"car" magazine on the new a8

[David Eaton]

the british "car" magazine put the new a8 4.2q up head-to-head with the new
7-series (745) and the facelifted s-class (4-matic) s500.

they convincingly found the a8 the best of the group, with the merc 2nd and
the 7-series a distant 3rd.

"car" loved the performance and handling of the a8 ("more chuckable and
harder edged than the s500 and the 7"), the mmi, the ride, and the interior.

they hated the merc 4-matic handling (too much understeer), found that the
s-class quality had improved to the benchmarks of the others, but that the
"command" interface had far too many buttons.

"car" found the 745 handling similar to the a8 ("corner for corner, straight
for straight, the 745 is a very close match for the audi"), but tramlining
and spongy brakes after hard use ruined the effect.  then the idrive.  "the
745 is quite simply less user friendly on any road at any time due to the
idrive interface".  they found that the ergonomics were "ruined with 87
different redundant buttons and switches".

"so the a8 takes the trophy with confidence and conviction. It's the best
all-rounder, and such a pleasure to be in, exploring its clever features and
it ample abilities".

dave
'95 rs2
'90 ur-q