All A8 variants come loaded with features, and each model is comfortable and luxurious. Interior design is clean and classic, but hardly spartan or stark. A choice of leather and three wood trims ensures a touch of individuality. Handsome Valcona leather seat upholstery comes standard, with attractive Alcantara (suede-like) door inserts. In the A8 L 6.0, virtually every surface that isn't carpeted is covered with leather, save the top of the dash and headliner, which is made of Alcantara. There's also a swath of aluminum around the dash and doors. The mix of wood and metal may sound like design schizophrenia, but it actually adds a sporting flair. In total, the A8 cabin is handsome and remarkably rich in appearance.
The seats are supportive and comfortable and adjust 16 ways. A memory feature keeps all the settings for four different drivers (or moods), including climate controls. Front and rear seats can be heated and ventilated. The center console provides generous storage, and the electroluminescent instrument panel adjusts brightness automatically according to ambient light. The A8 L 6.0 gets a unique, four-spoke wood steering wheel with a hub fashioned to replicate the shape of the grille.
A seven-inch color screen in the top-center of the dash displays Audi's Multi-Media Interface, or MMI. Four buttons and a dial on the center console do the adjusting. This system is designed to minimize distraction while consolidating most of the interior functions into one control center, giving the driver lots of options without filling the dash with buttons. Unlike the iDrive system BMW developed for its 7 Series sedans, Audi's MMI features a shallower menu structure, meaning you don't have to burrow as deeply through a maze of menus to get to the adjustment you want. A key difference between the Audi and BMW systems, in our opinion, is that Audi did not incorporate the climate controls into MMI. Heating and air conditioning have traditional controls mounted high on the center stack, so you don't have to call up a menu to change the fan speed. You simply twist a dial. The MMI screen matches the look of the controls, and a Return button takes you back to where you were, like the Back button on a Web browser.
Virtually everyone we've spoken too, from auto reviewers to consumers, rates Audi's MMI better than BMW's iDrive. But some rate the Audi system only minutely better, and don't like it much at all. Others prefer Mercedes' more conventional button-heavy interface. Or, easiest of all, Jaguar's elegant and traditional controls. The point? Designing controls to manage the ever-increasing number of performance, entertainment and communications systems in luxury cars traveling at high speeds remains a young, inexact science. BMW's and Audi's take effort and practice to learn. At times, we found the technology overwhelming, like when the radio came on every time we started the car. Try to familiarize yourself before you buy.
Beyond finish quality, attention to detail is one of Audi's greatest assets. A secondary heater in the A8 is designed to heat up the rear cabin quickly. Ambient lighting in the interior allows control of mood in the cabin. Mood lighting is good.
In luxury sedans, so is quiet. The A8's cabin is well insulated (the 12-cylinder 6.0 features double-pane side glass), and conversation is easy at any speed, even in the nosiest ambient conditions. There's no wind noise in this car and the ventilation system was acoustically tuned to make the climate control as quiet as possible, even when the fan is at full blast.
The audio system uses Bose noise compensation technology just like those fancy headphones you see people wearing in first class. It works terrifically well. Essentially, a microphone samples the sound and sends out sound waves to cancel out undesirable noise. The 12-speaker stereo sounds fantastic, with crisp bass and clear highs. An equalizer matched to the car's equipment and trim specification takes into account changes to interior acoustics caused by the choice of upholstery. A four-way diversity antenna improves AM/FM reception, and a list of all radio stations that can be received in a given region appears at the touch of an MMI button. The six-disc CD changer is in the glove box for easy access, and Audi has wired the A8 L to accept either XM or Serius Satellite Radio. OnStar telematics hardware comes standard, offering operators who can give directions around the clock and provide myriad other types of information and services. Those operators will send help to your location should an airbag deploy. They can pinpoint the location of the car if it's stolen or unlock the doors remotely if you've locked the keys inside.
Rear seats in the A8 L are capacious, with acres of legroom. Even in the standard wheelbase A8, only passengers beyond the 85 percentile in height are likely to complain about room to stretch, and that's not likely to happen for 500 or 600 miles. In the A8 4.2s, there are lots of controls available to the rear passengers, including power lumbar support, and there's a fold-down center armrest. In the 12-cylinder A8 L 6.0, as is often the case in executive transport machinery, a full console with more elaborate climate and seat-adjustment switches splits the rear seats. This rear console eliminates space for one passenger, but it pumps up the club-room ambience. (As mentioned, a three-place bench can be specified instead.)
The A8 comes with 10 air bags, including front knee bags. In a crash, computers quickly determine which dual-threshold, dual-stage air bags to deploy, how quickly to deploy them, and how intensely they should be deployed. It also comes with excellent seat belts. Be sure all your passengers wear them as they are critical to providing protection in a crash.
The A8 L's trunk is big and deep, significantly larger than that of the Mercedes S-Class and comparable to that of the BMW 7 Series. There's room for at least two tournament-grade golf bags, not to mention two weeks worth of groceries should you decide to do your shopping on the way home from the links. The trunk houses a full-size spare tire.
The effort of operating an A8 is reduced by technology. Advanced Key is perfect for those who find turning the ignition too labor intensive, allowing the doors to open and the A8 to start with a button as long as the coded key fob is within a certain proximity. The Soft Close feature automatically sucks the side doors shut from a partially latched position.
