It’s from the inside that the A8 has really started to lose its edge.

Style

The huge infotainment screens that dominate the fascias of the BMW 7 Series and Mercedes S-Class are notable only by their absence and no amount of polished aluminium trim pieces can hide this. Worse still, some of the switchgear looks like it has had a past life in the entry-level A1 and the confusing number of buttons take a little getting used to.

Despite this, there’s no getting away from the fact that the A8 feels extremely well built, doors shut with a reassuring ‘thud’ and finding cheap-feeling plastics proves a thankless task. A quick scan of the options list turns up various ways to make the car feel even plusher.

Want an extended leather pack with a choice of 15 colours? Try the £14,400 Audi Exclusive Leather Package 3 on for size. Fancy some high-end wood trim? Check out the £1,800 Audi Exclusive Inlays pack, which offers nutmeg, oak, ash or piano-black finishes. In short, you can have the A8 exactly how you want it, so long as you have the cash to cover it.

Quality is very strong, and the design is classy and elegant

Mat Watson

Carwow expert

Infotainment

Audi A8 interior and infotainment review

Given the option, your money would be much better spent on a high-tech infotainment system, but sadly that’s not on the list. The basic sat-nav has an eight-inch screen and MMI touch, so you can write in postcodes with your finger. It’s fine in isolation, but the low-res graphics, slow processing speeds, and the fact that it uses Audi’s old operating system, mean it can’t cut it against newer models.