AUDI A8,"A Real Spaceship"

The electronic device that allows to remotely unlock and keyless start Audi A8 probably has more memory than the 64 kB computer Apollo 11's lunar module took to the surface of the moon. Next to old Mini the A8 is a real spaceship, jam-packed with powerful, complex, super-fast computer systems beyond the wildest imagination of NASA's best and brightest 43 years ago. And you almost need to be a rocket scientist to drive the thing.

Seat, mirrors, key, go. There wasn't much to adjust in the old Mini -- even the backrests of the front seats were fixed -- so you didn't spend a lot of time sweating the details. In the A8, Audi gives you the opportunity to sweat every detail. Many times over.

Take the front seats. They adjust 18 different ways, and offer three levels of heating and three levels of cooling in addition to five different massage settings. But that's only scraping the surface; deep-dive into the MMI menu and you can really explore the outer limits of the A8's electronic universe. For example, you can set up the lane departure warning system to give you an early, medium or late warning that you're drifting off-line, and then set the level of the artificial warning vibration induced in the steering wheel to low, medium, or strong.

Overkill ? Maybe. Especially as I don't have the lane departure system switched on at all, preferring instead to rely on 36 years of driving experience to make sure I don't randomly drift across lanes on the 405. Indeed, you could argue the Audi A8 - like most of its luxury limousine rivals -- rides a fine line between showcasing high technology and just showing off. 

But the more I live with the car the more I've come to appreciate the fact I can have it set up exactly the way I want it, right down to the most arcane detail. When I walk up to it and press the button on the remote, I do more than just unlock the doors: The Audi wakes up, a zillion electrons zapping this way and that through its man-made neural network as makes itself ready to serve me.

It's taken nearly 8000 miles and a couple of months of fine tuning, but I know that even before I thumb the start button on the center console the suspension and transmission and throttle and steering calibrations are now exactly the way I want them;

 that the sound system and seat and climate control settings are just right; that my iPhone will sync seamlessly with the on-board hands-free system; that the interior mood lighting will fade just the way I want it. I can even Google a nice restaurant near my destination now I've set up the on-board internet connection.

There's only one problem with all this: You have to 
read the owner's manual. It would be great if I could just download the manual directly into my cerebral cortex. Then I'd be as smart as my car.

OTHER INFORMATION :
MSRP          : $78,750 - $133,500

MPG Range : 21 - 27 mpg
Body Style   : Sedan



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