In-depth reviews
Audi A8 owner reviews
“The Audi A8 is a luxurious limousine that is starting to become overshadowed by newer and more futuristic rivals”
Carbuyer Rating
4.0 out of 5
Owners Rating
3.2 out of 5
Price
£79,655 - £125,090
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Reviews
Owner Reviews
- 5 out of 5
- 4 out of 5
- 3 out of 5
- 2 out of 5
- 1 out of 5
50%of people would recommend this car to a friendCommon Problems
- Electrics, Other (1 case)
- Other (2 cases)
Review 1 of 6
1 out of 5
Car Details
Model
2019 55 TFSi
Year
2019
Avg annual mileage
5,000 – 9,999
Owned
Less than a year
Bought Car
Used
Tell us what you think about your car?
At the beginning I really loved the car, just like I loved my previous 2011 Audi A8. Unfortunately, issues appeared very quickly, even on the same day that I picked it up from the dealership. The issues included rattling of the dashboard, adaptive cruise control refusing to switch on or disconnecting suddenly and wind noise from the top of the front windows. The car went back to the dealer for repairs six times in a nine month period to address the issues. These were the results as follows: 1) dashboard rattling noises: dealer partially improved this, but new ones appeared as well as noises from the central armrest - never totally fixed. 2) wind noise: apparently it's part of the design of the car, very present above 65 mph - and cannot be fixed. 3) intermittent tyre pressure monitor fault - not easy to reproduce, so not fixable. 4) adaptive cruise control temperamental stop and start - fixed by software update, but a new fault developed: on the motorway, for no reason, the car brakes hard from 70+ mph to 30mph within seconds and the dashboard show that it has read a 30 mph signal (that does not exist, obviously, on a motorway). I only just avoided accident two times and had pictures taken by a passenger, but Audi refuses to fix the issues as they would have preferred videos to pictures... really? 4) Heads up display fault, with navigation information fading and disappearing - Audi managed to reproduce the fault but refuse repairing the unit despite the car is under warranty. The feedback I got from the service manager was that I was unlucky... really, is not having luck a valid excuse after spending almost £90k on a top of the range car still under warranty?
Overall, the experience with the new Audi A8 became a real nightmare, especially with Audi refusing to recognise issues and faults.
This is a very nice car totally wasted by too much technology deployed without real testing – a car to avoid purchasing unless you have a chauffeur who will do the service and repairs runs for you!
Would you recommend the car to a friend?
No 
5 out of 5
Car Details
Model
A8L 3.0 TDI QUATTRO SPORT EXECUTIVE 4DR AUTO
Year
2014
Avg annual mileage
15,000 – 19,999
Owned
1 - 2 years
Bought Car
New
Typical MPG
36
Tell us what you think about your car?
Wonderful car. Superb drive and so very comfortable. Changed wheels from 21" to 19" which ups the comfort over bumps. No problems (touch wood) in 18 months. I drive briskly to say the least but I guess if I was a sedate driver the mpg would be quite a bit higher. Best car I have had over 40 years.
Would you recommend the car to a friend?
Yes
4 out of 5
Car Details
Model
50 TDI S-LINE
Year
2018
Avg annual mileage
10,000 – 14,999
Owned
1 - 2 years
Bought Car
New
Typical MPG
49
Tell us what you think about your car?
This is a quiet, relaxed, comfortable A8 that also happens to be economical and have the performance. There are some issues with the cruise control which sometimes self cancels, shows the incorrect speed or even accelerates or brakes abruptly above legal speeds.
Would you recommend the car to a friend?
Yes
5 out of 5
Car Details
Model
Launch spec 5.0 TDI
Year
2017
Avg annual mileage
15,000 – 19,999
Owned
1 - 2 years
Bought Car
Used
Typical MPG
40
Tell us what you think about your car?
I bought my Launch spec A8 in December 2018. The car came fully loaded with extras, and is an absolute joy to drive. Double glazed windows ensure it is extremely quiet. Blind spot warning lights in the wing mirrors, coupled with adaptive cruise control and headlights that never have to be switched from main beam, as they automatically block out the extremely bright beam from any other car on the road (whether approaching or following) make the car very “restful” to drive.
The car is very quick for a car of this size (less than 6 second 0-62mph) and achieves 45mpg easily on a longer run. Even on short drives 40mpg is easy to hit.
The seats are the most comfortable I have ever had the pleasure to sit on, and internal space is huge. The two screens are presented in a seamless, very attractive dashboard, which provide all important information and controls in an easy to understand fashion.
Audi normally offer fantastic discounts on A8’s, and I saved 23% off the 85K standard list price.
I would agree with a previous review that the standard A8 at around 70K does not come with features you would expect on a luxury car (non-leather dashboard and standard headlights to name two). Also, be aware that spare parts are not always on a quick delivery. A laser failed on the car after a few months (making the adaptive cruise control inoperable), and it took Audi a few weeks to source a replacement.
Because of the dreadful condition of most UK roads, the occasional rattle surfaces, which is never evident on European roads (France and Spain). Recently drove from Bilbao to the Sierra Nevada area of Southern Spain (a 10 hour drive) and back a month later, and the car was faultless. The large fuel tank enabled me to complete the journey from Surrey (via ferry from Portsmouth) to Southern Spain on a single tank, with fuel to spare.
Overall, delighted with th car, and highly recommended.
Would you recommend the car to a friend?
Yes
3 out of 5
Car Details
Model
50 TDi Quattro
Year
2018
Avg annual mileage
10,000 – 14,999
Owned
Less than a year
Bought Car
Used
Typical MPG
39
Tell us what you think about your car?
Really not good enough. I ordered the 2018 Audi A8 on the strength of 5 star reviews in the motoring press. I can only assume the launch cars were tested with lots of expensive options, because the new A8 has been less that impressive after 6 months on ownership.
In reality the car has surprising amounts of wind noise without the double glazing option. The latest gen MMI too clever for its own good and requires you to take your eyes off the road for long periods of time. There is also a persistent and continuous rattle from the lower MMI screen that is infuriating. Bluetooth connection to my phone constantly cuts out when streaming music, which never happened in my Golf.
The lane guidance system switches on automatically each time you start the car. In varies between unobtrusive (e.g. not working) to thinking a crash is happening, swinging the steering away from the centre of the road with no forewarning. This is particularly pronounced on narrow roads and an excellent way of scaring the heck out of the driver.
The car is a great cruiser, spacious and comfortable in a straight line with surprisingly good economy. It's a big car and due to the unpredictable steering and poor body control is quite difficult to place on the road, making it less than relaxing away from A roads and Motorways.
Unless you have all the settings (suspension, gearbox, drivetrain) in attack mode (which you never do - it's a luxury cruiser) the car is sluggish on the throttle and takes a second or so to kickdown when you boot the throttle. Worrying when you are pulling out of a junction or across oncoming traffic; a gap you think is big enough will not be.
In summary, for a flagship vehicle supposed to be Audi's best of the best this is a surprisingly average car. it's a £70,000 well equipped Passat, but worse to drive and with worse build quality. It sometimes does thinks you don't expect (lane guidance, kickdown) that feel like it is trying to get you into an accident. Next time I will look at the 7 series or S class.
Would you recommend the car to a friend?
No
1 out of 5
Car Details
Model
55
Year
2018
Avg annual mileage
More than 20,000
Owned
Less than a year
Bought Car
New
Tell us what you think about your car?
I have just completed 37,000 miles in my Audi A8 2016 3.0 TDI and traded in for the new shaped A8.
Main reason for changing is that I thought the self steering assist might save my life one day. Having driven it a bit I wish I had saved myself a lot of money and kept the old model. In fact I miss it. It is really hard to live with the new model there SO little storage space it simply pathetic, where do I put my coins? Nowhere to store the instruction book, what do I do with it? Glove compartment is smaller than tiny, armrest storage has gone, door pockets are tiny, sunglasses holder gone, storage behind the rear armrest gone. It’s simply miserable! I have driven and owned many cars, early A8, last A8, old shape Mercedes S-Class, Volkswagen Phaeton, Jaguar XJ and a whole list of ordinary cars as well and the new A8 is the most unliveable of them all by a mile. I am not sure if the press are bribed before they review but I think most of them must drive a swift as an everyday car.
I’m high mileage motorway so I’m interested in ride, I think there is very little between the two, new one is better but it’s riding on 18-inch wheels whereas my old one was on 19-inch. The big difference is, put the old one into Dynamic cruise and it felt like you were attached and could drive it. In the new model, you feel just as detached and at no point in the new one do you feel as planted as the old.
I ran sound comfort tyres on the old model and I can perceive very little noise difference, they both have/had double glazing. The dashboard rattles so it will have to be booked into a dealer. There is a wind whistle over 70mph you have have to listen to the radio to cover it. Not impressed with the standard stereo, I miss the Bose in my old. It’s not possible to dim the main display enough at night. The old had two strong bag holders in the boot, the new one had a flimsy single thing. The standard 18-inch wheels have a ridge in them that traps water and does not drain! The matrix headlights have improved over the previous version.
This is an ex-demo car which had 700 miles on so not sure of the price new, I think with the extras on it was around £75k. How can you buy a car of that value and feel short-changed? Press rave about the interior but I think, although the switch gear was dated in the old one, lower quality. It just doesn’t feel as classy. This is why you feel short-changed, because unless you spec it really high, like £100k+ it feels disappointing. I still keep looking around thinking I’ve missed a compartment for my pens and change. A Passat I owned came standard with Dynamic cruise and somewhere to rest your foot, the A8 leaves you nowhere to put your foot! On the floor maybe? That’s not great to be ready to react. I honestly don’t know what goes on with car designers, I can only assume they all cycle to work because I don’t think they drive cars any distance. I’m marking low because it’s so disappointing for the car it is supposed to be and I want my old one back because it did the basics better.
Would you recommend the car to a friend?
No
