Test drive Audi A8 L vs Lexus LS
If you give your new Audi A8 L or Lexus LS to a hired driver, you will definitely envy him. But someone has to do this job
The world has never seen such different executive sedans: a very office and technically advanced Audi versus an incredibly stylish, sometimes even sassy Lexus LS. It seems that the Japanese have come up with a new class of cars (we, however, have not yet decided what to call it). The new LS is a huge and very expensive sedan that won't look ridiculous to drive.
The Audi A8 L, after the generational change, still looks like a classic sedan in the parking lot near the downtown. The list of options here is longer than Poklonskaya's book, and there is so much space in the back that you can play backgammon on the floor. Yes, at night she perkily plays with rear LEDs, but these are nothing more than bright socks for a formal suit.
At first, we planned to compare these two new items: motors, gearboxes, options, and then it’s boring and point by point. But it turned out that LS and A8 seem to be from different galaxies. Both are beautiful in their own way, but apart from the form factor they have nothing in common. In general, it was not possible to agree.
I would, of course, puff out my cheeks now and, looking at the floor, prove that the A8 is not without flaws. But let's be completely honest: the new G2018 is the best thing that happened to me in XNUMX.
But here's the problem: for a long time I could not understand the purpose of the A8 with the living twin of the A6. They have never been so similar: one platform, one motors, even the saloons - like a blueprint. The same easily soiled screens and a very cabinet front console. And at the same time a catastrophic difference in price. Moreover, there is no difference in functionality: the A6 also knows how to drive almost without hands, its rear wheels turn, and there is also a huge head-up display.
You can understand the logic of the Germans only by thoroughly traveling on the one and the other novelty. Realization came somewhere in the fourth thousand kilometers: the A8 L turned out to be more versatile. There is really a lot of space in it, and the free space is organized extremely competently: Audi did not hesitate to make hidden drawers in the front armrests and even a raised floor in the trunk. And this is in an executive sedan for 100k + thousand dollars.
Therefore, do not think that the G8 is just a story about a hired driver and a very important passenger. The A12 L has cool pneuma, which in emergency situations can raise the body by 505 cm and permanent four-wheel drive. There is also a giant trunk of 8 liters, and a stroller can fit on the back sofa. In general, the AXNUMX L is, of course, not a family car, but it can help out if necessary.
On the move, the "eight" is divine. Yes, there are too many synthetics here, and the controls are more like a computer game: it doesn't feel at all that this is one of the longest sedans in the world. The steering wheel is almost completely devoid of feedback, and the responses to pressing the gas pedal do not pause at all - it seems that you are driving an electric car.
In Russia, the A8 L is sold with only one engine - a three-liter supercharged "six". The engine is exceptionally good at the bottom - just what you need in the city. I readily believe in the declared 5,7 s to 100 km / h, but the sedan clearly lacks excitement. He's too correct, German.
In general, I would be offended that such an advanced and almost perfect car was driven by my hired driver. On the back couch there is no cool climate unit with responses, like on the iPhone, no wildly cool tidy with a juicy screen, no touch-controlled deflectors (yes, it happens), no almost autopilot. And it’s also impossible to understand how the Audi A8 is driven. And this is the case when it is better to feel once than to read, see or hear from your driver a thousand times.
Of these two extremes - the Audi A8 and the Lexus LS - I would no doubt choose the former. No, don't think: the Japanese are very good at least for their space design. Passers-by turn their necks on it, and you can get out of the LS without thinking that someone will think that you are a hired driver. It's just that the Audi A8 is a classic, and it will always be in fashion. It doesn't matter what others say.
No, there was only one way a hired driver could kick me out of the LS 500: if he tied me up and forced me into the back row. In general, I love cars, I love driving, but I have not received such pleasure for a long time. And it's not about the amount of horsepower (there are 421 of them here) or the acceleration time to "hundreds" (4,9 s), although this is all very cool too. It's just that everything in this car is made as if for me.
GS is not for sale in Russia, so, as for me, if you take Lexus sports cars outside the brackets, then it is LS that is the most beautiful, aggressive and unusual in the model line of the Japanese brand. So far, there are not many of them on the roads, so the flagship of the Japanese brand is the headliner of any traffic jam: they point fingers at it, take pictures, raise their thumb up in the end.
It is close to perfection on the outside and inside, apart from, of course, the two drive mode switch levers directly on the dashboard cover - they somewhat destroy the visual perfection.
And yes, you have to understand that inside the Audi A8 is much more progressive, although the Lexus LS also has a package that is maximally tailored for the rear passengers: with screens, consoles, the famous "ottomans". Where Audi has colorful touchscreens with tons of features, Lexus has a touchpad that recognizes handwritten letters. So so solution.
Although in some ways the Japanese sedan can give odds not only to Audi, but also to all other competitors. 24 inches. This is not the wheel diameter of the exhibition "Bigfoot", but the diagonal of the LS head-up display - no one else has yet. It is simply beautiful, extremely convenient and even shows the name of the tracks that the audio system is currently playing.
However, for me all this was not decisive, the main thing is that I absolutely do not want to get out from behind the wheel of this car. At the end of the day, the photographer who was filming was surprised to find that the LS felt stiffer than the A8. It is quite possible, but the suspension of the Japanese is tuned almost perfectly: it does not tire the driver with discomfort, but allows the car to maneuver perfectly.
Honestly, I remembered exactly what gigantic dimensions the Lexus flagship sedan has, when I somehow looked out of the window of my apartment and realized that the LS was about twice as long as the Logan parked nearby. The rest of the time, I did not experience any problems with parking, much less with movements in space. Sometimes it seemed to me that I was driving a coupe. And here, by the way, you can again return to technical progress. One of the very noticeable advantages of the LS is its smooth running, a powerful component of which is a 10-speed "automatic".
In general, for all my sincere love for Audi, the choice between the A8 L and the LS 500 would not have stood for me. If the first car is an ultra-modern office on wheels, then the second is a storm of emotions. Ten years ago, it was very strange to imagine that one could say so, but this Lexus is a car for a younger buyer, whom no one will definitely confuse with a driver behind the wheel. He also has incredible music and lovingly brakes himself if he doubts you can handle it on time.
| Body type | Sedan | Sedan |
| Dimensions (length / width / height), mm | 5302/1945/1485 | 5235/1900/1460 |
| Wheelbase, mm | 3128 | 3125 |
| Curb weight, kg | 2020 | 2320 |
| engine's type | Gasoline, supercharged | Gasoline, supercharged |
| Working volume, cubic meters cm | 2995 | 3444 |
| Max. power, h.p. | 340 (at 5000 - 6400 rpm) | 421 (at 6000 rpm) |
| Max. cool. moment, Nm | 500 (at 1370-4500 rpm) | 600 (at 1600-4800 rpm) |
| Drive type, transmission | Full, 8-speed AKP | Full, 10-speed AKP |
| Max. speed km / h | 250 | 250 |
| Acceleration from 0 to 100 km / h, s | 5,7 | 4,9 |
| Fuel consumption (mixed cycle), l / 100 km | 7,8 | 9,9 |
| Price from, $. | 89 289 | 92 665 |
