aceman

I'm kicking around either the 7er or the A8. I must say - i am just not impressed w/ the exterior of this car. Saw it at the car show, and it just looks like an A4/6 on steroids. I actually liked the D3 body (and still do), it just seems to have a more conservative look, dunnoo.....

Anyway - i like the new 7 series as well, similar price, i like it primarily for the handsome, not overstated exterior. Anyone here compared the two and/or driven the two? I plan on swinging by the local Audi dealer today to take a look if they have on yet.

Curious if anyone has compared the two & what your thoughts are...

Aceman

gd10

If you didn't notice the 7 series looks like a bigger 3/5 series so you can't just say that about the audi but anyway I work for audi and get to drive the new A8 every day and when it comes to interior styling, and the way it looks when coming down the road it doesn't get any better then the A8. The DRL lights are awesome, the ride is amazing and the comfort level is beyond expectations. Don't get me wrong the 7 series is a great car but they are all over the roads, i Prefer to not drive a car that 5 of my neighbors have.

Also the new A8 is as long as the previous generation A8L.

You would be surprised to see how many S class and 7 series customers are coming in to order the A8 after seeing it.

aceman

its funny because after i posted i should of clarified - i agree that the 7 is a larger 5 (especially now that the new 5 is out)...obviously each manufacturer carry's their theme across the lines. I don't know, i think audi's interior is the best, but i'm a gadget guy, and i (hate to say it) but the new idrive is great. I'm going to need to sit in both to figure this out. I am also a fan of the 7er being only 199 long vs. the audi growing to 203 or so(?)...

thx for your input.

Aceman

gaspasser19

If I were buying new right now I'd get a Panamera.

gd10

wait till you check out the new setup in the A8. The best feature is being able to spell out your destination with your finger instead of turning the *** to find each letter.

jago1

if that works anything like my cel phone, i have no interest.
you're sounding a little salesman-y.

re the new 7, my feelings are similar to the OP.
i'm a little leery on the D4 styling too, but i'm sure
the audi gives more bang for the buck,
as did the D3 vs all comers.
fwiw the 7 looks best to me in the M-sport flavor
and is a worthy candidate. the bmw interior is not
too shabby either. cockpit tilts to driver as in
their older models.

ps i have not driven either car.

Victoryroad

You might want to check out the comparison between the 7 Sport option and the Lexus sport option in the current Road & Track. FWIW, I have driven the Pan S and 4S as well as the D4. Very different beasts. Pan is a purer driver's car than the D4. No question that the D4 is more dynamically capable than the 08 D3 sport, but I decided to wait for next year's D4, as Audi might just put a more powerful engine in it.

Glisse

I drove both today. A few provisos:

• The Audi had the 4.2 TDI engine, not the 4.2 FSI I assume you are considering. It was fitted with 20" wheels, standard adaptive air suspension, and lots of options.
• I am not really interested in either car - they are both too big, a problem in my region with regard to parking spaces. I drove the A8 to give me a sense of what the A7 will feel like, and the 750i x-drive because there are no 550i x-drives being brought in by the dealer this year. And I wanted to see how the new x-drive system felt. I hated the previous system as fitted in BMW's E60 model. It killed dynamics, and an Audi A6 Quattro is a dramatically better car than any E60 x-drive.

The motor in the BMW made good top end power, but I was surprised by a relative lack of torque lower down. The V8 diesel in the Audi is just a monster of an engine, which huge torque everywhere. The incline of the road made no difference to the Audi, but the BMW was slowed on steep climbs. The Audi engine also sounded and felt sportier to drive, the BMW a little quieter and smoother. The BMW fuel consumption was more, much more, than double the Audi - for less real world grunt.

The Audi has the new 8 speed ZF automatic transmission, which is also being used in the F10 5 series. The BMW uses an older 6 speed transmission. It is not as good - slower to shift, and not as smooth.

The ride in the Audi seemed broken after the BMW. The BMW had the M-Sport pack, so was also on 20' wheels. The Sport setting on the BMW was smoother and more compliant than the Comfort setting on the Audi. I was shocked at the difference, as I had driven this Audi a week before, and thought it had a comfortable and quiet ride. But that was compared to our A6 S/Line and S5 cabriolet, which are both pretty firm. Whilst the Audi looks great with 20" wheels (don't they all), I would only get 19" wheels after this experience.

The steering on the BMW felt better, more precise, felt really connected to the front wheels, and made you feel you could direct the car with absolute precision. In comparison, the Audi felt relatively disconnected and vague. This literally jumping from the BMW into the Audi. Personally, I find I adapt to different steering quite quickly, and after half an hour or so, I was not unhappy with the Audi steering. The 3 spoke steering wheel on the Audi felt thin and flimsy, and cheap after the fat M wheel on the BMW. But I can also understand that many may find the BMW M wheel too thick.

Both cars handled very well for their size, in fact they seemed to shrink around you - always a good sign. The Audi a little more so than the BMW. The BMW engaged its traction control a few times in situations that the Audi did not. Whilst the BMW was a little easier to place more accurately when really throwing the cars around, and gave a better sense of what the suspension was doing and when the limits were being approached, the Audi just has more grip, not to mention better throttle control with these engine / transmission options. So whilst BMW has managed to re-engineer x-drive so the car still feels like a BMW, Audi's quattro systems are still the king of ultimate grip.

One annoyance with the Audi was that to change parameters of ADS required use of the MMI system, which is a very clumsy approach. Our S5 Cab has switches on the dash - and I often switch between Individual and Auto. The BMW system switches on the centre console next to the shift lever. Very easy to use, and doesn't require taking eyes off the road. Personally I wish these controls were on the steering wheel.

Both cars are very heavy - you should note that the 4.2 FSI Audi is much lighter than the TDI version I drove. Even so, the BMW felt a little heavier on the road than the Audi. So I would imaging this feeling will be much more pronounced with an A8 4.2 FSI.

I won't bother commenting on design in any detail - this is subjective.

The interiors are both very pleasant, but different. The BMW design makes it feel more spacious, whereas the Audi feels more intimate. Quality in both seemed very high, with the exception of the Audi steering wheel. The Comfort seats in the BMW were much softer than the Sport seats in the Audi. It is much easier to configure the seats, and both have a ridiculous amount of control, via the MMI interface on the Audi. It took me an hour to find a comfortable seating position in the BMW, vs 2 minutes in the Audi.

Given that you like gadgets, which I am not so into, I can add that the Audi seems to have even more than the BMW, with the sole exception of a head-up display. Which will be coming on the A8, as it has been introduced on the A7. I enjoyed this on the BMW for the first 30 seconds, then it annoyed me. I found it distracting.

Hope this helps. From my perspective, the A8 is more sporting, the 750 is more luxury. The difference was, for me, significant. So I imagine if you can organize a test drive of both, you won't find the decision too difficult.

gd10

Honestly it works great, you draw with your finger the street address or phone number. Go to your dealer and try it out.

aceman

appreciate the input....

I am leaning towards the 7, saw a D4, just didn't get the juices going.
I plan on going w/ sport pkg, HUD, lux seating, prem sound, cold pkg..

List on this car is around 100K so i think Audi is definately priced right. I will obstain from pulling hte trigger till i drive the A8 (just saw it on a lot today).

Aceman