These days, Audi is swinging away from traditional thinking and is giving more of a modern focus to its vehicles in the way that everything is designed to become more efficient and consume less petrol while still maintaining the high standards we’ve all come to love and expect in this high-end German marque.  The 2014 Audi A8 is a brilliant example of this.

“Brilliant” is indeed the word, as the 2014 Audi A8 features LED technology for its headlights, which consume less power while still making it easy to see and be seen. The designers have done a particularly beautiful job with the daytime running lights, which wrap around the main headlight, almost like a sequin trim on designer clothing. In the high-spec 4.2 TDI variant, you’ll find Audi’s new matrix technology LED lighting which created a bit of a buzz a couple of years back at the Frankfurt Motor Show. This Matrix system works in with the sensors, the cameras and the navigations system to decide on exactly how much light is needed at the time and adjusts itself accordingly.

That’s not the only attractive feature about the styling of the 2014 Audi A8, either. All the lines are very clean and simple, possibly reflecting a minimalist design concept. The slide and tilt glass sunroof blends in beautifully with the smooth finish.  Two wheel designs are available, with the 3.0 getting 19-inch alloys and the 4.2 getting 20 inches.  Interestingly, the design team have decided on a monochrome palette for the paint choices; presumably, the compulsory use of daytime running lights in the Audi’s home country mean that all those shades of silver, white, pewter and black don’t become a visibility hazard. Even the one shade of brown looks somewhat greyish.

The interior of the 2014 Audi A8 is very plush but is less inspired by minimalism. Instead, comfort is the name of the game. The seats are finished in Valcona leather and the front seats have a memory function. In the 4.2, the front seats also have massage function as well as the heating and cooling available in both variants. If the heating and cooling provided by the seats aren’t enough, there’s also four-zone automatic climate control. Dark walnut trim sets off the leather very nicely and there’s no mistaking this for anything other than a luxury car; other inlays are also available including fine grain ash, fine grain birch, poplar brown, piano black and grey vavona wood.  You can even select the colour of the ambient lighting in the interior – three choices are available, with the brightness in four different zones also being fully adjustable.

Comfort inside the 2014 Audi A8 is enhanced by more than just the seats. The driver can access the Audi drive select via the retractable 8-inch multimedia touch screen, and pick from any mode out of Auto, Dynamic, Comfort or Individual.  The famous Quattro full-time 4×4 is grippy and performs nicely around corners, especially alongside the adaptive air suspension and the stability package that includes ABS, ASR and EDL (that’s anti-brake skid, anti-slip regulation and electronic differential lock).  The driver of the 2014 Audi A8 is also ably assisted by the adaptive cruise control with stop and go function, the parking assistance with 360° cameras, the lane change assistance and the head-up display.  An electrically opening tailgate and electrically adjustable exterior mirrors also make life with the 2014 Audi A8 very easy.

Entertainment-wise, you’ll find a better multimedia system inside the 2014 Audi A8 than you would in my living room (although I have to admit that my screen is bigger than 8-inches – but in all other respects, the 2014 Audi A8 wins). This is because this luxury sedan is fitted with a superb BOSE surround sound system with 14 speakers and a total output of 600 W. There’s reception for digital TV as well as digital radio (4.2 TDI only).  You won’t be left searching for a Wifi hotspot so you can go online with your tablet or smartphone: thanks to the Audi Connect function, you’ll have a hotspot wherever you go.

Two engine variants are available for the 2014 Audi A8, both being very punchy V6 turbodiesels with common rail injection. At the lower end of the spectrum, you have the 3.0 TDI, which delivers 190 kW at 4000–4250 rpm and 580 Nm at 1750–2000 rpm.  The 4.2 TDI, on the other hand, bangs out 283 kW at 3750 rpm and an impressive 850 Nm at 2000–2750 rpm. Harnessed to the 8-speed tiptronic gearing system, these engines can accelerate very briskly indeed, with the 3.0 getting from a standstill to 100 km/h in 5.9 seconds and the 4.2 doing it in 4.7 seconds. In the 3.0 TDI, 5.9 crops up again: this is the combined fuel economy figures (in L/100 km). For the TDI 4.2, the combined fuel economy is 7.4 L/100 km.

The 4.2 TDI variant of the 2014 Audi A8 also has a few extra bells and whistles compared to its smaller stablemate. Some of these juicy extras include Quattro sport differential, night vision assist that highlights any pedestrians detected (must be a bit disconcerting for the pedestrians in question), the matrix beam LED headlights already mentioned, the massage function on the seats and the digital TV reception.

Something tells me that people who are lucky enough to get hold of the 2014 Audi A84.2 TDI and all it has to offer in the way of driving pleasure aren’t going to be spending too much time watching that TV. The actual driving will be far more fun!

Current model series include:

• 2014 Audi A8 3.0 TDI
• 2014 Audi A8 4.2 TDI

For any more information on the 2014 Audi A8, or for that matter any other new car, contact one of our friendly consultants on 1300 303 181. If you’d like some fleet discount pricing (yes even for private buyers!), we can submit vehicle quotes requests out to our national network of Audi dealers and come back with pricing within 24 hours. Private Fleet – car buying made easy!