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By Jonathan Crouch

Audi's A8 has long been the big saloon to choose if discretion and understatement work for you. Is that still the case? Jonathan Crouch looks at what's on offer from the revised version of the fourth generation design.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 81

The improved version of Audi's fourth generation A8 is smarter, more efficient and well up to the segment standard in its use of autonomous driving technology. Better established badges in this sector may be tempting, but they often can't offer some of the features this car brings to the full-sized Luxury saloon segment: all-wheel steering and an active suspension system are just a couple of examples. In short, there ought to be enough here to please the most demanding boardroom buyer.

Backgroundword count: 224

Audi is used to winning. It's got extremely good at it, continuing to push technological boundaries wherever it can to stay a step ahead of its rivals. And the best place to see Vorsprung Durch Teknic at work? Well it has to be here doesn't it, with the brand's top A8 large luxury saloon, further improved in this evolved fourth generation form. It's hard to remember now, but prior to this A8's original launch back in 1994, Audi wasn't really considered a fully-fledged prestigious brand. Its cars generally languished in the corner of your local Volkswagen dealer's showroom and appealed to those who couldn't quite stretch to the products of the smarter German makers. The first generation A8 changed all of that, a car the like of which the luxury segment had never seen before. Aluminium spaceframe technology from NASA. 4WD quattro technology from the World Rally Championship. And exquisite standards of build quality that redefined what boardroom buyers could expect from a European luxury car. At a stroke, it put posh rivals on the back foot - and Audi has never looked back since. The second and third generation A8 saloon merely perfected the recipe, but this MK4 'D5'-series model, first launched in 2017, took a real step forward once again. Has Audi further perfected it in this facelifted form? Let's find out.

Driving Experienceword count: 231

The array of engines you get in the latest A8 is pretty mouth-watering and as before, everything's mated to 8-speed tiptronic auto transmission and quattro 4WD. As before, the mainstream line-up is based around two V6 turbo engines. Either a 3.0 TDI diesel (in the 50 TDI) with 286PS: or a 3.0 TFSI petrol unit (in the 55 TFSI) with 340PS. A 60 TFSIe quattro PHEV variant is also offered, this derivative mating a 3.0 TFSI petrol engine with an electric motor to achieve a 462PS output and 700Nm of torque. The 60 TFSIe now has a much larger 14.4kWh battery for a longer all-electric driving range and goes from rest to 62mph in just 4.9s. The other option is the S8, which uses a 571PS 4.0-litre petrol V8 and generates 800Nm of torque. The S8 sprints to 62mph in just 3.8s. On the move, dynamic all-wheel steering complements the standard quattro permanent all-wheel drive system and buyers also get Audi AI active suspension, a fully active suspension set-up. Depending on the driver's wishes and the driving situation, it is capable of raising or lowering each wheel separately with electric actuators. This newfound latitude enables it to deliver the polished ride comfort of a classic luxury saloon and the taut, composed agility of a more driver-oriented performance car in equal measure. It's clever. It's an Audi. What else did you expect?

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