Audi R8 V8 Owners Opinions

[keo]

Hi everyone,

I am thinking about an Audi R8 V8 as my next car. Looking at spending £40-£50k on one.

It would be a manual coupe with carbon side blades other than that i aren't sure.

The gated manual and NA V8 are huge positives. But what are they like to drive? The interior also looks a little boring and very simiar to my Audi A3.

Running costs sound reasonable fir the type of car it is. I was originaly thinking about a Porsche 911 but i fancy an R8 more as they are a bit more special and i have never owned a v8 before.

So just after general opinions please. Are they really that good? Or just a big boring audi with a nice engine in the back?

Thanks

[Trev450]

You need to drive one. They are anything but a 'big boring Audi'. I had a Cayman S previously and was looking for something that gave me similar feedback when pushed. The R8 does that in bucket loads and can feel like a RWD when pressing on. Mine is a V10, but the V8 is still a superb car and arguably makes a nicer sound. Power-wise, it depends what you are used to. The V8 is considered by some to be not quick enough. Only a test drive will decide that for you.

Get yourself over to R8talk.com as it is a very active forum with quite a few UK members on there.

[PompeyReece]

Yes, they're that good. I have a gated 2008 v8 - love it. Not cheap when things go wrong but Audi reliability is mostly present. For £50k you'll be looking at a 20,000 miles v8 or a hig mileage v10 - the former would be my choice but up to you.

But as Trev said, come on over to R8talk.com - loads of info on there.

Reece

Edited by PompeyReece on Wednesday 17th January 16:41

[Incognegro]

Looks like I’m in similar boat as the OP

Narrowed my wants down to a V8, r-tronic, mag ride, much carbon as poss will be customised to an extent with perhaps ultimately to twin supercharge.

Coming across from a wildly powerful TVR cerbera 4.5SS so a less ocd car is my want.

How is the day to Day living with? And is the luggage area as bad as it looks?

[PompeyReece]

Incognegro said:

Looks like I’m in similar boat as the OP

Narrowed my wants down to a V8, r-tronic, mag ride, much carbon as poss will be customised to an extent with perhaps ultimately to twin supercharge.

Coming across from a wildly powerful TVR cerbera 4.5SS so a less ocd car is my want.

How is the day to Day living with? And is the luggage area as bad as it looks?

It's probably the best daily driver considering super cars of its age. Mine is a weekend only drive but could happily cope with the drive every day.

The luggage area is fine for me. There's enough space in the front and also behind the seats for a weekend away for two but you'll be pushed to get a week's worth of holiday clothes in there. You can buy (eBay) luggage specifically made for the front boot and behind-the-seat spaces although the original stuff does appear to be expensive.

You'll be pushed to find a R8 without mag ride - just check they're not leaking (£1,000 each to replace with an OEM part) and R-tronics are like marmite although personal taste (you need to try both). There's also a rather excellent R8 performance workshop in Swindon who come highly recommended and specialise in R8 upgrades.

[Trev450]

I use mine as a daily and apart from the snow when it becomes a plough, it is probably one of the best supercars that can be used in this way.

[Stuart1961]

The R8 V8 is a great car, reasonable servicing and running costs and very reliable.

Luggage wise is fine especially if you have the fitted luggage. My wife and I did a two week holiday to the Swiss Alps and Italian Lakes with no problem at all.

The V8 is far from slow if you are a good driver.

I would certainly drive the rtronic as I hated it and bought the manual.

Get one with the right colour & options; manual, carbon fibre interior inserts, carbon fibre side blades, B&O stereo, Mag Ride, Parking sensors, etc.

Buy and enjoy !

[Incognegro]

Massive thanks for your thoughts guys.

Fitted luggage yes as it looks neat 😎 everyday use was stretching it as the RR evoque is the daily but the thought it is happy to oblige as is more get in and drive as opposed to the constant monitoring pleases me.

Still leaning towards the rtronic and am also keen to see how the r8 comradrey compares to the excellent TVR community

[Debaser]

I love my V8 R8. I drove a V8 and V10 when looking, and preferred the V8. At the kind of speeds you'll be doing in the UK the performance won't blow your socks off, but it pulls hard at higher speeds.

When I was looking I specifically wanted one without the mag ride suspension. The horror stories and repair costs weren't worth it for me, and the standard dampers are totally fine for everything I've wanted from it. I've also noticed the odd buyer's guide has started to steer people away from mag ride.

Luggage area is pretty small (it's less practical than a 911 or Cayman/Boxster), and it gets surprisingly hot in there (your ice cream wouldn't last long on the way home from the shops). Mine has extended leather which lifts the interior.

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/industry/audi-r...

[andy97]

Incognegro said:

Still leaning towards the rtronic

Drive one in a mix of normal driving conditions, ie through a built up area in reasonable traffic, around a ring road, on an A-road etc.

I found the R-Tronic to be truly horrible in normal driving (just too much of a jolt between changes) but decent on a track.

[PompeyReece]

andy97 said:

Drive one in a mix of normal driving conditions, ie through a built up area in reasonable traffic, around a ring road, on an A-road etc.

I found the R-Tronic to be truly horrible in normal driving (just too much of a jolt between changes) but decent on a track.

Ironically that (the jolt) is one of the main reasons why a few R-tronic owners prefer it over a manual or the S-tronic, especially on down shifts!

Swings and roundabouts....