The right rear wheel struck a curb. The impact ripped the tire. But the 2000 Audi A8 L Quattro sedan remained stable. I was impressed.
I was equally impressed by Audi Roadside Assistance, a 24-hour emergency service operated in conjunction with AAA. The Audi representative said help would arrive within 90 minutes. The auto club showed up 40 minutes later.
This was in downtown Washington on a Wednesday afternoon. Traffic was heavy. I thought I’d be there forever.
But Audi has a way of surprising. The new A8 is a case in point. It’s the best luxury sedan I’ve driven.
This is hard to write for a man who loves Cadillacs. But drive an A8 and you’ll understand.
Cadillac’s leaders, the DeVille DTS and DHS, are superb luxmobiles in the grand American style. They are big, comfortable, well-made, powerful and attractive in the mainstream.
But they are not the Audi A8 — very tight, very powerful, precise. (The curb was my fault.)
Also, there’s this: The A8 bespeaks “old money,” though the cash for its purchase or lease might’ve come from a failing dot-com company. Cadillac evokes images of Miami sans Elian, a demographically aging community of pensioners and one-hit fiscal wonders.
That is not a politically correct assessment, but in the conversation of the marketplace, it is gospel truth.
Differences in approaches to technology help to explain those differences in market perception.
Cadillac invests heavily in engines and in-vehicle communications systems, such as the OnStar concierge, emergency and navigation package. OnStar employs a combination of satellite and cellular technology to provide informational services.
Dollars spent on new Cadillac engines yielded another “star,” the much-heralded 275-horsepower, 32-valve Northstar V-8 and its related transmission and suspension components.
Audi invests heavily in the same areas but goes substantially farther. Its new A8 engine is a 310-horsepower, 40-valve 4.2-liter aluminum-alloy V-8 linked to an electronically controlled five-speed Tiptronic (automatic-manual hybrid) transmission. The A8 Quattro, as its name implies, also comes with Quattro all-wheel drive, a feature that gives it an edge over the Cadillacs in super-messy weather. All that running gear is installed in a very rigid all-aluminum car body that weighs 4,156 pounds.
Though the Cadillac DeVille DHS weighs less at 4,049 lbs, the combination of a more powerful engine and an aluminum body gives the A8 a lightness of being — the feeling of being in flight — that is missing from the DeVille DHS and DTS.
Audi does not have OnStar. But it offers a standard satellite navigation system in the A8, and it out-plushes Cadillac in interior layout and appointments. Cadillac, for example, presents a very pleasant, usable dashboard and instrument panel. But the design is for Everyone. Audi, by comparison , gives you a completely driver-oriented instrument panel and center console.
Passengers are treated nicely in the A8. They are surrounded by genuine wood trim (polished burled walnut or sycamore, buyer’s choice), suede door panels, Valcona leather seats, individual heating vents front and rear, power-operated everything (including standard sunroof), and a host of other amenities. But, despite those kindnesses, there is no mistaking the A8 for anything other than a driver’s car.
In the final analysis, that is why the A8 beats Cadillac’s top runners in buyer perception. Cadillac still sees luxury cars as family-mobiles, vehicles designed to accommodate and impress others. Audi correctly sees luxury cars as me-mobiles, vehicles that appeal first and foremost to the buyer-operator. Like it or not, in that big-bucks bracket, “me” sells better than “we.”
Nuts & Bolts
2000 Audi A8 L Quattro Concern: The all-aluminum Audi S pace Fram e (ASF) body is difficult to repair — so difficult, in fact, there are only four shops nationwide (in Los Angeles, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale and Greenwich, Conn.) set up to fix major structural damage. Audi offers loaner cars and generous shipping subsidies to A8 owners whose smushed vehicles are admitted for surgery. “Minor,” or cosmetic, damage to the A8 body is handled by 24 Audi shops nationwide. Contact your dealer for more information. And, ahem, bring your wallet or insurer.
Praise: Enough said.
Ride, acceleration and handling: Exceptional in all three categories.
Brakes: Four-wheel ventilated discs with standard anti-locks. Excellent anti-skid control.
Capacities: Five people sit comfortably in the A8 L (long wheelbase) but not as comfortably in the regular A8, which is five inches shorter. The fuel tank holds 23 gallons of gasoline (91-octane premium unleaded is recommended). Cargo capacity is 17.6 cubic feet.
Mileage: About 23 miles per gallon, combined city-highway.
Price: Base price on the Audi A8 L Quattro is $67,900. Dealer invoice is $59,997. Price as tested is $68,450. Price does not include local taxes and fees and federal taxes on luxury cars.
Purse-strings note: Compare with any premium luxury car.
