josephpallan

(Im 14 years old)

My dad is currently driving a "Toyota Innova 2.0" which goes from 0-100 in about 15sec, useless right?

Will the 4.2 Petrol V8 be enough to impress what a sedan can do

Backstory - My dad likes big, 0 mpg, SUVs... I'm trying to convince him that a sedan is the best thing ever for city driving, so I'm finding something to change his mind

I started with a Mercedes Benz C-200
Then Bmw 320d
Now A8 2012-13

They are cars which are around the budget,
How's your experience with your A8 engine?
Any mods for the 4.2 to increase power (cheaply)

Jack88

No performance mods for the naturally aspirated D4's.

MP4.2+6.0

4.2 mods. Forget it. Normally aspirated and tuned for prior say 20 years by...Audi.

4.0t or S8 are quite fast, so all depends on your reference points. Relative to yours or big ole SUV's, 4.2 is serious performer. And as you are trying to tell your dad, wait until the first corner. When I would go to Tahoe and do the 7200 foot (>2000 meter climb over 50 miles and several multi mile serious pulls with extra truck lanes going up, I would particularly enjoy the hot stuff SUV's with the 2000 A6 4.2. Never mind it was only a 5 speed, back at 300HP. 0-60 in 6.7, so D3 4.2 w/ 8 speeds a bunch faster yet. Never mind it would smoke any body on frame kind of stuff of the era, especially on any grade pull with its Autobahn runner nature. The funner part was the corners. Just head into the tight sweeper marked 55 mph (and not watered down like so many) at about 80 mph and just hunker down and stay with level gas and have reserve to spare. Watch the mirror as the panic hits. Watch the mirror as the grill fades. Watch the mirror as they pack it in. Even better, the sweeper with the bump in the road right near the end of it. Get the axle hop going for the full on white knuckle for a driver way over his head. All their making when they think they will keep up. Not. Totally different road performance leagues. Shifting to newer ones that are more CUV and all, faster and less prone to bad habits, but center of gravity still lots of inches/cm higher. Great view, but not great handling near limit unless really dialed in like the right Cayenne. In the Q5 we have (2.0t but as a Hybrid serious torque boost for 10 plus seconds), bottom line a good Audi sedan is easily 20%-25 faster in corners at same relative limits. Thus in the preceding description 75mph would push it and have the wife looking at you.

Given cars you mention, I'm guessing Europe. Having had Q5 on Autobahnen up to limiter at 130mph, wind noise above 105, hood shaking by 115 and a major handful at 120+ up to limiter on even slight sweepers with tiniest of curves per unlimited Autobahn engineering stds. And that is a relatively modern design. High center of gravity really not comfortable even in brand new one at those kinds of speeds and even very slight corners. A8 with any gas or TDI V8 would just be getting started, and acceleration wise would be nowhere near flattening out in the last 10-15 mph or so.

Mike911A8

Joseph, your dad will love the 4.2 V8. Smooth, powerful and reliable.

the_duke

Joseph, your dad will love the 4.2 but you would love the 4.0t! If available the 4.2 diesel is amazing as well.

josephpallan

MP4.2+6.0 ... That was an amazing speech, 10/10

Jack88

From a performance standpoint, I found the naturally aspirated 4.2 more enjoyable in the corners. I don't care what people say, the turbo lag is quite noticeable to me. Heat soak can muddle the consistency of the performance, where the 4.2 pretty much performs the same no matter how hard you've been running it. That said, at any given time, the 4.0t will annihilate the 4.2 in a straight line. However, the 4.2 cars are a bit lighter, and with the improved engine response, make the better dance partner in the corners.

My personal thoughts. It's worth noting, my experience with the 4.0t is in the S8, and is limited. I'm borrowing from my experience with other turbo cars in addition to my limited seat time in the S8 to confirm similar behavior between them, so my ideas are more general than someone who has driven both cars more extensively.

the_duke

In drive I agree. But if you switch to sport or manual and keep the revs up a little lag is very minimal.