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Verdict
Design | Consolation | Tech | Efficiency | Security | Gas Financial system | Pricing | FAQ
If I requested you to rattle off all of the premium, full-size luxurious sedans accessible right this moment, there’s probability you’d overlook to say the Audi A8. Towards the backdrop of the sensuous Lexus LS, bombastic BMW 7 Collection, and authoritative Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Audi’s present flagship sedan is a bit generic-looking, with a tech suite that’s ample however not even barely headline-grabbing.
Higher keep away from the usual mannequin, then, and go for the lusty 2023 Audi S8, which compensates for its relative age with a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 borrowed from the stellar RS6 Avant. With 563 horsepower, 590 pound-feet of torque, and a crackling exhaust be aware, the Audi S8 places somewhat boogie again into the full-size sedan class – all for a comparatively good worth given its $118,995 beginning value.
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39 Photographs
Exterior Coloration: Extremely Blue Metallic Inside Coloration: Black Wheel Measurement: 21 Inches
The Audi A8 and S8 acquired some beauty tweaks for the 2022 mannequin 12 months, modernizing the sedan with kinked headlights, a wider grille design, and taillights with a pixelated motif. These alterations make it look fussier to my eyes than the pre-facelift S8, although that is nonetheless a good-looking automobile general due to an Audi-chic daylight opening, quad-oval exhaust shops, and a glossy silhouette. My automobile’s $2,100 Black Optic bundle introduced gloss black grille accents, window surrounds, and 21-inch wheels to the get together – I desire the usual matte aluminum trim, however diff’lease strokes for diff’lease of us.
Inside, the S8’s easy inside design will really feel immediately acquainted to anybody with a present Audi product. That is likely to be factor for some, but when I have been spending six figures on a luxurious sedan, I’d need it to face out visually from a extra plebeian providing. Materials high quality is a step above lesser Audis with glorious plastics even in locations you possibly can’t see, and supple leather-based seems on the sprint and door panels due to a $4,700 S8 Consolation pack. One neat contact on the S8 is HVAC vents which are half-hidden behind a slim strip of carbon fiber. Activate the air and that trim rotates out of the best way, revealing the vents in full.
Seating Capability: 5 Seating Configuration: 2 / 3 Cargo Capability: 12.5 Cubic Ft
The Audi S8 affords a clean experience, and the cabin is well-insulated from each sonic and kinetic intrusions outdoors the automobile – the exception being the muted growl of the exhaust if you dip your toe into it. Some credit score goes to the $6,000 predictive energetic suspension, which scans the street forward to melt or stiffen particular person dampers prematurely of pace bumps or tough pavement. The system labored perhaps 60 p.c of the time on the pace humps and gutters in my neighborhood, so I’m not completely satisfied it’s well worth the added price, though it does jack the S8 up an inch or so when a door is opened to ease ingress.
The S8 comes customary with heated and ventilated entrance seats with adjustable bolsters and an honest therapeutic massage operate, placing an incredible stability between cushiness and long-haul help. Moreover, the entrance armrests are rapid-heated, including some consolation to your extremities. The aforementioned S8 Consolation bundle additionally contains heated rear seats, although an extra $4,200 will get you air flow and therapeutic massage as properly ($5,900 if you would like the full-length middle console), profiting from the commodious legroom again there for a comfortable, chauffeured experience.
Middle Show: 10.1-inch Touchscreen Instrument Cluster Show: 12.3 Inches Wi-fi Apple CarPlay or Android Auto: Sure
The S8 will get a ten.1-inch touchscreen show mounted excessive on the middle stack, with a secondary 8.6-inch show mounted beneath it that handles local weather controls and some auxiliary features. A 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster is likewise customary, and its number of info makes it top-of-the-line such programs in the marketplace: standard gauges or a sporty bar-graph tachometer, a full-screen map, and many onboard pc knowledge. A smallish head-up show is included within the aforementioned consolation pack.
However aside from the spectacular Digital Cockpit, there isn’t a lot within the S8 to distinguish it from its rivals. The S-Class and seven Collection get a lot bigger infotainment programs, with some added googaws to impress their well-heeled patrons. For instance, the Mercedes’ disco-themed ambient lights and augmented-reality head-up show go toe to toe with the BMW’s accessible rear theater display. The S8, in the meantime, appears to be like Luddite by comparability.
Engine: Twin-Turbocharged 4.0-Liter V8 Output: 563 Horsepower / 590 Pound-Ft Transmission: Eight-Velocity Computerized
What the Audi S8 lacks in headline-grabbing expertise, it makes up with nice gobs of energy and efficiency. Regardless of its sub-$120k beginning value – lower than the Star Award-winning Mercedes-Benz S580 and a bit greater than the 760i – the S8 affords a surprising 563 hp and 590 lb-ft, giving it a 0-60 time in an Audi-estimated 3.8 seconds. Each the Bimmer and Benz are slower by at the least three mini-ticks, and if you wish to sustain with the Audi, you’ll should both go electrical or look forward to the yet-more-expensive Mercedes-AMG S63 E-Efficiency.
Regardless of a heady 5,126-pound curb weight, the 2023 S8 is a nimble full-size sedan due to Goodyear Eagle F1 summer time tires and multiple-personality adaptive dampers. Normal rear-axle steering helps each with around-town maneuverability and low-speed nook entry, and I discovered myself pleasantly shocked with the Audi’s predictable, nimble nature. My middling first impressions primarily based on the automobile’s acquainted styling and ho-hum tech suite started to soften away the tougher I pushed. Composed and fast, the S8 is as thrilling as limousines get, even earlier than you open up the energetic exhaust that accompanies each downshift with a bellicose crackle.
Driver Help Degree: SAE Degree 2 (Arms On) NHTSA Ranking: Not Rated IIHS Ranking: Not Rated
And we’re again to being unimpressed. Even at its six-figure beginning value, the Audi S8’s suite of energetic security expertise is bundled inside a dear $3,800 Government bundle. However in the event you’re out there for a giant luxurious sedan, it is best to completely tick that field, as Audi’s adaptive cruise management, site visitors jam help, and lane-centering expertise are among the many greatest within the trade so far as hands-on programs are involved.
Metropolis: 26 MPG Freeway: 33 MPG Mixed: 29 MPG
Base Worth: $116,900 + $1,095 Vacation spot + $1,000 Fuel Guzzler Tax Trim Base Worth: $118,995 Worth As Examined: $135,595
Together with vacation spot and a compulsory $1,000 gasoline guzzler cost, the 2023 Audi S8 begins at $118,995, undercutting each the S580 and the forthcoming AMG S63e by 1000’s of {dollars}. That’s true when you begin ticking choices, as properly. My Extremely Blue tester featured the aforementioned $6,000 energetic suspension, $4,700 consolation bundle, and $3,800 government bundle, plus $2,100 price of black exterior accents for a complete value of $135,595. An S580 with an identical stage of kit breaks into the 140s, regardless of having 67 fewer horses beneath the hood.
A BMW 760i xDrive, nevertheless, is a real risk to the S8 camp, coming in at $117,395 to start out and simply $122,045 comparably outfitted. The BMW’s styling might not be to everybody’s tastes, and it’s slower and fewer overtly sporty than the S8. However as soon as it’s grabbed your consideration with design, it would preserve it due to some fairly neat customary in-car tech.
Nonetheless, the Audi’s streamlined styling and acquainted cabin may have their followers. Anybody nonetheless unimpressed want solely level the rounded nostril towards the closest on-ramp or canyon street, then experience that snarling V8 wave. As a technological showpiece, the S8 leaves somewhat to be desired. As a rolling lounge with RS-spec energy and torque, it’s in a category of 1.
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