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A8 6.0 W12 33,000 mile review


Chris_B
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Well, I'll admit it right now; I'm not quite at 33,000 miles, but I will be by tomorrow, so it's near enough.

The executive summary: I love this car! It's large, fast, refined, smooth, luxurious, exorbitant and full of more toys than a collision between Hamleys and Toy 'R' Us.

The full monty: Having lived nearly 33,000 miles with the W12 since late October 2004, I'd say I'm pretty familiar with this car, but this is certainly a case where familiarity doesn't breed contempt.

The A8 just loves to cruise: I recently went to South Wales for a family wedding, and the A8 took the full wedding luggage (best gear for the wedding, evening wear, day after wear and the inevitable pile of ladies shoes) for three people, plus my camera and camcorder gear (not insubstantial amounts) and had plenty of room left in the boot, which was a good job as we had another two plus luggage to return with. Filled to brimming with Shell's finest, the hotel of our destination was quickly found in the navigation's database, and off we went. Even loaded with people and luggage, the W12 was returning a healthy (for a big engine, anyway) 22mpg average on the motorway cruising at about 80 mph. The 5.5 hour (with two stops) journey seemed to be over in a lot less than 5.5 hours, and I arrived without feeling travel-fatigued, although I don't know if my passengers hadn't got a bit bored during the journey - who says Audi's don't have driver involvement! grin.gif

But distance-destroying motorway cruising isn't all the W12 is good for. My daily 40-odd mile, rural A-road commute is still a joy most days, for the sheer grunt available from almost any speed means that any straight becomes an overtaking opportunity, and once out in front, upcoming bends are an open invitation to put in a little dab of throttle on the way in, 'zip' the steering smartly to point the big, blunt nose towards the apex and marvel at the way 2 tonnes and 15 feet of car hunkers down flat against the road and sticks to the tarmac with the tenacity of an octopus covered in superglue, before pushing a bit more throttle out of the apex while unwinding the steering and feeling the 12-cylinder lump provide another shove in the back as it winds up and propels the car towards the horizon with ever more urge.

Given the mountain of torque available mid-range, gearchanges out of 6th are reserved for the very tightest of bends, and then the 6 litres of displacement up front coupled to a smart gearbox mean compression braking plus the huge front discs (18" wheels are the smallest it's possible to have as the brakes won't fit under anything less) pulls the speed down smartly with a firm press on the brake pedal and a few flicks of the left hand on the gear paddles. Dropping from 6th to 3rd will usually cover even sharp right-angle corners, and opening up in 3rd produces a very smooth linear pull of power all the way from 2000 to 6000 rpm. Truly glorious!

But it still hasn't finished there. Get into town again, and a quick flick and click of the MMI dial has the suspension in Comfort mode, a tug on the gear lever puts it back into D, and the big '8 will potter about town, almost silently gliding the streets at 30 mph, only producing a faint short growl when prodded away quickly from the lights when some jumped up Chavster in a small car with a big exhaust and bigger speakers thinks he'll outrun the barge on his left from the right turn lane and pull out in front of it to go straight on.

The MMI system has proven to be an absolute gem; the most effective, intuitive and capable human interface I've seen for a long time anywhere, let alone the automotive world, and then voice command adds eyes-off as well as hands-off operation; it's entirely possible to enter a navigation destination or dial a phone number without even having to take your eyes off the road, or your hands off the wheel.

Last night while waiting for my wife, I was playing with the interior lighting options, marvelling at the forethought that goes into the little things that aren't documented in the manual like pressing the front light switch 'on' once lights up the front, pressing it again lights up the back, and likewise for 'off', the ability to control the rear AC and seat heating from MMI, and being able to retract the rear blinds from the driver's window controls - all great for getting the car back into shape after performing limo duties to inquisitive and explorative passengers.

And I love the looks, inside and out. Some might think Audi styling a little too bland, and might consider a black car with black/black interior a little sombre, but I love the restrained, discreet elegance and 'technical' feel it gives the car. I still have to look back at it several times while walking away from it after parking it, because I still can't quite believe what an incredible and beautiful piece of machinery I've just stepped out of.

I love this car!

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