RE: The Brave Pill: Audi A8 4.2 TDI

[dubbs]

tomic said:

The only sensible luxobarge buy at this age is a Lexus LS460. My SE-L has cost me precisely zero since I bought it last summer. It does 32mpg on a run and 18/19 around town. It's also a 376bhp V8 Petrol so doesn't sound like a tractor, is welcome in any of the ULEZ areas and is properly quick. If you find one with full Lexus history you should have no issues.

Blimey, that's less economical, less dynamic, and makes you look even more like an Addison Lee Chauffeur

I've always fancied a Lexus as a luxo barge but the 4.2 TDI A8 really was something else on the test drive, engine, as a V8, has a reasonable burble, Massage seats and double glazed glass make it comfy enough to wish for autonomous driving modes and then there's that torque for when you fancy going a bit "Ronin"

Blimey the more I write about it the more I think I'm daft selling - but it's poking its nose out parked alongside the M2 so the missus is going to notice at some point and demand it's sold no matter the cost

[dubbs]

dvs_dave said:

Yes, they are on the whole very solid and reliable with very little in the way of serious Bork. These days the forum community knowledge base is very deep, so there isn’t much that can’t be easily diagnosed and fixed, especially if you’re vaguely handy. Helped massively by the fact that dealer level diagnostic equipment (VCDS) is readily available and easy to use and understand. You don’t have that luxury with Merc or BMW. This plays heavily into why you often see old Audi’s (and other VAG products) still going strong long after their less easily fixable contemporaries have been consigned to the scrap heap because of a simple part failure that only a dealer can diagnose and fix.

Oh did I mention it comes with VCDS and Cable?

[tomic]

dubbs said:

Blimey, that's less economical, less dynamic, and makes you look even more like an Addison Lee Chauffeur

I've always fancied a Lexus as a luxo barge but the 4.2 TDI A8 really was something else on the test drive, engine, as a V8, has a reasonable burble, Massage seats and double glazed glass make it comfy enough to wish for autonomous driving modes and then there's that torque for when you fancy going a bit "Ronin"

Blimey the more I write about it the more I think I'm daft selling - but it's poking its nose out parked alongside the M2 so the missus is going to notice at some point and demand it's sold no matter the cost

Afraid not old boy. It's quicker, the economy is probably marginal, I've only seen one other on the road in 9 months so definitely not Chauffeur material and a Diesel burble, really?

Also - have you seen the people who drive Audis?

[WinstonWolf]

dubbs said:

tomic said:

The only sensible luxobarge buy at this age is a Lexus LS460. My SE-L has cost me precisely zero since I bought it last summer. It does 32mpg on a run and 18/19 around town. It's also a 376bhp V8 Petrol so doesn't sound like a tractor, is welcome in any of the ULEZ areas and is properly quick. If you find one with full Lexus history you should have no issues.

Blimey, that's less economical, less dynamic, and makes you look even more like an Addison Lee Chauffeur

I've always fancied a Lexus as a luxo barge but the 4.2 TDI A8 really was something else on the test drive, engine, as a V8, has a reasonable burble, Massage seats and double glazed glass make it comfy enough to wish for autonomous driving modes and then there's that torque for when you fancy going a bit "Ronin"

Blimey the more I write about it the more I think I'm daft selling - but it's poking its nose out parked alongside the M2 so the missus is going to notice at some point and demand it's sold no matter the cost

I've run a D3 A8 for about five years. They're very easy to park but require a bit of skill and a large space. The only issue I've had with mine was it needed a pair of droplinks (about thirty quid, you can fit them without jacking the car) and it has a real appetite for tyres and I'm not really the hooning type.

Every part of my common sense says get something a bit cheaper to run but it's such a lovely thing to waft around in.

[anonymous-user]

tomic said:

dubbs said:

Blimey, that's less economical, less dynamic, and makes you look even more like an Addison Lee Chauffeur

I've always fancied a Lexus as a luxo barge but the 4.2 TDI A8 really was something else on the test drive, engine, as a V8, has a reasonable burble, Massage seats and double glazed glass make it comfy enough to wish for autonomous driving modes and then there's that torque for when you fancy going a bit "Ronin"

Blimey the more I write about it the more I think I'm daft selling - but it's poking its nose out parked alongside the M2 so the missus is going to notice at some point and demand it's sold no matter the cost

Afraid not old boy. It's quicker, the economy is probably marginal, I've only seen one other on the road in 9 months so definitely not Chauffeur material and a Diesel burble, really?

Also - have you seen the people who drive Audis?

I guess the plus point of the Lexus vs the Audi is that you won't look like a Polish builder/hand car wash owner when driving about

[dubbs]

ruprechtmonkeyboy said:

I guess the plus point of the Lexus vs the Audi is that you won't look like a Polish builder/hand car wash owner when driving about

There is that... but then....

"However impressive the LS460 is on paper, in real life it’s a hard car to love, even though you cannot help but admire it. Technological overload is all very well but not when it’s achieved at the expense of that sense of occasion so critical to all true luxury cars.For all its undoubted abilities, it still feels like the world’s most grown-up Toyota. Its cabin functions effectively, but it is not the home from home customers increasingly expect from cars in this class and enjoy every time they step behind the wheel of most European rivals in general, and the Audi A8 in particular."

... think I'd better learn how to lay some bricks

[tomic]

dubbs said:

There is that... but then....

"However impressive the LS460 is on paper, in real life it’s a hard car to love, even though you cannot help but admire it. Technological overload is all very well but not when it’s achieved at the expense of that sense of occasion so critical to all true luxury cars.For all its undoubted abilities, it still feels like the world’s most grown-up Toyota. Its cabin functions effectively, but it is not the home from home customers increasingly expect from cars in this class and enjoy every time they step behind the wheel of most European rivals in general, and the Audi A8 in particular."

... think I'd better learn how to lay some bricks

Although you mention they're easy to park - To us LS460 SE-L owners parking is something that poor people do. Our cars are self parking

[dubbs]

SOLD - to someone who can park all by himself, didn't seem to be too concerned about devious Dubbs and the conspiracy theories, had an English accent, knows what indicators are for, and thought the car is lovely and a bargain (which it was).... no I didn't ask him if he like a Lexus as he had a heartbeat and didn't seem keen on running a used car dealership in Peckham.....

Cheers all, and this thread was a lot of fun!

I'm sure those Lexus are bloody brilliant really!