New D4.....

[Tj2k]

The good:

Ascetics – I like the shape of the D4 though not yet as much as the D3 still. The D3 was a lovely shape and a nice progression from the D2 and I’m one who still loves the D2 as well. So whilst I acknowledge that the car has transitioned its looks bringing with it the newer Audi style to the front and rear LED side-lights that the R8 brought to the camp, I still think that the new 8 is too like the A4. This may be due to the A4 being more widely available or more of them around to that of the A8 – I don’t know, but I would have liked Audi to have made the A8 look a little more different to that of the 4.
New LED sidelights are somewhat aggressive looking – not too bright. The newer rear LED strip-light effect is very pleasing at the rear. My model does not, alas have adaptive lights or the full LED light upgrade so cannot comment on that – and over my D3, I already miss adaptive lights! ☹

Rear number plate lights are still filament bulbs I was rather surprised to see, also, so too are the boot cavity lights – I was really surprised to see. In my D3, (Psyche you’ll have noticed I’ve changed the filament bulb lights in your D3 to CANBUS aware LED lights). This is an upgraded I feel I’ll have to do!! Vanity lights for driver and passenger have been upgraded to LED though and they’re a welcome change.

Illuminated Sills – My D3 had retro fitted illuminated sills – and a very nice addition they are too! He new SE (so base spec) models, have fully integrated illuminated sills as standard. They’re smaller – but nonetheless attractive!

It's quicker, more responsive, more torque noticeable.

Audi Drive Select – so I took the car out, and drove it “briskly” – I didn’t drive it too harshly – but definitely briskly. Note that the car was in “D” and not “S”port. The car was also set to “Individual” and all settings beneath that where in “Auto”. There are a number of settings which can be adjusted to the drivers taste - such as Engine, Transmission, Steering, Suspension and so on - I've not played with these just yet, though I intend to and update accordingly! The car moved swiftly away from the mark, leaving all behind me, and accelerated vey well indeed. Gear changes are barely noticeable (8 speed transmission). Moving from an A-road onto a motorway an then allowing time for traffic to pass as I transitioned from central lane to the overtaking lane, the car dropped down and moved swiftly past the traffic to my left. Moving off the motorway, taking the next exit, slowing for entrance from the slip road to a roundabout, moving my foot from the brake pedal to the accelerator pedal, saw less transmission and turbo lag that the D3 sometimes could have been better at (though still not perfect) I went through the roundabout, off my exit and slowed the car, up to a set of traffic lights.

Moving off again and now driving in typical town traffic, maintained a sub-40mph speed, I noticed that the transmission was holding gears down – I found that the car was going toward the full extent of the gear range, for each of the gears it used before changing. Looking at the DIS, I’d now noticed that the Transmission indicator had transitioned from “D” to “S” automatically and so the car had seemingly learned my driving style and adapted to the sportier drive. Looking back, I had also noticed the suspension had tightened up as well. So I had an issue with that – as I found myself wanting to get the car driving into a relaxed / economical manner now I’d dropped out of warp. So, I shifted the gear lever back to D and the car again became more relaxed.

So I need to experiment with this a little more – but a dramatic difference to the D3 there – I know the D3 does adapt to the drivers style of driving (even in D and not S) – but certainly not as noticeably as the D4.

Service Menu – On my last (& best) D3, it did not have a service menu on it but I think the later D3 after my 2006 model had it introduced. My earlier D3 would tell me when the variable service was due by hitting the check button, as it did on my 04 4.2 petrol but on my 06 4.2 Tdi, the function had been supressed though as you guys will doubtless confirm, I think Audi added an option to the MMI display (which can be retrospectively added by the way, if you’re on the right MMI version) to tell you when the service was due. The new A8 has this function as you might expect. This was split into two - an Oil Service and a Service - the oil service being significantly sooner! Technically, two services!!??

Sports Rear Differential – so, just one of the many reasons I wanted a 4.2tdi, was because of the sports rear diff fitted only as standard to the 4.2tdi. Having read up on this prior to purchase, I was eager to put that to the test. The 8 is a big car, there’s no getting away from that but the D4 does handle better over the D3. The rear diff is supposed to control traction to the rear wheels better than standard Quattro and regulate power to the inner wheel and disperse more power to the rear wheel on the outer-side of the bend – effectively pushing the vehicle into the corner. Well, I *think* can confirm, this works – and the car progresses around sharp bends and indeed, takes inclines very well indeed as well. Coupled with the steering changes (see my note on steering), the car handles like a much smaller car than it actually is - not a mini - but still.

[Tj2k]

Steering – So, make your own mind up as to where you think this should be – on the Good or Bad list!! It’s on the Good list because overall, it’s an improvement though, I’m not fully “sold” on the changes to the steering just yet. The D3’s steering did sometimes feel a little heavier than it might otherwise do – given it’s a high spec luxury car but, I think Audi had it just right. Sufficient feeling for the road and yet, not too much work for the driver. In fact, a friend of mine, occasionally complains that the steering is too heavy for her – in her husbands 59 plate 3.0Tdi D3. Well, she’d have no issue in the D4, it’d definitely lighter – no doubt on that. My concern is that Audi have reengineered the steering to be more adaptive and also more configurable. So whats my problem? Progressing around a corner, releasing pressure on the wheel as the road straightens up – would, in the D3, bring the wheel back to the forward / straight / neural position – right? Well, as per an new A4 I drove a few weeks earlier, this is not so with the new steering on that vehicle and also alas, the 8. I found myself, having been a lazy driver, having to ensure I brought the wheel back – so that “return to straight” feel-back is almost a thing of the past. Now, that said, this can be rectified as Audi have provided manipulation of the steering in connection with the Drive Select programs – but there I can’t help but think there’s some loss of feeling right to the road! To be updated, it's early days!

It's more comfortable – I do have the comfort seats option but the seats are pretty good in the D3, but these are more comfortable and I don’t necessarily think because of that option. The design leaves me to wonder if they’ll be as hardwearing as the D3’s…

It's quieter – There can be no doubt this car is quieter – it is – BUT there’s also a subtle change in the sound that you can hear; that lovely deep noise you associate with a lovely V8 – that I didn’t really get with my D3 (4.2tdi) is there – it’s a lovely noise – but is very controlled, very subtle. Audi have done a trick here, in getting that noise audible but yet not at all disturbing – this is difficult to describe until you hear it yourself.
Wing mirrors can be set in MMI to fold-up when the car I locked

Seat-belt warnings are nicer, multi-toned and less annoying.

Auto-Lights on time tweaking – the auto-light’s on time can be tweaked to come on earlier or later – 3 settings.

Electronic gear selection from gear lever – the gear lever actuates an electronic switch, rather than, in the D3, a large lever travel distance – a little weird at first and down to personal preference.

iPod / iPhone Connectivity - Via Bluetooth (as a Bluetooth media device) or direct Cable (cable sold separately but I got dealer to throw it in)

BOSE Audio upgrade – sounds significantly better – but also see the Bad on this!

Digital TV – I’ve never had the Digital TV option but the TV is sweet – reception is excellent and even on a journey from Telford to Birmingham, I didn’t loose signal – albeit – the picture muted whilst in motion (need to sort that! Come on CraigyB!)

Speech Control – additional voice training can be done to better improve voice interpretation by MMI

Interior Illumination – Interior illumination is very attractive, especially if you have a lighter interior car like this one. As with most of the lights of the D3, they’re now all LED and have customisable brightness levels (split into areas, to make it easier to adjust). The are 3 colours to choose from; Ivory, Polar and Ruby. Ivory is a warmer, filament-bulb type colour (so yellowy) Polar – is as you might expect, a very white, white light followed by Ruby. Ruby is my personal favourite in that when getting in the car, all lights are white though as you start the engine and get underway, the lights built into the door panels, gradually – but quickly evolve into a red – though leaving the remainder of lights in the car at white. This is a really nice setting and one I hadn’t initially noticed as being any different. My only complaint would be that Audi could have given us much more choice on the colours. I know that BMW Mini’s are very customisable in terms of their colours but there you go.

Seat Control - so there’s a new circular seat control wheel on the seat control panel. Touching this immediately brings up a graphic indicator on-screen on the MMI control panel – this allows full manipulation of the seat – which is very unlike the D3. The seat symmetry features that there on the D3 are also still there on the D4.

Keyless-Go & Keyless Entry – Keyless entry has improved sensitivity. There is no longer a physical button on the handle, rather, a small touch pad which literally has to be lightly touched (not pressed) to engage the door locking process – and wing-mirror auto-fold if you have that option set.

Child Seat Anchorage Points - there are now seat anchorage points for a child seat, built-in, above each rear seat now – for those of you that have smaller children or plan them!

[Tj2k]

The Bad:

It's quieter - so this is on the good list as well - but there are times when I like to hear what's going on - but the 8 to me, is a car which defines effortless power, in a relaxed, comfortable, no fuss manner - so along with double glazing and the like - can't be held against it too much.

Rear Heated Seats and A/C Control for Rear Passengers - This is an odd one. Drop the rear arm rest and the rear of the car suddenly looks more luxurious. There’s a lovely display of more leather and that trim that was selected when the car was new but also, the controls for the heated seats and rear passenger A/C settings. I thought this a little odd given that, in my D3, the arm rest spent it’s life in the upright position. SO, if you have 3 rear passengers, the rear passengers can’t use the heated seats or adjust the A/C. No big deal I suppose – but the car does accommodate 3 rear seats and yes the rear-heated seats are only heated for those seats on the outside – but still, not a great design feature in my opinion. I would have preferred Audi to have left them where they were located in the D3. Yes, it may not be very often you have 3 rear passengers and if then, they may not be bothered about heated rear seats or fiddle with the heat settings – but – the options are there in the first place for rear passengers. So, looks nice but not that practical on those few occasions you have 3 rear passengers.

Parking in your garage / Wing Mirrors! If you have a garage like ours, a single car-width entrance (ours is a tandem double), you’ll probably notice that getting the car safely through the gap is more difficult than the D3.
I'd initially thought the car was much wider than the old one, but I don't think that’s the case; it's actually the wing mirrors, they're huge! At least a couple of inches on each side of the car - bigger than the D3 - so when you first get your car home and are getting safely into the garage, you'll probably notice like me, that you have to fold in the mirrors to get it through the gap and the fold'em back to finalise your parking. My 1st attempt wasn’t easy!

MMI Buttons – The gear selector has a large leather covered pad on it – beware metal watchstrap wearers! The idea is that the driver rests his/her wrist on the wrist rest and has his / her hand ideally located above the MMI control console. My issue with this is, that although your hand is ideally located for access to the buttons, I found that my finger nails (which are not long by any stretch!) where impacting the buttons rather than my finger tips and so I had to make a conscious effort to ensure I was using my finger tips. Not the end of the world – but some getting used to needed here!

Seat Heating – no longer via MMI, only 3 heat settings – so only 3 heat settings which is a shame – but the top setting is as hot as the old, the middle setting is equivalent to the setting 3 on the D3 and 1st setting is probably something between 1 & 2. Additionally, the heated seat control does not seem to go via MMI (though I understand that seat-heating can be eliminated should the Power Management control unit decide that it needs the power to start the car’s engine if it feels the battery is low). So, you hit the button and that’s your lot – no MMI visual operation as with the D3!

Some glitches with iPhone 4s Connectivity

BOSE – whilst playing a track from (Voff Voff – by Eberg), some excessive panel vibration from the rear / boot area on the bass / beat parts of a track (very disappointed about this – going to have to get this sorted out under warranty). I donlt think this a specific fault on my car – I think they’re probably all going to do this – given what experimenting with holding things down and listening to panels attempts revealed – so bit of a shame that!

Tools in the Boot – There’s a Jack, a warning triangle and that’s your lot! If you have the removable tow-bar (I don’t have the fully automatic one), the bar is provided is a bit of a flimsy bag, which can be located in the recess on the right – where in the D3, the battery is).

The boot is much smaller- not only because this car has the full-sized spare wheel either! It’s simply not as deep – what a shame!

Full-Size Spare Wheel - I have the full size apre wheel option – the wheel is in the boot, face up, with the car’s battery in the recess of the wheel itself. The boot, as a result, is a lot higher and so less deep / not as much space and coupled with it being not as long as the D3, this is on the Bad list!

[PsYcHe]

Glad you're sorted out now... Sounds like a nice place to be. Fingers crossed with the old dealer, but Wayside still seem to be holding up their end of the deal for you.

You need to brig it to the annual meet for us to play with all the buttons (and you can give your old D3 a cuddle )

And I'm putting first dibs on it for when you come to sell it

[gninnam]

Great write up - very informative and constructive so thanks for that

Like you have said, it is early days and I'm sure as you get used to the car, some things in your good/bad/(but no ugly) list above will change.

Looking forward to seeing some pics of all of it please

[Architex_mA8tey]

You might be interested in the thread from when I tried the very same model as you have bought -it's HERE

It was a cracking engine with bags of torque and I think if I'd got one rather than the A7 it would definitely have had to have been that engine. Anyway check out my comments and thoughts on the thread

Oh and congrats on getting the car - cant wait to see it at a meet somewhere soon!

[Tj2k]

Hey, nice thread and I totally agree re: the A7; I did seriously consider one but I wanted Quattro & Adaptive Suspension (the former being a £2k extra on the 7, and Quattro wasn't standard either I don't think & obviously, they’re both standard on the 8).

The engine choice for me was also difficult; I wanted as close as possible to my D3 4.2 Tdi (as they don’t do the 4.2Tdi in that platform ) and after some research, I discovered that the A7 was going to be available with a 313PS 3.0Tdi with a Tip-Tronic gearbox!! (and not a CVT derivative) - which would be extremely quick and light. But, I'd then have to have added the extras to get me close to the 8's spec - and so in the end - I'd have been paying through the nose (much more than an 8) to get in to one - so my decision was made easier by getting an 8.

The 7 is simply gorgeous and for me, looks like no other car - undoubtedly an Audi - but distinct enough to not look like a 4 or a 6 (ok, it kinda looks like an A5 big brother - but appreciate my point!) - whereas the 8, kinda looks just like a newer, bigger 4. It’s funny, driving it around, people do a double take, initially thinking, I think – that it’s an A4 – but then there seems to be a realisation that it’s an 8 and they look for longer!

Something a little annoying now, I’m not “engine sizist” but I do feel that the new 8 should have it’s engine size on the back. Mine looks no different to any other engine model – which is fine – but then, I *think* I’m getting people hassling / pressuring me to get past – usually on a motorway – whereas in my D3, they didn’t seem to bother and kept their distance…Does anyone know what I mean here? I had someone today in a mini – he just had to be past me – regardless of my speed – whereas in my D3 (obviously labelled with 4.2) I *think* people didn’t pressure me as much. It just ticks me off – and of course, this could all just be in my head …..(they’re coming to get me!!)

Back to the 7! - The 1st time I saw one, I was actually in my D3, ahead of one, by a couple of cars, looking at it in my rear-view mirror; I kept slowing, hoping the cars behind would overtake, no one did, (YOU SEE!!), so I could get a good look at it - as I was thinking is it an 8?? Or is it the new 7??– but I couldn’t decide. Anyways - it turned off before I could see it

The next one I saw was when I was in a retail car park just after Christmas – some guy had a new one and I was a bit cheeky and went over to him and just said, "Hello mate, hope you don't think this is weird but I've not yet seen the A7 close up, would you mind if I had a peak?" He was really kind and not at all weirded out! He was really chuffed with it and told me that he'd literally just collected it.

If I'd have been him (his was literally brand new - my occupation / salary doesn’t allow me to be able to buy brand-new!!) I'd have had an armed guard next to it in a retail park - in case of shopping trolley dents and similar! - to keep it perfect lol


I thought about a Q7 for about .06 of a second, purely because the 4.2Tdi was available in that platform as well - but it's just too bling for me, I like the understated looks of the 8, it's not brash (as I think Mercs are).

I agree with the rear of the 8 - wasn't smitten - though I am warming to it. I tell you what's helping - the rear LED lights cluster - simply fab in the dark - if you unlock the car from a distance, walking back to it (as I did last night!! )

By the way, the D2 looks lovely next to the D4, I still really love the D2, fab car and in many ways, I miss ever having had one - I wanted a final edition S8 but it just wasn't to be (I think I mentioned on this forum, a dealer I went to see, who had a lovely black, final edition S8 with a blood-red interior and I ended up walking out because he refused to shake my hand??)...

Those pics are great - I was thinking I'd post some up - but except for the interior colour, and to some extent, the exterior colour, the pics would be the same. I'm a fan of light interiors - albeit they do show dirt more easily. I like the interior illumination pack against light-coloured leather because obviously, lighter colours reflect more light. I'll maybe take some and upload 'em

Better stop gassing, you’re probably covered with cob-webs and dust by now having read this – but just quickly, when is the next meet? And where might it be?? YES looking forward to seeing my, no your D3!!

[Tj2k]

Forgot to ask; so you got a 7 then? What spec (engine and model wise - se / sline etc) - what do you think?

[Singh]

He sure has, I've been in it and it is lovely.

[Architex_mA8tey]

Shortly after I tried the D4 A8 I also tried the A7 - thread HERE

Most A7's are quattro although they do produce some 2WD multitronic versions as well. Mine is a 3.0 Tdi S-line Quattro with 245 bhp and 500 nm of torque but I have added a tuning box which is giving me an extra 50 bhp and 100 nm of torque strangely it is also giving me a few mpg extra too so happy days!
Adaptive suspension is an option. Mine has the Sline lowered suspension, sports wheels, Tech pack (HUD and upgraded MMi etc) and Bose speakers, plus folding mirrors etc but as you know you can get carried away with extras lol

the thread from when I got the car and a few pics are HERE

Just to compare the size of the A4 and D4 A8 I had an A4 before and took this picture - the cars were parked the same distance from the wall -



Also there is quite some difference between the A7 and the new A6 - again both cars are the same distance from the wall -