Audi A8 4.2 quattro: Review

Friday, September 30, 2005

The Auto Channel has a review of the Audi A8 4.2 quattro.

“You never get a second chance to make a first impression,” goes the old adage. The A8 made a great first impression. We only get these test cars for about a week and must develop impressions rather hastily sometimes. This Audi was still impressing me when I had to give it back.

Stepping into this Audi for the first time was a pleasure. The driver’s compartment is inviting with generous leather seats, classy-looking trim and no apparent excess of knobs, gages and controls. It seems simple and uncomplicated until I turn the key, watch the control screen swing out from the center of the dash and begin to look around. The usual annoying disclaimer comes up on the screen warning against distracted driving. Dominating the center console is a control knob surrounded by buttons with a lesser knob nearby. Five minutes of fiddling, fussing and exploring revealed the basic operations of the 12-speaker Bose sound system with 6-CD changer, access to the climate control and other functions. Not bad for a German system.