'Vorsprung durch technik', that's what Audi promises you.
There isn't a single car which is able to prove that better, than this new Audi A8.
This is a car in the highest segment after all, a segment where price is subservient to innovation,
technology and luxury. The A8 has fierce competition from the BMW 7-series for example.
Of course, when we're talking about top-class limousines,
it's about the passengers on the rear seat. You can get the 7-series and A8 as long versions,
but we haven't done that today. These are the shorter versions.
You still don't have to feel sorry for the person in the back, because there's room everywhere in this Audi.
Lots of headroom, lots of legroom,
you can really call the seating royal. The cars aren't just long, but they're wide as well.
There's lots of room to move around in. Also, the options you get for the rear seat,
are about as thick as the average magazine.
That said, it's beautiful back here,
and Audi goes very far to achieve that. They offer matrix-reading lights,
which can be actively controlled. You can ask yourself if that's really necessary,
but it's very cool of course. Back here,
there's a whole rear seat entertainment system, with detachable tablets.
There's a small tablet here, which you can detach as well.
You can control all kinds of stuff with it, the lights, airconditioning,
you can all see it on this tablet. Even what the driver is doing.
You can read all kinds of details about the car, but you can check the satnav as well.
It's all incredibly quick, with a very high resolution as well.
It's almost like a small 4K tv.
That's something Audi does pretty well, that high-tech environment.
In the front it's the same story, it's completely Audi and completely modern.
That means it's incredibly high tech, the finishing really is amazing.
You can barely see the cracks, and if you spot them, it's like they've been cut by lasers.
It feels a tad cold though. Also, the controls raise some questions.
It's just like you're in an iPhone, and that's the way you control it as well.
With a touchscreen, or rather two touchscreens.
It works very good for a touchscreen-controlled system, because it feels quick and it's been designed intelligently,
so if you want to put in an address in the satnav, instead of a touchscreen, you can write on the screen.
You can spell letters after each other in a very quick fashion, so you can spell Amsterdam in one fluent manner.
That's very nice if you're standing still, but if you're driving along,
it isn't as nice as you'd want, because it's pretty distracting. You're constantly looking...
what you're doing. There's feedback, so you know what you're doing,
but you can't really see what you're doing, so you'll have to pay attention to that as well.
Previously, Audi had the MMI-system with a central button. That isn't as distracting when you're controlling it while driving.
Considering the tens of thousands of options which are on here, it was ergonomically better,
but this looks a lot more modern.
Especially if you compare it with this BMW 7-serie, because even though it's a beautiful car on the inside,
but it kind of feels like you're going back from a 4K television in the Audi, to a flatscreen from ten years ago.
All of the graphics... I mean they're okay,
but you can clearly see it's from a lesser resolution than the Audi.
The HUD, the iDrive, the digital dials,
they just don't look as nice. The only advantage is the ergonomic side,
because you've got iDrive with a central button, and if you're driving that's very nice.
When you're in a menu and you're on option one, you'll know you'll get to option five if you go four clicks down.
That's easier to operate, and it's combined with a touchscreen.
If you're stationary, you can use the touchscreen, but it's not mandatory.
That prevents the screen getting fingerprints all over it, because a hightech A8 is very fun,
but if your screen is full of fingerprints, it kind of ruins the party.
That's not the case in this BMW. You can still write your destination,
only it's letter per letter, so the system is not as quick.
If you get in the back, you'll notice it isn't as advanced.
The screen in front of you is smaller, it's not a touchscreen,
you've got less options, it's not as fast... It's just a tad less modern.
It's still a lot more advanced than the average car, but it's not as far as the Audi.
And what's a little bit disappointing, is the space back here.
And I don't mean the legroom, because despite it's a little less than the Audi,
but you'll have to be seriously big to get into trouble with the legroom, but it's the headroom that annoys me.
If I sit up, I can feel my hairs touching the ceiling, and I'm 1,80 m, which isn't incredibly tall.
That isn't acceptable from a top class limousine.
When it's driving, Audi has done everything to make this A8...
the pinnacle of 'vorsprung durch technik'. They've bundled that under a whole package,
which falls under the Audi AI-label. So what does that consist of?
Well, there's a very intelligent air suspension system. This system is incredibly adaptive with a lot of spread.
You've got five modes, and if you're stationary and you go from the highest to the lowest mode,
it's like a transformation from a cross country A8, to a sports sedan.
It lowers itself by a few centimetres, pretty far.
So what does the system do? If the camera's detect a speedbump,
the Audi raises itself so there's more spring available. That means the role of the traditional stabilizers are taken over by...
computer controlled air suspension, and that means it can be incredibly soft, or incredibly hard.
So if it encounters a pothole, it can detect which wheel is going to hit it and send more spring to it.
Beautiful technology, there are camera and sensors everywhere,
which means this A8 is going to be the first car in the world, which has reached level 3 autonomy.
That means up to 60 km/h, you can get your hands of the wheel,
it'll do everything by itself, so you won't have to pay attention anymore.
You might've noticed I'm talking about the future, and that's because despite the technology is advanced enough,
but you're not allowed to order it because of legislation.
That's a shame, because the claim of autonomous driving et cetera...
Despite it's very thriving, it's just not here yet.
You can't even order it, because they're not allowed to sell it.
It's not a system which can be disengaged by software. You'll have to do it with the A8 as it stands.
That's not a punishment though, because the air suspension is still on here,
only in a less predictable way.
Still, it's incredibly comfortable. It can be very tight when you want to,
in a typical Audi-fashion. It's almost a little bit fake,
because it's got direct steering, but you can't really feel anything in that.
So at first you think, that's direct, but sir Newton can only be fooled so much.
You'll start to realize it's an Audi with quattro as standard, and despite there's lots of aluminium and a carbon plate for rigidity,
it still weighs almost 2.000 kg, and that's a lot.
In a fast corner or on a flyover, you'll notice it's a lot of mass you're hauling around.
It's incredibly stable, but it doesn't offer inherent dynamics.
And that's not a problem, because it fits this car.
It feels heavy and solid, which gives you that mighty limousine feeling.
It's powered by a 3.0-litre V6 TFSI, which is called 55 TFSI.
You'll still have to get used to the new Audi-numbers, but it means it produces 340 horsepower...
and 500 Nm of torque. It also offers a 48-volt mild hybrid system,
which means the starter motor can do a lot of starts. On the motorway, when you release the throttle,
you'll sometimes see the rev counter drop all the way, which means the engine is off.
You can roll for very long without using fuel, it also means the starter motor can assist the accelerating.
Everything put together... I mean it's a lot of weight but 340 horsepower is a lot of power.
You always get that mighty feeling. It's connected to an 8-speed ZF automatic gearbox.
It's a lovely transmission, which knows what you what from it.
The gear changes are incredibly smooth, so everything put together; this really is a sovereign limousine.
So with what does BMW counter that? First of all, considerably less weight.
That's partly because Audi uses a lot of aluminium, but BMW uses a lot of carbon fibre.
The core of this car, the part we're sitting in right now,
is made from that lightweight material, and that has some advantages.
Also, where Audi gives you quattro as standard, BMW fits their cars with rear-wheel drive as standard.
You can get four wheel drive, but only if you get the long wheelbase version.
Don't ask me why, but it's that way.
Do you miss the four wheel drive? Well, maybe if you're going on a winter holiday more often,
or if you want to go really fast on German motorways, with tricky weather conditions.
In the Netherlands? I've been driving this car for a week now,
and I haven't thought about wanting four wheel drive for a second.
It's all very good actually. If you combine that with the intensive use of carbon fibre,
it's almost 200 kg less than the Audi, and you'll notice that.
You'll notice that in the fuel consumption, but what role does that play in a car which costs more than €100.000.
But it's a fact. You'll mostly notice it in the way this car corners,
both the Audi and BMW have four wheel steering, so at lower speeds,
the rear wheels countersteer, and at high speeds it steers with the front wheels for more stability.
However, this BMW feels more active. Especially when you're at speed,
it's easier to steer. That's because,
you might've heard me saying the legroom wasn't as good as the Audi, but that's because the engine is almost fully behind the front axle.
That means there's less space, but it also means more mass between the axles,
which in turn means the car actually wants to turn. You'll notice that the moment you get in this car.
It isn't sportier or anything, because it's too comfortable for that,
but you'll notice when the mass is leaning to one side in a corner, it feels more solid.
It's a lot more predictable, it actually wants to go.
At the same time, it's very soft, especially for a BMW.
There's adaptive air suspension, which might not be as advanced as Audi's,
but you can at least order it. Also, optionally,
you can get the Executive Drive Pro-package, which give you anti-roll bars which,
depending on the driving style and driving conditions, can become harder or softer.
That means when you put it in Adaptive-mode, it's heaving about on a good way like this,
but it knows, because of the satnav,
it will encounter some bad surfaces. For that, it'll soften up the anti-roll bars.
The moment it knows there'll be a cornery part, especially if you've got the satnav engaged,
the springs, dampers and stabilizers become a little harder. The only thing which is less pleasant,
is the steering. The so-called adaptive steering,
which constantly changes the directness of the steering, the steering angle and the resistance.
That kind of removes the connection, but on the other hand, it's a limousine,
and it's a limousine which is very pleasant to drive.
Then there's the drivetrain. This 740i has a 3.0-litre 6-cylinder as well,
except for the cylinders being in a straight line this time. It produces 326 horsepower and 450 Nm of torque,
so it's a tad less powerful than the Audi, but on the other hand, it's lighter.
Also, despite it's the same ZF-gearbox, BMW has lot more experience with that system,
and you'll notice that in the way the software is tuned.
It's so incredibly smooth. In the Audi, you can press the throttle a little too far,
which makes it change back three times. You won't have that in this BMW.
You can almost instinctively feel how far you can go, and if I go further, it will change down,
and if I go down even further, it will change back another gear.
That's what makes this drivetrain so incredibly smooth, so incredibly refined.
It's incredibly pleasant. The only thing you notice when you start using the performance,
if you get up to speed... It's not exactly noisy on the inside,
but the Audi has better insulation.
So where does that put the A8 relative to this 7-series?
Is it really 'vorsprung durch technik'? I'm inclined to say yes,
because there are things you can see and feel, which make the Audi A8 the newer car.
In the top segment, those are the details which make the difference.
On the other hand, there's so much in store for this A8,
it's almost too bad they've already launched it. Despite the 7-series being a tad older,
but it can still pick a fight with the new A8. Pricing and options then...
It's the same story for both cars. They're both more than €100.000,
and if you start ticking options, you'll easily add €50.000.
This BMW is €165.000 and the Audi is €170.000, as they're standing right here.
And the options are ridiculous. In the Audi-catalogue,
you can select a leather-package, where the ceiling, door mats and almost everything else...
everything leather, and it'll set you back €18.500.
You can spice it up any way you want to, and it's the same with this BMW.
So, 'vorsprung durch technik'? It's absolutely there,
but let's say the A8 has still got a long way to go.