2016 Audi A8 L - The bar is still pretty high

[ksoze]

Helped a friend pick up his new Audi A8 L 4.0T yesterday and spent some quality time in the cockpit and rear cabin. It was a reminder of how high the bar is in the luxury sport segment and also how far the Genesis has come and how far it sill has to go.

Although twice the price but filled with many of the same options, the Audi is a site to behold and spend time in. Much of the same stuff is there - pano roof, sun shades, electronic gadgets galore, but it does feel different. For one, the ability to configure and set the orgy of options is deep but manageable. The MMI media system centered by a Google-powered nav unit is superb. The Audi MMI system has been criticized in the past, but this unit was pretty amazing. The handwriting pad was surprisingly useful and navigating through the cars depths was almost easy. The Bose audio system however underwhelmed.

The fit and finish is where the difference is seen and felt. Not one piece of plastic anywhere. Switchgear that was not from a mashup parts bin. The leather seats were heated, cooled, massaged and carefully woven - back and front. Not a gap in sight nor a segment of the interior that was not well thought out. The suede leather headliner and pillars are small but noticeable options missing on our cars (but not the Canadians). LED interior lighting was integrated and controlled like it belonged there.

After getting back into my "economy" sedan, it did not feel $50K less. But it was a reminder how much goes into perfection and how the sum of the parts is actually a lot of parts, all of which need to fit together seamlessly. The big Audi does it really well. Economics aside, there is work to be done to enhance the Genesis even more. In many cases, it's the little things that all add up to how good the car is. The A8 is actually more of a direct competitor to the upcoming G90, but the object is the same. I'm not sure how the bar could be higher.

 

[Midnightsun]

I see it more of a reminder of how much more one actually needs to spend for some rather small differences. There is a point where pricing gets out of hand for what you get.

Speaking of A8's. My son in law had one in his garage 2 weeks ago (older model with the V10) The passenger seat electrical was not working. He fixed it but the bill was close to $4,000.

 

[XPO439]

The A8 is a nice car, but one of the main reasons why I'll never get one, is pretty much what Midnightsun stated above. $4K for an electric seat malfunction...

I'm pretty happy in the Genesis as the electronics in this car is more than enough. Everything else is more bragging rights in my opinion.

If the new G90 can compete with that for much less...I might consider it.

 

[ksoze]

Take my post as a clear vote for the Genesis as well as a healthy respect of automotive nirvana, which comes with at a huge premium. For me, it both reinforced the value of our car, but also how much goes into near perfection.

 

[srobak]

Keep in mind that the A8 is also a different class than the G2. The G90 is the more direct competitor and will have much more refinements in the interior, features and electronics. It will still fall short of the A8 - but it will be a lot closer to it than the G2 even is. The g2/80 is much more in line with an A6 - and going from an A8 to an A6 you can certainly tell & feel the difference as well. the G90 will get you closer to an A8 feel, interior, toys, etc... but at A6 pricing.

The other thing you have to take into consideration is the warranty. Even with some of the bugginess in the G2 - the fact of the matter is we have one hell of a warranty out of the box, with some really nice icing that can be had for not much more money should we want to extend it b2b to 100k via the HPP or others. That is something that none of the Germans come compare to - and really tips the scales in the G90's favor, afaic.

 

[MathWiz]

I just spoke to someone yesterday with a Black 2015 A8L, he paid 91K, it is already down in the low 70s for resale value.

But it was beautiful car.

Charles

 

[jsmit86]

It will be interesting to see how close the G90 comes to the bar. I don't expect parity, but perhaps pretty close.

Once the car launches, I'd like to see some comparo reviews from C&D, MotorTrend, TFL Car, etc. I'd like to see G90 vs. S, 7, A8, CT6, and perhaps the new Continental.

Frankly I'm a bit surprised that there weren't more comparison reviews with G2 vs. CTS, 5, E, GS, etc.. There was one G2 V8 vs. CTS V-Sport that gave the nod to G2 on Value, but V-Sport on much of the performance stuff. Perhaps when the G80 launches, someone will revisit Genesis AWD vs. some of these.

 

[srobak]

Maybe - but I also have a strong suspicion that the Germans have been paying good money for the comparisons not to be made in the trade rags & sites. Seems that you only see the comparisons on youtube reviews and sites like this.

 

[AustinTX]

Helped a friend pick up his new Audi A8 L 4.0T yesterday and spent some quality time in the cockpit and rear cabin. It was a reminder of how high the bar is in the luxury sport segment and also how far the Genesis has come and how far it sill has to go.

...

Having owned an older A8L, I would have loved to get a new 2016, even the 3.0T is an absolute beast. The lease payment came to $1,400/month - that's a two bedroom apartment near downtown Austin, or about $1.20 / mile driven just on the lease payment for me (about 1,000 miles/month). The Audi is absolutely fantastic, and if I could get over the price, I would get one.

It's also a clear case of diminishing returns - the Genesis is good enough for only $430/months. I think I would not enjoy the Audi enough ever to spend the extra $800/months to drive it. In my younger years I didn't mind spending $120,000 on two cars (single with no kids) - my loaded A8L had a fully loaded Audi TT quattro Roadster as his garage buddy. At some point it dawned on my what other great things I could have done with all that money that sat in my garage. I travel a lot for work, so my car sits at the airport for weeks and mostly drives on the highway between my home and the airport - the Genesis is more than enough for that.

If I won the lottery there would be an S8 plus or an A8L W12 in my garage (completely unnecessary excess, both of them). But short of having a few extra millions that serve no better purposes, paying that much for a car just seems excessive.

I'm glad you got to enjoy your friends new car - congratulations to him on a very enjoyable and beautiful new ride!

 

[Genentec]

a 2008 used a8 is going for about 12k right now i think. thats a 110k loss over the course of 8 years.

leasing it just means u absorb the massive first 3 years of depreciation. I guess if your filthy rich and use it as a tax write off then its somewhat worth it.

the audi a8 will probably make your life a lot more difficult after 3 years due to maintenance and problems associated with european cars. its very common to have transmission problems within 50k miles of a audi mercedes ownership experience. that could run u about 12k in cost right there.

u start to feel stupid once u crunch the numbers.

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[Genentec]

the genesis DH is a heck of a car. its large, looks so friggin tight and commanding, its so insane that u can get a 400+ horsepower car fully equipped for about 35k.

it totally kills all the equivalent american cars...and if u remove the prestige factor of the audi or bmw, then the genesis comes out to be king.

ill trust korean japanese asian engineering over the europeans any day. Talk to a benz bmw audi owner and youll know what a piece of shiat car they really are. my 2011 benz e350 has a very sloppy shifting tranny, its supposed to be normal. its well documented on all mercedes forums. this is a sign that the trans will probably be done at about 100k miles. I would not trust to own it long term.

basically hyundai has done us consumers a big favor by offering true european design with asian quality reliability and longevity.

 

[Jaeger]

"Although twice the price..." 'Nuff said right there, really.

 

[Aquineas]

This is a good post. In evaluating the Genesis, I look at the slope of the line that represents a plot of the refinement of the first generation with the second generation. I then extrapolate that to the 3rd generation, likely coming in 2021. I fully expect the 3rd generation to show as big a jump in refinement as is seen from the G1 to the G2. It does however cost money for that refinement, and I fully expect the 3rd generation top-of-the-line Genesis to hit the low-60s price point.

 

[Genentec]

u can get a full on legit fully loaded 400 hp genesis for the price of a audi a4 base model...a stripped down front wheel drive ginmick with leatherette interior. whats the a4 ? 150 hp jetta in disguise right ?

the differences are too big to ignore. audi is making a killing on them, hyundai IMO is barely making any money on each unit IMO.

 

[Genentec]

screw the next 3rd generation =) , the current dh genesis is alrrady pretty bad ass it just looks bad ass.

This is a good post. In evaluating the Genesis, I look at the slope of the line that represents a plot of the refinement of the first generation with the second generation. I then extrapolate that to the 3rd generation, likely coming in 2021. I fully expect the 3rd generation to show as big a jump in refinement as is seen from the G1 to the G2. It does however cost money for that refinement, and I fully expect the 3rd generation top-of-the-line Genesis to hit the low-60s price point.

 

[Stoneybroke]

I don't often post here, but have been a genny fan for some time. 2 years ago, I traded a 2010 CTS sport wagon on a 2014 A6. To date, the A6 has been flawless. The supercharged V6 is very quick and gets excellent mileage. The MMI and electronic suite are first rate. When I leased the Audi, I looked at Equus and Genesis-both very nice cars, but............ The dealers make all the red flags go up with their sleazy tactics. Low ball trade offers, I need to talk to my manager crap and sales people who don't know the product. Hopefully, the new G80 and G90 will remedy this situation. A twin turbo AWD G80 or G90 will go a long way toward fixing this situation, if the dealer situation improves.

 

[Genentec]

you are still under factory warranty. too early to warrant a car as reliable.

I don't often post here, but have been a genny fan for some time. 2 years ago, I traded a 2010 CTS sport wagon on a 2014 A6. To date, the A6 has been flawless. The supercharged V6 is very quick and gets excellent mileage. The MMI and electronic suite are first rate. When I leased the Audi, I looked at Equus and Genesis-both very nice cars, but............ The dealers make all the red flags go up with their sleazy tactics. Low ball trade offers, I need to talk to my manager crap and sales people who don't know the product. Hopefully, the new G80 and G90 will remedy this situation. A twin turbo AWD G80 or G90 will go a long way toward fixing this situation, if the dealer situation improves.

 

[XPO439]

I don't often post here, but have been a genny fan for some time. 2 years ago, I traded a 2010 CTS sport wagon on a 2014 A6. To date, the A6 has been flawless. The supercharged V6 is very quick and gets excellent mileage. The MMI and electronic suite are first rate. When I leased the Audi, I looked at Equus and Genesis-both very nice cars, but............ The dealers make all the red flags go up with their sleazy tactics. Low ball trade offers, I need to talk to my manager crap and sales people who don't know the product. Hopefully, the new G80 and G90 will remedy this situation. A twin turbo AWD G80 or G90 will go a long way toward fixing this situation, if the dealer situation improves.

Most salesmen don't know half the cars they're selling. I'm including Infiniti and Lexus in this as I have owned those cars in the past. The Infiniti salesman didn't even know how much horsepower the g37 coupe he was selling me! The Lexus dealer...I was shopping for the RX330 and the idiot tried leer me over to a more expensive IS350 series because it had "just as much room" and could give me a sporty ride...really...

When walking into a dealership, it's best you have your numbers ready. You walk in, talk numbers if the car you want is sitting right there. Don't let them sleaze ball you. It took us 2 hours total before the #sarah was in the garage.

How I differentiate between these brands:

Audi, Benz, Bimmers are the blonde one- night stand, hit and quit girls with fake double Ds ready to take all your sh*t once you turn your back. The Genesis is the girl you take home to meet the family, the hard working, college educated girl WITH natural double Ds that you want to marry. Let that marinate...

 

[AustinTX]

u can get a full on legit fully loaded 400 hp genesis for the price of a audi a4 base model...a stripped down front wheel drive ginmick with leatherette interior. whats the a4 ? 150 hp jetta in disguise right ?

the differences are too big to ignore. audi is making a killing on them, hyundai IMO is barely making any money on each unit IMO.

You sound like a fanboy, and you shouldn't post things that are so obviously not correct.

A base A4 is $37,300 - You can get a base Audi S4 for $49,200
A base Genesis 5.0L (no longer available in 2016) was $52,450

There is no Audi A4 with a 150 HP engine in the US, there hasn't been one sold since 2000 (16 years ago).

Also, the Audi A4 has never shared a platform with the VW jetta - it shared a platform with the VW Passat back in 2000. The current and last generation (since 2008) A4 are based on a platform not shared with any VW models.

In 2000 (when the 150 HP Audi A4 was last sold), Hyundai was building shitboxes like the Accent (88 HP) and the XG300 (front wheel drive).

If Hyundai were able to sell the Genesis for more profit, they would. They can't ask anywhere near the money that Lexus, or the German brands are getting because most people would not chose to get a Genesis in that case. I know I would be driving an Audi A6 if the prices were closer. I assume the Genesis for most people is a choice based on value for money, not because it's the better car than what the established luxury brands are selling.

I like my Genesis, but your fanboy posts are factually wrong and remind me of the old "Amiga vs Atari ST vs PC" days, the Apple/Android fanboys and other people who need to elevate their choices by putting other brands down. Audi builds great cars, anyone who argues otherwise is kidding themselves.

 

[jimb100]

Depreciation on the Audi is pretty brutal. My brother is on the road just about all day, every day in the NY Metro area. He drives about 50K miles a year.

He just bought an A7 with 25k miles, I believe he said it was a 2013. Paid in the low $30's with a bumper to bumper to 60K miles. He usually keeps 2-3 cars going at the same time.

He loves the A7. He's had a 911, a couple of big Mercs, Corvettes, you name it. He loves the A7.

When I bought my Genesis the choice was between a 3 year old A7 and the Genesis but I plan on keeping the car for a long time as my wife and I are both now retired and drive only locally and that very little. We also have a minivan to take the dogs to the vet, etc. The Genesis is certainly nice enough to keep my wife happy, although she does miss her SL 500. Once you can no longer get an extended factory warranty on those cars its time to let them go.

But I can see picking something else up in a year or two just for fun.