Small improvements, big results for Audi’s flagship limousine – but who stole the Level 3 self-driving?
The facelifted 2022 Audi A8 and S8 limousines will arrive in Australia around mid-year with V6 diesel and V8 petrol power respectively. There’ll be a standard-length S8 sports sedan with 800Nm of twist, and both short- and long-wheelbase versions of the more comfort-oriented diesel A8. The Audi A8 has always been a big, expensive and slow-selling model, but with BMW taking the 7 Series into EV country this year and Mercedes-Benz already offering the EQS electric limo, it’s starting to look like an anachronism.
Price and equipment
The 2022 Audi A8 and S8 range for Australia will look similar to the outgoing version, with an A8 50 TDI, the long-wheelbase A8 L 50 TDI and the sportier S8, all for (at least) a touch more money than before, although prices are yet to be confirmed.
The A8 50 TDI quattro previously opened the range at around $195,000, with the long-wheelbase version priced just under $210K and the heavy-hitting Audi S8 topping both of them at $260K.
The expected price rise hasn’t been declared, because Audi Australia allegedly hasn’t settled on specs yet (it had better hurry, because Australian A8s will be on boats from Germany in early April).
The underlying rationale is they’ll get more equipment to take the fight up to the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, BMW 7 Series and Lexus LS.
The flagship technology for the Audi A8 facelift isn’t self-driving technology this time around, but lighting.
Audi’s biggest sedan scores a ripper set of headlights that can be fully digital at both ends, complete with 1.3 million micro-mirrors of light steering at the front and 600 metres of laser-light range. The rear lights are driver-customisable OLED units, too.
It will need to be good, because the Mercedes-Benz S-Class claimed 75 per cent of the Upper Large $100,000-plus market segment last year, while Audi’s share was 4.1 per cent. It sold only 26 A8s, making up (checks notes) 0.0000248 per cent of Australia’s new-vehicle market in 2021.
The 7 Series, LS and Porsche Panamera all outsold it and even its stablemate Bentley ran it uncomfortably close.
Work to be done, then.
Safety and technology
When the current-generation Audi A8 was launched in 2017, Audi claimed it was the first car with production-ready Level 3 autonomous driving technology, and it was just waiting for regulatory approval.
Audi doesn’t say that about the A8 anymore. In fact, it now says this year’s facelifted A8 won’t offer Level 3 (eyes off) tech because the belated rules and test results didn’t gel. Instead it pulled a lot of the expensive sensors out and left it with Level 2 driver assistance.
Audi has taken a step back in driver-assistance claims to (hopefully) take a step forward, but that step forward won’t be with this car.
Still, the 2022 Audi A8 has 40 driver-assistance systems built into it, including a remote parking function that allows the car to park itself without a driver in the vehicle (illegal in WA).
It rides on an upgrade of the outgoing car’s air suspension system, which is connected to predictive technology that uses cameras to see road imperfections and adjusts the whole car to meet them – like Mercedes-Benz did more than a decade ago, and like Audi itself did with this model a couple of years ago.
It has just been refined, and so has the tilting function that makes cornering feel flatter, plus there’s even an armoured version (which may or may not come to Australia).
Cosmetically, the first thing you notice about the refreshed Audi A8 is how phenomenally wide the grille is, and the second thing you notice is that it looks like a crossover or an SUV in the rear-view mirror.
Audi says it did that on purpose, to make its limousine appear more upright and therefore more stately. Make up your own mind.
The interior is still a thing of beauty; with a warmth that Mercedes-Benz doesn’t care for and a homeliness that BMW can’t demean itself to deliver.
The dashboard has a very horizontal look to it and the multimedia display is simple to use, even the first time you start to navigate around it.
The long-wheelbase version even delivers a triangular, heated footrest for rear-seat passengers to go with the heated steering wheel and all four seats, such is the Bavarian obsession with not being cold.
The centre console can continue all the way through the cabin if you prefer it that way and each seat has 18 pneumatic cushions for the array of massage options.
One of the interior specifications delivers a fridge, while another has fold-out tables in the rear. All of them have four-zone climate control and new 10.1-inch rear infotainment screens and ‘Hey, Audi’ voice control.
The Bang & Olufsen sound system even delivers 23 speakers, a 1920-Watt amplifier and can be operated from the back seat via a smartphone-sized OLED remote control unit.
Powertrain and performance
The least changed part of the 2022 Audi A8 upgrade sits beneath the bonnet, at least in terms of the outputs and the consumption data.
Even the S8’s mighty 4.0-litre twin-turbo petrol V8 is unchanged at 800Nm and 420kW, and it still hits 100km/h in 3.8 seconds and is limited to 250km/h, wink, wink.
Same over in diesel land, where the 3.0-litre TDI V6 pumps out 210kW and 600Nm, and reaches 100km/h in 5.9 seconds.
The upside of that is that they were both highly proficient powertrains to begin with, while the downside is that Australia only receives these two and not the plug-in hybrid nor the 250kW version of the V8.
The rest of the powertrain is familiar and largely invisible, with only the S8’s sound flaps designed to make it all leap to the fore.
Push the S8 harder and you find there is a tricky sports differential at the back and all-wheel steering, plus there’s the extra urge of the 48-volt mild-hybrid system to help out while the turbochargers wake up.
Driving and comfort
It doesn’t seem to matter that the 2022 Audi S8 is mechanically unchanged, because it is a weapon of a thing, even in jaded hands.
Any drive in the S8 combines a slight tingle of anticipation, a surprisingly good level of ride comfort and just the right level of good manners in the engine note’s intrusion.
It does things well that maybe it shouldn’t and it never falters, even at the outer edges of its adhesion and during direction changes that should flummox a car weighing beyond two tonnes.
It does all of this without the steering delicacy and directness that any other car-maker would give it, but that’s not the Audi way.
Instead, the tiller is slow to move the nose off line, which makes it a very relaxed mile-eater, but less engaging on winding roads. But it is brilliant at what it does and that’s going quickly but without haste.
It’s different over in the A8 50 TDI and the long-wheelbase brethren, because they are built just for comfort and it shows.
There are still shortcomings to the S-Class for technology and, in particular, road noise into the cabin, but it’s better than it was.
The addition of predictive damping has very much improved things over low-amplitude bumps at urban speeds, and it now stands at the same level as the S-Class for bump absorption.
The audio system is incredible, and so is the comfort from the seats, both in the front and the rear. And, being an Audi, the luggage area is enormous and usefully laid out, too.
Editor’s opinion
Well, the 2022 Audi A8 and S8 are not much of a facelift, if I’m honest, and maybe that’s why the grille has become so huge to compensate.
That said, I have a soft spot for the A8 and in particular the S8 because it’s not the sort of cabin environment that leaves you cold or bored. It exudes warmth and comfort, like a Bavarian lodge, rather than the clinical office vibe you get from some other limos at this level.
The upside to a minor facelift like this is that you know it all works. The downside is that you already know it all works.
It’s a real shame we don’t get the plug-in hybrid, because besides 340kW of power and 700Nm of torque, it also gives more than 50km of EV range.
You can really see why some people will go for this generation of A8, but you can also see why the majority of then plump for the S-Class. After all, it’s pretty much all new and the A8 isn’t.
How much does the 2022 Audi A8 50 TDI cost?Price: $TBCAvailable: June/July 2022Powertrain: Mild-hybrid 3.0-litre V6 turbo-dieselOutput: 210kW/600NmTransmission: Eight-speed automatic, all-wheel driveConsumption: 6.5-6.7L/100km (WLTP)CO2 Emissions: 170-176g/km (WLTP)
Safety rating: Not tested
How much does the 2022 Audi S8 cost?Price: $TBCAvailable: June/July 2022Powertrain: Mild-hybrid 4.0-litre twin-turbo petrol V8Output: 420kW/800NmTransmission: Eight-speed automatic, all-wheel driveConsumption: 10.7-10.8L/100km (WLTP)CO2 Emissions: 245-246g/km (WLTP)
Safety rating: Not tested
Keyword: Audi A8 and S8 2022 Review – International