Audi A8 tears up the mountain roads

Hotel Finca de Cortesin, located on Spain's whimsically named Costa Del Sol, or Sun Coast, was a bright spot in an otherwise wet and deserted trail of Spanish resort towns that witnessed the all-new A8 tearing up their roads this February.

Finca De Cortesin, an extremely well appointed and tasteful venue, had been decked out with an all-aluminium Audi Space Frame hanging from the ceiling, another bisected and interior-less A8 that revealed the inner workings of the drive shaft, gearbox and engine, and a demonstration interior which allowed attendees to test out the A8's world class interior and multi media interface, or MMI, from the warmth of the hotel ­­— more on both later.

Set back above the Mediterranean upon a rolling estate, the hotel provided easy access to a series of winding mountain roads that served to highlight the quattro-equipped A8's superior handling capabilities, which were further tested by a light sprinkling of rain.

All told, the A8 handles a bit too well, as the smooth ride and confident handling made it easy to negotiate the mountain's network of switchbacks much more aggressively than I prefer to drive, making me a temporary hypocrite.

The car has such reliable traction and directional control that it is undoubtedly an excellent choice for drivers in rainy climes like Costa Del Sol, at least in February. While we don't get that kind of drizzle in Dubai, the car's capabilities certainly could be exploited to handle the curves of our own Hajar mountain range like an absolute madman, not that we here at wheels condone anything beyond hypothetical madmen on the roads.

The A8 will be released in the Middle East with a 4.2-litre FSI engine boasting 372bhp and generating its maximum torque of 445Nm at 3,500rpm. The car goes from zero to 100kph in 5.7 seconds and has a computer governed top speed of 250kph.

Under EU testing guidelines, the powerful petrol engine rates 24.76 mpg which is 13 per cent lower compared to the previous model, despite a 22bhp increase in power.

To describe the A8's handling capabilities, the technically-inclined folks at Audi AG explained that the quattro drive train is anchored by a "mechanical centre differential that reacts virtually instantly and distributes power to both axles. With the asymmetric/dynamic standard distribution, 60 per cent flows to the rear differential and 40 per cent to the front differential" giving the car a sporty ride unusual for its size, but pleasing nonetheless. "The mechanical centre differential senses the torque, and instantly and automatically transfers most of the power to the axle with the better traction as needed. Up to 80 per cent can be directed to the rear wheels and up to 60 per cent to the front wheels."

With the optional active sport differential, the A8 makes you feel like you're a better driver than you actually are by reacting "more directly to steering input." The vehicle is also stabilised in the event of load changes, which permits improved lateral acceleration in curves giving the car a very balanced, reactive feel and giving even the most challenging roads a surprisingly effortless quality as the demands of steering the vehicle are greatly reduced.

When turning into or accelerating out of a bend, the A8 directs the majority of the torque to the outside wheel, pushing the car into the curve. The system mitigates oversteer or understeer with a short reaction time of less than 100 milliseconds and Audi boasts that it "is even faster than the ESP stabilisation programme, reacting just as effectively while accelerating as it does when coasting and is even active at zero load."

All of which made those wet, winding, windswept Spanish roads way too much fun to drive. In fact, rumour has it that a passenger or two had trouble keeping down their breakfast, which is testament to just how hard the car could be pushed in those tight turns — in short, blame gravity, not the A8.

The A8's distinctive headlights give it a tough guy quality that is evocative of Clint Eastwood's patented squint. Combined with its single-frame radiator grille, which itself has a clean, almost chiselled appearance, the overall image is Oscar Night Clint. Not the stubble covered, poncho wearing spaghetti western version. In fact the car has an overall elegance that, subjectively speaking, looks good without trying as hard as its rivals.

Audi seems to agree that the A8 has a bit of an anthropomorphic quality, as they describe it as "the face of Audi in the luxury class." With 5,130mm in length, a 2,990mm wheelbase, 1,900mm in width and 1,460mm in height, the new A8 is what a petrolhead friend of mine refers to as a ‘wafter', meaning it is big, bold, and luxurious, but not the type of ‘point and squirt' car that WRX owners lust after. But to drive the new A8 is to experience a tightly dynamic ride that breaks the stereotypes of the full size saloon.

Audi has expanded the A8's length and width compared to its predecessor and the competition, keeping the height of the car below that of BMW and Mercedes. As with the previous A8, Audi will also offer the car in a second, extended wheelbase variant for the chauffeured crowd.

The new A8 is essentially a ‘smart car', as its optional new MMI navigation and infotainment system shares data with other "technology modules".

This means that MMI shares information with the computers that manage the Audi adaptive cruise control, headlights, and the eight-speed tiptronic transmission, enabling these systems to change in conditions before or as they arise. One example that Audi offered is that by extrapolating from driver input and map data, the transmission can avoid unnecessary upshifts on short straights.

In urban settings, the junction lights are activated as you approach an intersection, even if you don't signal. While this ensures improved safety, it might make it a little more difficult for Dirty Harry types to lose a tail. But for most of us that's not an issue.

Another noteworthy MMI feature is the new touchpad, which allows the driver or passenger to navigate menus of information alphabetically by drawing the appropriate letter to jump to the correct menu segment. This means that, if you want to skip from Airbags to Navigation, you just have to key in the letter ‘N' to get close. I don't think Airbags actually show up in the menu, but you get my point. MMI touch technology is set up to accept millions of character samples from around the world, and currently recognises Cyrillic, Chinese, Cantonese, Japanese and Korean characters. Audi offered further assurance that Arabic functionality is in development, as the right to left format is a bit more complicated to code.

At the heart, or brain really, of the MMI system is a dual processor that ensures fast and reactive navigation, voice control, telephony and audio systems that won't bog down when used simultaneously.

Up to 20 gigs of music, or about 4,000 songs, can be stored on the car's hard drive, which also stores navigation data and has a total volume of 60 gigs. The car's DVD drive sits discreetly behind a flip-up panel and is fully integrated with MMI's console controls. MMI boasts a dedicated 3D graphics processor and can generate high resolution, three-dimensional images and terrain models.

Currently, 3D maps of many European cities are provided with the A8 and with time Dubai could become available too. Although you'll need a larger screen to see the entire Burj Khalifa.

The sat-nav also offers an automated zoom feature, which always shows the most relevant section of the map. Drivers can opt between a classic route guidance arrow, or an animated display with additional details. Though it's a simple feature and one that isn't always available on minor roadways, having the posted speed limit available on the nav screen helped keep the Spanish police off my tail.

The A8's leather interior and hand finished veneers give the car a sophisticated opulence and, thanks to excellent sound dampening, comprise a space in which you can actually enjoy the 1,400 watts offered by the optional Bang & Olufsen Advanced Sound System, which supplies detailed and euphonic audio whether you're listening to Bach or Black Sabbath. Sadly, the good folks at Audi didn't include either of those great artists in the MMI demo jukebox and I found myself fumbling for the skip button every time Britney or the New Kids came up in shuffle mode.

At first I had trouble assigning the audio functions to the array of steering wheel controls, and to be fair, the main audio controls are quite well placed and easy to reach while driving. Once someone from Audi showed me how to toggle through the wide array of functions that can be controlled from the steering wheel, I was able to vanquish the Pop Tarts before they could even get the first note out — much to my relief.

One bonus offered by the top of the line B&O audio rig is that the pop up tweeters happen to look as good as they sound. Handing the car in for the last time that day, I felt a twinge of regret that I wouldn't be driving the new A8 soon, again.

The car has a panoply of driver-centric comforts that provide a smooth yet exciting ride. Like the incredibly tweakable seats, which can be finessed into hugging your every contour, the A8 offers a great ride that can be made even better by catering to your every whim.

Specs & rating