Traditionally speaking, when it comes to big luxurious limousines like this new Audi A8...
it's always about engine refinement, about quietness, comfort and space.
And this new Audi A8 masters all of those qualities.
Just look at the room I have here. And this isn't even the long-wheelbase version,
this is the normal Audi A8. The seat in front of me isn't all the way forward either,
it's set for quite a big Dutchman.
But still, there's room everywhere.
In the meantime, you're surrounded by leather, wood and aluminium.
In short: everything you'd expect from it.
However, this isn't a traditional luxury limousine.
It's more of a hightech solitary confinement on wheels.
You're listening to a Bang & Olufsen-system with a million speakers, and in the centre console you're phone is being charged wirelessly.
And in the middle, you've got a big smartphone here.
Or a small tablet, whatever floats your boat.
And with that, you can control all kinds of stuff.
And because this is an Audi, you can control the lighting as well.
So you've got controls in and around the car which you can set. The intensity, the color, and even the reading light above me.
It's quite special, because it's a matrix LED-unit.
That means that when you turn it on, you can choose where the light has to focus on the seat.
Accordingly, it adjusts itself with the matrix-LED's in the ceiling.
Then there's the technology which you don't see, but feel.
For example, this car always has air suspension and adaptive dampers.
And that makes it extremely comfortable.
Right now we're doing 50 km/h, and I don't hear anything, I don't feel anything,
and if we were doing 150 km/h, nothing really changes.
So it's incredibly comfortable, but that's not what distinguishes it from the 7-series or the S-Class.
What does distinguish it, is that it's qualified for Level 3 autonomous driving.
What does that mean? In theory,
if it's on a road with split lanes, it's able to do 60 km/h all by itself.
It autonomously keeps track of the traffic surrounding him, via 40 safety features like camera's, LIDAR, parking sensors...
It knows what's happening around him. So instead of the current range of cars which drive by themselves,
but still require you to pay attention, you can let this car do its thing.
You only have to be ready to engage, if the system thinks you need to.
Other than that? Up to 60 km/h, get your hands off the wheel and read a newspaper,
or start fiddling around with the MMI-system.
There's a downside though. You can't use it yet.
Even though Audi already has the technology, it isn't permitted by law.
That's why you'll have to wait until 2018, when the new regulations will be in effect.
Also, you can't already order it now so it can be activated next year.
If you want that system, you'll have to wait until next year before ordering your Audi A8.
The same goes for some other functions which are under Audi's AI program.
One of them, GaragePilot, which parks the car for you via an app.
With an angle or parallel, it doesn't matter.
You can do it all from the outside. You don't have to be in the car, you don't have to be near it with a remote control either.
But that's also something for next year.
Another Audi AI-system, is Active Suspension.
That scans the road surface in front of the car with a camera and lasers, and alters the air suspension with four independent electric motors.
So every side of the car can be raised or lowered individually.
So if the car establishes that the right-front wheel encounters a pothole, the car raises at that side so there's a bigger spring rate,
which makes sure you won't feel it.
Nice technology and very impressive, but it's very unfortunate you can't have it yet.
Another great feature is safety.
The AI-system can also make sure that if you can't prevent a sideways collision, the side that will be hit will be raised by 8 cm within half a second.
That means the car which comes in the from the side won't hit the doors, but the sill, which is a lot stronger.
Audi states the car doesn't raise to a level which could flip the car, but it raises enough to redirect the impact around the passengers.
That's beautiful technology, but it just isn't available yet.
At the meantime, there's a lot available as well.
That's something you feel when you're driving yourself.
Yep. Even though a lot of new features won't be coming until next year, it doesn't mean this car is outdated.
On the contrary. It starts when you set off.
There's a system here with a 3D-view of the car. We've already seen that in a 7-series,
but the speed and the visibility of the blind spots... It's almost surreal.
It's really well done. Then, the driving aids.
The fully autonomous Traffic Pilot won't be here until next year, but it can do what the S-Class can do as well.
I'll have to admit though, the S-Class is a tad smoother when it comes to that.
It'll keep you neatly straight in the middle, but this A8 tends to move to the sides,
just to countersteer you back again. It swings about a little bit.
In a traffic jam, you can let it do its thing though.
Of course, you'll have to pay attention, because every few seconds it wants you to grab the steering wheel.
But when it comes to active safety features, it's perfectly fine.
Then there are the chassis-technologies which it's filled with.
Air suspension with adaptive dampers comes as standard, and that makes it incredibly comfortable.
It isn't as comfortable as a S-Class, or as dynamic as a 7-series,
but it's really brilliant. The drive is sovereign.
Everything you drive over... You can vaguely feel it, but it's been isolated very neatly.
It's incredibly quiet behind the wheel.
If you put it in "Dynamic"-mode, and you select the Sports-differential and the optional four-wheel steering,
it does a quite convincing impression of a car which you can drive over mountain roads.
Yesterday during the press briefing, "sports car dynamics" were mentioned.
You can forget that, because that's not in here. And it couldn't be in here, because it almost weighs two tonnes.
But the car corners smoothly, there's a lot of grip,
the car heaves a little, but considering the mass and size of the car, it's not too bad.
So the car has a good drive, something which stands out in a very positive way.
It doesn't feel dead... On the contrary. And that's a surprise for such a big Audi.
The engines then. There are a few familiar faces,
and a few familiar engines with new names.
Audi now divides its engines with number combinations. The numbers indicate where the engine is in the range.
Right now we're driving the 3.0-litre V6 TDI, which used to be called 3.0 TDI, and it produced 286 horsepower.
This is the same engine, but it's called 50 TDI now. Don't ask me why, it's just like this now.
There's a petrol 3.0-litre V6 available as well, that produces 340 horsepower and lives its life as 55 TFSI.
The 6.0-litre W12 then is called 70 TFSI, and if I'm honest I just don't get why it's like that.
But it's something we'll have to get used to I guess.
More importantly, the diesel with 286 horsepower is an incredibly nice engine.
600 Nm of torque, between 1250 and 3250 RPM. That means there's a lot of might.
It's not astonishingly quick if you go all the way though. It does get along, but it's not overwhelming.
The engine does what it needs to do.
Also, both V6's available at the launch, are mild hybrids.
That means there's a 48-volt electrical system in the car, which powers all of the electric motors for the adaptive suspension,
and all other electrical systems which might come later.
But thanks to that 48-volt system, it's got an integrated start-up generator which aids the engine with a belt.
That gives you a tad more power which is beneficiary for the souplesse.
It also makes sure that if you're travelling at speeds between 50 and 160 km/h, and you were to release the throttle,
it first starts to sail. It will disconnect the engine, making it run stationary.
After that, it shuts down the engine.
It can also shut down the engine when you're rolling up to a traffic light at 20 km/h.
You won't hear it, you won't feel it,
but in the meantime it saves you 0,7 litres per 100 km.
And that's a nice bonus.
So, it isn't radically different, but the changes are there.
Those small engine changes are dwarfed though, if you take a look at the new Audi-interior.
Audi's MMI-system has been completely renewed.
The central turning knob has gone, and to replace them you've got touchscreens everywhere.
You've got three digital gauges in front of you.
One with the actual gauges, but also the satnav or other information about your car.
We already know this from other Audi's, but again this is faster and with better graphics.
The biggest renovation is in the middle console. Everything is controlled by these touchscreens.
They're quick touchscreens, but I don't really see the improvement relative to the central knob.
As far as touchscreen controls go though, it's a very nice system.
It's also very comprehensive. It's quick, and what's handy,
they've incorporated feedback into it. So you can use it as a normal touchscreen,
but you can also set it to be an old-fashioned touchscreen, so that you really have to push down.
The advantage being that if you press it, you can feel the screen vibrating.
So you know you've touched the screen.
And it all goes very smoothly really, it's all logical. It's also working together with the screen below,
which features some options as standard. Climate control for example,
but also the Lane Departure Warning-system, the start-stop system and the sunscreen in the back.
But when you're looking for something in the satnav, the lower screen turns into some sort of tablet,
on which you can write stuff. And based on the things you write,
all kinds of options appear on the upper screen.
So for a touchscreen, it all works very good,
but again; I don't really see the added value.
The finishing of the dashboard is typical Audi. So it's kind of cold in here,
it's not like a Mercedes, where it's like you've brought your own living room.
This car is clearly more distant, but the finishing is immaculate.
It's all incredibly good. The cracks, if they're there that is, are so small,
that it's almost of laser quality.
It's all incredibly beautiful, and that's very fitting to the high tech personality of the Audi A8.
The only downside to it, is that you already know it will be even more high tech next year...