• News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
  • News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
Sign up Now (For Free)

Sign up for our newsletter and receive the latest automotive news in your inbox!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!
News
Read Now
  • All News
  • Automakers
  • Automobiles
  • Auto Shows
  • Business
  • EVs & Environment
  • Guides
  • Lawsuits/Legal
  • Regulatory
  • Ride-Sharing
  • Safety & Recalls
  • Technology
Recent
  • The Rearview Mirror: Ford’s High-End Failure
  • Ram Returning to Midsize Pickup Segment; Shows Dealers a Concept EV
  • Why Isn’t That EV Charger Working?
  • Ford Will Trust The Truck — The New One Built at BlueOval City
  • Cupra Could Be Headed to the U.S.
  • March New Vehicle Sales to Rise 6.2% Over Last Year
  • Hyundai, Kia Recall Warns Owners of 570K Vehicles to Park Outside
  • Ford Facing $3 Billion in Losses on EV Business for 2023
  • Higher Interest Rates, Bank Failures Pose Challenge to Car Business
  • General Motors to Face Class Action Lawsuit
Editor’s Choice
    Reviews
    Read Now
    • All Reviews
      • Feeder
    • Classic Cars
    • Concept Cars
    • Convertibles
    • Coupes
    • Crossovers/CUVs
    • Diesel
    • Hot hatches
    • Hybrids
    • Luxury Vehicles
    • Minivans
    • Muscle Cars
    • Pickups
    • Sedans
    • Sports Cars
    • Super Cars
    • SUVs
    Recent Reviews
    • A Week With: 2023 Infiniti QX80
    • A Week With: 2023 Genesis GV80 Prestige 3.5 Turbo
    • First Drive: 2024 Dodge Hornet R/T
    • First Drive: 2023 Dodge Hornet GT
    • First Drive: 2023 Genesis Electrified GV70
    • First Drive: 2023 Nissan Ariya e-4orce AWD
    • A Week With: 2023 Jeep Compass Limited
    • A Week With: 2023 Cadillac Escalade V-Series
    • A Week With: 2023 Volvo XC40 AWD Ultimate
    • First Drive: 2024 Subaru Crosstrek
    Editor’s Choice
      Guides
      Car Warranty
      • Endurance Warranty Reviews
      • BMW Extended Warranty
      • Extended Warranty For Cars Over 100k Miles
      • Extended Car Warranty Cost
      • Subaru Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Reviews
      • CarShield Cost
      • Aftermarket Car Warranty
      • CARCHEX Warranty Reviews
      • Reputable Extended Car Warranty Companies
      • Used Car Warranty Companies
      • Best Car Warranty
      • Is CarShield A Scam?
      • Mercedes Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Plans
      Insurance
      • How To Identify A Car Insurance Company
      • Geico Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • How Far Back Does A Car Insurance Company Look
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance For Used Cars
      • State Farm Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance From Progressive
      • Dollar A Day Insurance
      • Auto Insurance For SSI Recipients
      • Car Insurance Rates After A Suspended License
      • Auto Insurance For Salvage Vehicles
      • Average Cost of Dodge Ram 1500 Car Insurance
      • Car Insurance Florida
      • Full Coverage Auto Insurance
      • GrubHub Insurance
      • Amazon Delivery Auto Insurance
      Shipping
      • Car Shipping Companies
      • uShip Reviews
      • Auto Shipping From California To Hawaii
      • Montway Auto Transport Reviews
      • Cheap Car Shipping
      • Easy Auto Ship Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Miami
      • Auto Shipping To Alaska
      • Car Shipping Cost
      • Auto Shipping Hawaii
      • Auto Shipping Puerto Rico
      • Sherpa Auto Transport Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Atlanta
      • Auto Shipping Boston
      • Auto Shipping. Chicago
      About
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Affiliate Disclosure
      • Sitemap
      TheDetroitBureau.com

      More than just “another” place to find news, reviews, spy shots, commentary, features, and guides about the auto industry. TheDetroitBureau doesn’t stop with the press releases or confuse a few lines of opinion with insightful, in-depth reporting.

      Contact Us

      Like what you see? Have some ideas for making The Detroit Bureau.com even better? Let us know, we’d love to hear your voice.

        Media
        Listen Now
        • Headlight News: All Episodes
        More from TheDetroitBureau
        • Guides
        • Latest News
        • Auto Reviews
        • Podcasts
        Headlight News

        TheDetroitBureau.com’s Headlight News offers a look at the past week’s top automotive news stories, as well as what’s coming up in the week ahead. Check out the week’s top story and our latest review…along with a dive into the past with this week in automotive history.

        home > reviews > First Drive: 2019 Audi A8 L Quattro

        First Drive: 2019 Audi A8 L Quattro

        A supreme combination of luxury and performance.

        Joseph Szczesny
        Joseph Szczesny , Executive Editor
        March 05, 2019
        The Audi A8 L Quattro may be among the best-looking vehicles on the road today.

        Passenger cars come in wide variety of shapes and sizes.

        But no vehicle has the presence and stately grace of a well-made sedan and the Audi A8 L Quattro certainly fits the bill with its extra-long wheel base, roomy cabin, quiet ride and an extensive complement of technology designed to make driving less stressful and even less eventful for the driver.

        Reviews You Can Use!

        However, I also had a sneaking suspicion when I saw the spacious rear seat that this was actually a car where a chauffeur did the driving while the owner and his or her colleagues enjoy the comfortable ride and perhaps the view from large side windows.

        Audi, with its austere styling, deft use of lighting technology and careful attention to the appearance of the vehicle’s corners, has had a major influence on the design of all kinds of automobiles during the past two decades. The success of Audi’s formula, however, gives the A8 an understated elegance that helps the car make an impression whether it’s standing at the curb or moving through traffic.

        The Audi A8 offers an impressive mix of performance and luxury comforts, plus an impressive exterior design.

        The layout of the lighting, both front and rear, and the bright work of the grille as well as its long graceful lines, which run along the sides of the car help set the A8 L Quattro apart from its competitors, which include a some very special rivals, such as the BMW 7 Series or the long-wheelbase version of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class Sedan.

        (Audi adding four new PHEVs in Geneva. Click Here for the story.)

        Audi’s elegant but restrained design philosophy is maintained throughout the interior of the A8 L Quattro, with its long sweeping instrument panel and its long straight lines. But the cockpit can hardly be described as retro as Audi has included a sophisticated screen in the center stack that can be accessed by touch, knobs and a controller on the center console.

        The luxurious blend of materials, design and craftsmanship is especially notable in places such as the inner-door pane where leather, wood and felt-like material are artfully melded together in one impressive piece.

        The instrument cluster includes standard features such as a speedometer and tachometer but the screen between that sits in the center of the instrument cluster can be re-configured to the driver’s liking and also contains a three-dimensional map or navigation aid in color that helps insure that driver stays on course and doesn’t miss a turn. The size of the map can be controlled from the steering wheel and while any eye movement away from the road is a distraction the system does help minimize with its placement directly in front of the driver.

        I also discovered that navigation aid can also help in getting back on course if you happen to miss a turn and is readable at night when the streets are dark and it easy to miss a turn or even a landmark. The ambient lighting used in the Audi A8 L Quattro also seems quite friendly without threatening to lull you to sleep on long drive at night.

        The new A8's interior offers a slew of information that is easily deciphered through the simple infotainment system controls.

        The handling, especially tight maneuvers, is very good and the ride, while not quite like ride on sofa, does have the even temper traditionally associated with a luxury car and especially with a luxury sedan designed specifically for comfort and stability.

        (Click Here to see Iron Man help Audi unveil the e-Tron GT Concept.)

        The A8 L Quattro also comes with a long list of comfort a convenience features, including a head-up display, voice recognition, top-view 360-degree camera that’s especially helpful while driving in tight quarters and vehicle exit assist, which keeps the door shut if another vehicle is approaching as well as “theater-like” lighting  that comes on when you approach the vehicle at night.

        The driver assistance features include what is described as the first use on a production model of a “laser scanner” that can better look that can provide more accurate data for the sensors that can trigger automatic brakes or guide the vehicle back into its lane safely.  I didn’t really get to give the system a true stress test to see how the system works under real world conditions.

        However, I did get to try out the “Adaptive cruise assist” on the Audi A8 Quattro, the hands-on system that assists the driver with braking and acceleration in heavy traffic and it was impressive and easy to use.

        The Audi A8 quattro is equipped with a V6 Turbo engine with a new 48-volt, mild-hybrid that uses a lithium ion battery and a new belt driven alternator starter. The system, which help power the A8’s suite of advance infotainment as well as luxury features like the 18-position driver’s seat, is neatly integrated into the powertrain with the 8-speed automatic transmission.

        The A8 L Quattro reveals it may not be designed for drivers, but owners who are driven places.

        The shift on the A8’s stop-start system and extra power from the battery to the drive train was virtually invisible while driving. I also got to use the quattro all-wheel-drive system and it performed nicely on Michigan’s icy roads. The system produces 335 horsepower and 369 foot-pounds of torque and has a combined fuel-economy number of 22 miles per gallon.

        (Click Here for more about Audi sparking race for fastest EV with debut of PB 18 e-tron.)

        The Audi A8 L quattro is expensive at $101,095, according to the Moroney that came with car I drove, and I am not sure the huge back seat is meant for American customers who drive themselves. But the car’s technology is impressive and offers a big hint about where the car business is headed.

        How to Care for Your Car

        Cheap Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice

        Best Extended Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice
        Recently Published
        2023 Infiniti QX80 front 3-4

        A Week With: 2023 Infiniti QX80

        March 24, 2023

        A Week With: 2023 Genesis GV80 Prestige 3.5 Turbo

        March 23, 2023
        2023 Genesis Electrified GV70 front 3-4 REL

        First Drive: 2023 Genesis Electrified GV70

        March 21, 2023

        Leave a Reply Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        What Are You Looking For?

        See More
        Buying a Luxury Car? See our recommended reviews and guides.
        Buying a Luxury Car? See our recommended reviews and guides.
        Reviews and Resources When You Are Looking For a New Car
        Collection
        SUV Reviews and Guides
        Collection

        SUV Reviews and Guides
        Collection
        Car Reviews and Guides
        Collection

        Car Reviews and Guides
        Recommends
        The Best Car Insurance Companies in 2022 (with Costs)
        Recommends

        The Best Car Insurance Companies in 2022 (with Costs)
        Recommends
        Best Car Warranties – 2021 Comparison (Factory & Extended)
        Recommends

        Best Car Warranties – 2021 Comparison (Factory & Extended)
        Close
        Reviews and Resources When You Are Looking For a New Car
        Collection
        SUV Reviews and Guides
        Collection

        SUV Reviews and Guides
        Collection
        Car Reviews and Guides
        Collection

        Car Reviews and Guides
        Recommends
        The Best Car Insurance Companies in 2022 (with Costs)
        Recommends

        The Best Car Insurance Companies in 2022 (with Costs)
        Recommends
        Best Car Warranties – 2021 Comparison (Factory & Extended)
        Recommends

        Best Car Warranties – 2021 Comparison (Factory & Extended)
        Close
        Share this article:
        © The Detroit Bureau 2023
        • Guides
        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms of Use
        • Affiliate Disclosure
        • Contact Us
        • Sitemap
        Follow Us: