Merc1

EXECUTIVE EDITOR WES RAYNAL: This is one of my two favorite luxury liners, the other being the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Both are buttery smooth, and both ride tight, considering their weight. The Audi’s 4.2 is plenty powerful for me, and the transmission shifts are imperceptible. It was fun flicking the paddles and gearing up and down, with cool little throttle blips when downshifting.

Again considering its heft, this is one heck of a good chassis, with handling bordering on agile. Body control is excellent, and all-wheel drive makes grip off the charts. The suspension is adjustable, and I liked the automatic mode best, which only sounded crashy a little bit over the nastiest potholes.

The leather-and-wood-trimmed cockpit was the best part of the car. Build quality is second to none, the seats are extra supportive and superbly comfortable--just an all-around A-plus effort.

SENIOR EDITOR KEVIN A. WILSON: On the one hand, I’d sooner drive this anytime, anywhere, compared with our long-term Lexus LS 460 L--though that’s a car I don’t dislike, really--and it’s got quattro to boot, so I could drive it all the time, all the where. And its advanced parking system--beepers and a rearview camera--is more helpful than the nearly useless park-itself feature on the Lexus.

On the other hand, although the base MSRP is in the hunt, this car--with its $26,000 worth of options--seems a bit much; our Lexus only has $15,000 worth of options and just as many gizmos.

Still, I adored this car, whether I was alone in it or, more frequently, had passengers. And they loved it, too. The powertrain is a dream, the handling is sharp, and the ride quality is excellent. (I, too, played with the suspension settings, and although there are four, I could only tell the difference between “comfort” and “not” and preferred “not.” Any one of the other three was fine.) This is the one I’d have if it were my money going into a big luxury sedan. A big, ostentatious luxury sedan is not actually on my list of ambitions, but you never know, I could suddenly decide my priorities had changed.

One more beef: They put $26,000 on the options list, and that half-wood/half-leather steering wheel rim isn’t heated? What’s the world coming to when a man has to wear gloves to drive a luxury sedan? Okay, I’m going back to my cashmere-lined recliner and have the servants bring me a flute of champagne. And my slippers.


2007 AUDI A8L QUATTRO
IN FLEET: Nov. 15-29
AS-TESTED PRICE: $99,155
DRIVETRAIN: 4.2-liter V8; awd, six-speed automatic
OUTPUT: 350 hp @ 6800 rpm, 325 lb-ft @ 3500 rpm
CURB WEIGHT: 4409 lb
FUEL ECONOMY (EPA/AW: 20/19.7 mpg


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I don't ever see how Audi is going to top this car. Few modern cars are so timeless in the face of newer competition.

M