Audi A8 saloon - Practicality & boot space

The Audi A8 is the biggest saloon in the company's line-up, yet it hasn't been designed with sheer practicality in mind. Rather, it seeks to provide sufficient interior space for comfort and convenience, making travelling a pleasure.

Those in search of greater interior room or load-space versatility are better served by an Audi Q7, but that bulky SUV is nothing like as manageable on city streets – the A8's four-wheel steering gives it an impressively nimble turning circle.

Audi A8 interior space & storage

The latest Audi A8 has grown in external size compared to its predecessor and there's a little more volume to the passenger compartment, too. However, rather than freeing up yards of extra interior room, it's had the effect of subtly enhancing the sensation of space, so all on board can relax without fear of claustrophobia setting in.

The driver faces a dashboard that's pleasingly free of clutter, with no obstructions when a control needs to be reached. A large rest is provided for your left foot – every A8 uses an automatic gearbox – and a low waistline allows a panoramic view out of the windows. However, the windscreen pillars are wide and obscure the road to a substantial degree.

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Rear-seat room is marginally improved over the previous model, but the A8 very much favours a two-passenger complement. The third-seat occupant sits slightly higher and astride a transmission tunnel through which drive to the rear wheels passes, and this noticeably eats into foot space. Of course, rear-seat passengers in long-wheelbase A8 L models will find themselves with legroom to spare for even the tallest of rear seat passengers.

Boot space

A car the size of the A8 is liable to have a roomy boot and its claimed volume of 505 litres lends credence to this, virtually equalling the Mercedes S-Class. Long-wheelbase A8 L models offer the same amount of luggage space, but the 60 TFSI e plug-in hybrid has to sacrifice some load space in order to accommodate a lithium-ion battery pack, reducing the boot space to 390 litres - barely more than an Audi A3 hatchback.