Hey guys,

When my A4 lease is up next August, I want to upgrade to an A8L. Now that I have had the A4 for about a year, I have noticed some things that I am finding hard to live with, like transmission bog, low-speed noise, ride quality (it's sport, so it's really my fault), and rear seat space.

But, for YOU, what do you LIKE and DISLIKE about your A8?

Thanks in advance!

my only driving issue is that i would like the steering assist tweaked down just another notch.
still, its noticeably more on-center than my D2 S8, so i'm not unhappy. you will love the car.

Likes:

- Styling
- Interior
- Handling
- Gadgets
- Power

Dislikes:

- Power delivery at launch
- Tire replacement interval (25K miles)
- Interior trunk shape (can't fit golf clubs width-wise)
- Electronic gremlins (MMI reboots)
- No iPod integration
- No bluetooth integration
- Dealer service (break one thing while fixing another, lousy attitude toward $70K car buyer)

Likes:
- combination of sport and luxury features
- overall exterior and interior styling
- gorgeous interior materials (fit/finish)
- elegant night illumination
- Alcantara package
- Sport mode for highway driving
- Adjustable air suspension
- MMI
- Electronic key
- Solar sunroof
- Bluetooth support

Dislikes:
- custom wiring harness makes it extremely difficult to retrofit newer options
- inconsistent dealer experience across dealerships

25k miles is a long time

Like: Style, ride, interior

Dislikes: Radio Display, not enough information. Even a $100 replacement scrolls information without truncating.
Rear Brake light reflects back into car off window, very bad at night.
Phone Bluetooth integration is incomplete and flawed.

early models have a lot of gremlins that were not present at all in my 06. I have a gremmlin on day 1 with the S8 but I am sure it will get sorted

Did I say performance?

Dislikes: No iPod (yet). That's it, apart from that it's truly great.

Bluesky: Would have been even more perfect with another 30 horses. :^)

I expect a minimum of 50k with good tires. I only have about 10k on the 19" Michelins I bought for summer use and at the rate they are wearing, I should see at least 40 but hopefully 50k. Traeadwear number of 400 has given me 60k on my old '87 5000 turbo quattro.

By good I mean something with 280 treadwear rating but reasonable grip. On a 200 wear rated tyre I'll be lucky to see 11k out of the fronts, I think. Having said that, the S8 might have better balance, the W12 was nose-heavy as was the RS 6.

The RS 6 shredded it's factory P Zeros in 8k miles!

I feel that the Michelin 255/40ZR19 Pilot Sport AS are way better than the Pirelli junk that was on the car. With a temperature and traction rating of AA, Michelin has found a way to get a decent wear number and outstanding performance. They have never left me feeling unsafe while driving.

At a cost of almost US$400 each installed with road hazard insurance, I consider them better than good.

Likes:
Interior
Exterior
Under the hood look (4.2L)
Performance (acceleration, interior noise-dual pane glass, fuel economy.

Dislikes:
Pain in the a-- to change the oil. Air cleaner box has to be removed-it is bolted in from below. Lower cover removal is no fun without a pit or hoist. Oil filter is a real treat to install. Thank goodness the change interval is 10k miles. We are talking a $200 oil change so I prefer to do it myself for $55 in parts using full synthetic oil.

Not loking forward to the timing belt replacement fee as that will be too much for me to tackle myself.

Summary, I bought mine without ever test driving one. I had sat in one at a dealer about two years before buying one. I have no regrets so far. If the oxygen sensors start biting the dust, I may change my opinion!

My 275 40ZR 19 PZeros have 14k miles and about 7/32.

But I guess tires are like doughnuts to someone with your wealth ;-)