Discussion
tomic said:
I’ve been meaning to post a Readers Cars feature about this since the W12 A8 was featured on PH a couple of months ago.
Mine comes from the complete opposite end of the spec sheet being a 2.8 FWD with only a couple of options ticked. The OY reg leads me to believe this was originally owned by Audi, but being a SWB and lacking rear blinds means it was unlikely to have been part of their chauffeured fleet, and I’ve never seen it in any reviews. I guess it was pre-registered stock. Interestingly OY59ENC is also a 2.8 and was in an episode of Spooks though (mine’s now on a private plate).
I traded in an early Lexus LS460 for it last June and it’s been totally reliable since. I bought it with 97k miles and it’s now covered 102k.
The jury’s out for me on the driving experience though. It has a CVT gearbox with 7 artificial gears. I had the gearbox serviced as soon as I bought it at 4 Rings in Dartford - it cost £180. These units are not that smooth as you pull away, then super smooth when you’re at motorway speeds. Hard acceleration is noisy though, and handling is typical very nose heavy Audi.
The 2.8 seems to be the rarest engine - I’ve only ever seen a couple of others for sale. It’s no firecracker but it seems to be genuinely good on fuel, is the only petrol engined A8 that isn’t in the top road tax bracket and doesn’t consume much oil unlike some other Audis.
Overall, this has been a nice way to smoke around for the last few months. I should also mention that it has a boot that Uncle Buck would be proud of and I only paid £5700 for it. I may start to want something more exciting at some point though.
I have the D3 4.0 TDI... It's surprising quiet for a diesel and has shed loads of torque and leaves even pretty quick cars in its wake at motorway speeds. Yeah they are indeed nose heavy, but for effortless wafting (with grunt when required) I can't fault them.Mine comes from the complete opposite end of the spec sheet being a 2.8 FWD with only a couple of options ticked. The OY reg leads me to believe this was originally owned by Audi, but being a SWB and lacking rear blinds means it was unlikely to have been part of their chauffeured fleet, and I’ve never seen it in any reviews. I guess it was pre-registered stock. Interestingly OY59ENC is also a 2.8 and was in an episode of Spooks though (mine’s now on a private plate).
I traded in an early Lexus LS460 for it last June and it’s been totally reliable since. I bought it with 97k miles and it’s now covered 102k.
The jury’s out for me on the driving experience though. It has a CVT gearbox with 7 artificial gears. I had the gearbox serviced as soon as I bought it at 4 Rings in Dartford - it cost £180. These units are not that smooth as you pull away, then super smooth when you’re at motorway speeds. Hard acceleration is noisy though, and handling is typical very nose heavy Audi.
The 2.8 seems to be the rarest engine - I’ve only ever seen a couple of others for sale. It’s no firecracker but it seems to be genuinely good on fuel, is the only petrol engined A8 that isn’t in the top road tax bracket and doesn’t consume much oil unlike some other Audis.
Overall, this has been a nice way to smoke around for the last few months. I should also mention that it has a boot that Uncle Buck would be proud of and I only paid £5700 for it. I may start to want something more exciting at some point though.
Edited by tomic on Monday 30th January 23:14
pcvdriver said:
I have the D3 4.0 TDI... It's surprising quiet for a diesel and has shed loads of torque and leaves even pretty quick cars in its wake at motorway speeds. Yeah they are indeed nose heavy, but for effortless wafting (with grunt when required) I can't fault them.
Yeah, I'd say the V8 diesel would be a really nice thing to drive. Unfortunately I live in the ULEZ which rules them out for me.Nice, I've had a few D2s and D3s A8/S8s in almost all engines and wouldn't hesitate in buying another D3. Indeed, the CVT isn't the most exciting drive. I bought a scratty one years ago just to nab the ultra desirable 20" wheels off it. Still a lovely car to waft along in though with the suspension in 'Comfort' mode.
59 plate, so you'll have the updated 3G screen (with the bobble on top of the MMI wheel) which is a big improvement over the non-3G system. What sort of MPG are you seeing?
59 plate, so you'll have the updated 3G screen (with the bobble on top of the MMI wheel) which is a big improvement over the non-3G system. What sort of MPG are you seeing?
Koyaanisqatsi said:
Nice, I've had a few D2s and D3s A8/S8s in almost all engines and wouldn't hesitate in buying another D3. Indeed, the CVT isn't the most exciting drive. I bought a scratty one years ago just to nab the ultra desirable 20" wheels off it. Still a lovely car to waft along in though with the suspension in 'Comfort' mode.
59 plate, so you'll have the updated 3G screen (with the bobble on top of the MMI wheel) which is a big improvement over the non-3G system. What sort of MPG are you seeing?
Yes it has the MMI 3G. I need to get myself a Bluetooth adaptor for the iPhone connection - at the moment I'm still plugging my phone in to access music. I'm getting 25ish around town which is double my previous Lexus LS460 and a significant improvement over the E91 325i Auto with the N52 engine I had before that. On pure Motorway driving I seem to get just over 40 with the cruise set to 70. Combined it seems to work out at 36mpg, which is not bad for the size of the car and the fact petrol is much cheaper59 plate, so you'll have the updated 3G screen (with the bobble on top of the MMI wheel) which is a big improvement over the non-3G system. What sort of MPG are you seeing?
tomic said:
Yeah, I'd say the V8 diesel would be a really nice thing to drive. Unfortunately I live in the ULEZ which rules them out for me.
You don't have an elderly relative you "care for" do you?, if that's the case - apply for an exemption from your local council. My mum happens to be a blue badge holder, so no ULEZ charges for me...Edited by pcvdriver on Wednesday 1st February 11:55
Edited by pcvdriver on Wednesday 1st February 11:56
pcvdriver said:
You don't have an elderly relative you "care for" do you?, if that's the case - apply for an exemption from your local council. My mum happens to be a blue badge holder, so no ULEZ charges for me...
Unfortunately not, but I like the idea!Edited by pcvdriver on Wednesday 1st February 11:55
Edited by pcvdriver on Wednesday 1st February 11:56
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