the top of the range Audi exemplified Vorsprung durch Technik. Exceptional comfort promised by the large body, comfortable seats and fine leather is allied to the fuel efficiency associated with stop-start technology (which automatically switches off the engine when the car comes to a standstill and restarts the engine as soon as pressure is applied to the accelerator), a lightweight body and regenerative braking.


There was something else which really appealed to me. Snow and ice significantly affect roads in London for only a few days each year. The short period of inconvenience makes it hard for those who live and drive in London to justify the expense of special cold weather tyres. Huge 4 x 4 Chelsea tractors are a possible solution: I consider them a particularly selfish form of transport in London; it is noticeable that sometimes, the bigger the SUV, the more serious the driver’s inferiority complex. So I was particularly attracted by the quattro permanent all-wheel drive system fitted to the Audi A8. I was hoping for improved road-holding in every kind of weather as compared with any conventional 2 wheel drive luxury saloon.


At the start of my week-end long test drive my initial reactions were entirely favourable. Inside and out, the finish was perfect. The A8 has a spacious boot. That is important to me. The large Lexus is in many ways comparable to an A8. However, the batteries for the


16 • Issue 77


hybrid technology in the Lexus absorb the two-thirds of the available boot space. The lack of a comparable Lexus model with a conventional engine on offer rules out that brand for some prospective purchasers.


The main disadvantages of the A8 became apparent when I started driving the car in heavy traffic in and around Cornhill. I found it impossible to drive smoothly. When stopping for red traffic lights, the electro-mechanical handbrake came on automatically a few nano-seconds before the car came to a complete halt; that was enough to cause a perceptible jolt. The fact that the engine cuts out when the car is stationary probably saves a significant amount of fuel. However, my passengers and I were disconcerted by the sound and vibration of the engine starting up as the lights turned to green. I was driving a diesel version of the A8; the effect might be less noticeable in a petrol-engined car.


Instrumentation was elaborate to the point of being confusing. I love gadgets but found the minor controls in the Audi confusing and counter-intuitive.


Cornering was less precise and less fluid than I expected. The A8 is fitted as standard with speed-sensitive power- assisted steering which did not help me position the car accurately whilst cornering, even at comparatively low speeds; the result was a need to over-correct. My passengers complained.


It did occur to me that perhaps the precise specification of the test car was atypical and that this should not be allowed to affect my judgment. So I settled down with the brochure to study the precise specification of the test car and the long list of optional extras.


I take the view that the right approach is to allow the buyer of a small or intermediate car considerable flexibility when specifying a purchase.


(Cont. on page 15)


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