Audi A8: Hits and misses

The all-new Audi A8 is either the most technically advanced car in the world, or it’s yet another Russian-doll from Ingolstadt.

Always behind the Mercedes-Benz S-Class eight-ball, sales of the A8 have never matched the technology it delivered, largely down to lack of cache, interior noise and rear-seat comfort levels and, well, not being an S-Class.

Here’s where the new one goes well, and not so well.

Hit: Autonomy
Quite possibly the most advanced and technically bravest car in the world, breaking new ground in more than just Level 3 self-driving ability, but also a suspension system that will be the unsung hero of the entire car.

But it’s that Level 3 that grabs the headline, taking over all driving duties at up to 60km/h. All driving duties! And, unlike some companies who hype the bejeesus out of their piloted driving systems (Ed: Tesla (in the sound of a cough), it has been fully validated and tested for millions of kilometres behind closed doors before being released to the public.

Its use of LiDar also means that if there is a problem and the driver can’t retake the wheel (or if the driver becomes incapacitated by, for example, a heart attack or falling asleep), it finds its own gaps in the traffic, indicates by itself and then moves over to the road shoulder before stopping with the hazards on.

Miss: But only to 60
This auto functionality is only up to 60km/h, and it’s only on divided roads. There’s a “hit” to this, as that’s what Audi feels confident in and that’s what it’s validated, but it’s a limited strike range for a very useful technology.

It’d be a boon on the Hume, for example, or heading back to Brisbane after a weekend at the Gold or Sunshine coasts, but it cuts off at 60km/h.

To be fair, above that speed it retains its active cruise control, its lane-departure and lane-keeping systems and its autonomous braking, so it effectively reverts back to Level 2.

But in the same week Benz is having a drive event for the S-Class, and the S-Class has time-limited autonomy at up to 180km/h on all categories of paved roads, it seems like Audi’s made its marketing life harder than it needed to.

Hit: Super suspension
The AI button not only does autonomous driving, but it turns the suspension into something special. Running on 48 Volts, it takes the SQ7’s SUV electronically-operated anti-roll bar concept even further, by adding independent hydraulic suspension operation for each wheel.

With all that, and rear-wheel steering, Audi’s boffins think it will steer better than any current Audi (not Audi Sport), having posted better tangible testing numbers than even the S5 for static circle, yaw rate, vertical movement etc.

It will be able to use it’s LiDar and forward-facing cameras to read the road ahead and pre-emptively prep each wheel individually to smooth out any bumps it might meet.

Hit: Perfectly formed
Some of the design details on the body are exquisite, showing touches of extravagance and flashes of brilliance. The most notable of those is the way the tornado line crease (beneath the windows) finishes at the rear and morphs into the fold that runs across the bootlid.

Miss: But only up close
But you have to get pretty close to see that sort of thing, and most people will just see the A8 as not different enough nor advanced enough.

When the A8 was outsold 4:1 by the S-Class globally, it’s hard to understand why Audi would stick so stolidly to a design idea that has proven unsuccessful.

Hit: Screens forever
The interior layout is a bit special, especially in the front seats. The adoption of touchscreens means the dash just looks like a lot of timber, leather and black panel until it’s turned on.

The screens operate far faster than they used to as well, with the only downside being the horizontal full-width air vents push the central multimedia screen down lowering the driver’s eyeline compared to the old car.

Miss: A bit square
The armrest designs look, well, stodgy and a bit 1990s. No curves, nothing organic, just a slab of something to put your arm on, covered in leather and stitched together.

Hit: Light fantastic
You know how Audi does Matrix LED headlights (now with a laser long-range light built in)?

Well, now it does a Matrix LED for the rear seat, too. It’s a reading light, and it’s fully adjustable to leave dark spots, to be brighter, dimmer, directed here or directed there. Genius.