Mountainar

I'm the proud new owner of a 2013 S8. 'still getting to know the car but it's a dream so far, yet there were a couple of surprises. For instance I was lead to believe that this car came with aluminum shift paddles, not plane black plastic which is what mine has.

And then the bright cosmetic piece between the spokes on the standard 21" wheels appears to also be made of plastic. Given what they are exposed to I can't see them lasting very long at all.

Have others observed the same thing and been as surprised as I was or has Audi started cutting corners without mention?

jakematic

Congratulations !

Did you order Lane Assist ?
That can change the steering wheel based on another thread here.

Mountainar

Thank You. It's midnight blue and I really like the color. I did order Lane Assist, good point. That's probably why it's got the plastic paddles.

subterFUSE

Correct, the Lane Assist feature includes a different steering wheel that has 4 spokes, rather than the S8 3-spoke wheel.

Apparently the vibration feature is not available in the 3 spoke wheel.

geordie

I have the 3 spoke steering wheel and it too has the black plastic paddles. Nothing to do with the wheel style.

KarlS8

I am new to the form. Just took delivery of a 2013 S8. I also own CLS 63 and C 63 AMGs .
Wow, one of the first things I noticed was the cheap feel of the plastic paddle shifters!
Also, adaptive cruise control sucks compared to MB.
Otherwise a great car!

navin in KC

Please describe the differences.

HouTexAudi

I agree that the plastic shift paddles are cheap feeling, but my wife had a MB E550 coupe that had them too--I guess this is an area that most manufacturers feel they can cut costs. I had a Maserati QP that had beautiful aluminum ones that even had felt on the back--very nice touch.

I disagree about the ACC--I think it's one of the best I've ever used. What don't you like about it?

KarlS8

MBs has plastic, but AMGs have big aluminum ones.
Are S8 and A8 the same?

subterFUSE

Sounds like A8 & S8 are the same, because my A8 3.0T has plastic paddles.