Can cars be like drugs? Maybe if you get the right intoxicating blend of rich Corinthian leathers, swoopy styling, high-tech appointments and steroid-boosted power.
The readers of AutoWeek recently declared the Audi A8 L (for long wheelbase) to be "America’s Best Luxury Car of 2004." According to the magazine’s editors, the readers were "mesmerized by its sophisticated cockpit layout, its rich materials and the complete driving and riding experience."
They liked the A8 even better than the Maybach sedans, which it superficially resembles.
It so happens that my test car this week was an Audi A8 L. I felt I’d moved up in the world, but wasn’t sure how much I wanted to show off. Driving around town, I alternatively felt moved to either flaunt it or hide it from view. This is one big $70,000 car, stretched to limousine dimensions in the U.S.-spec "L" model (whose rear seats offer truly indulgent legroom). The trunk’s huge, too.
The first A8 (then the only aluminum-bodied car in production) appeared in 1997, when it replaced the Audi V8. It could be had with 3.7- or 4.2-liter V8 engines, the latter incorporating Audi’s quattro all-wheel-drive system. The 2004 lineup is considerably simplified, with only the quattro-equipped L model, powered by the 330-horsepower, 4.2-liter engine (coupled to a six-speed Tiptronic automatic).
The car itself is far from simple, however. Audi’s answer to BMW’s complex i-Drive is the Multi-Media Interface (MMI), which runs the climate control, navigation, CD player and radio. It also can dial in shock-absorber settings (from "comfort" to "dynamic") as part of the car’s sophisticated air-sprung suspension.
MMI takes some getting used to, but is not as daunting as i-Drive. There are separate manual controls for the climate system if you can’t handle the screens. But when I first started up, I found everything in French. Switching back to English required turning the car off and starting it again. The screen commands themselves are relatively intuitive, and the CD player (whose head unit is located, rather awkwardly, in the glove compartment) even displays individual song titles if your CDs are so equipped.
My problem with the climate unit had nothing to do with the screen; I just couldn’t get it to work properly. With both left and right controls set on "auto" and the temperature dialed down to 60 degrees, it produced about as much cold air as the anemic "Arctic Cool" in a 1959 Chrysler Imperial. Stifling, I ended up driving with the windows and sunroof open.
But there’s no denying the allure of the Audi A8 experience, especially on the highway. You waft down the road, as in that 1959 Imperial, but with considerably more control over where you’re going. Sixty miles per hour is reached in 6.3 seconds. Despite weighing more than 4,000 pounds, it seemed light on its wheels, with a perfectly damped ride. My children felt like little pashas riding in the rear, lacking only a turbaned servant with a palm leaf.
Like the more-expensive Mercedes "S" class, the A8 offers a fine combination of performance and luxury. You’d get similar blends in the Jaguar XJ and the BMW 7 Series. This is, in fact, a pretty hotly contested category, with the Lexus LS 430 and Infiniti Q45 winning on price and making heavy inroads into what was once a largely European territory.
Of course, weight and V8 power exact their price. The A8 demands premium fuel, and drinks it at a rate of 17 mpg around town, 24 on the highway. But after paying $70,000 for the car, you’re not likely to worry about a few dollars for gas, are you?
