2012 Audi A8 L Overview Change Vehicle

This 2012 Audi A8 L review explains changes for the model year, provides a summary of the 2012 A8 L, and includes Audi A8 L safety, reliability, and fuel economy ratings.

Take a standard-issue Audi A8, stretch the wheelbase by more than five inches, add equipment, and you’ve got the Audi A8 L.

Been itching to spend almost $50,000 more on a flagship Audi? For 2012, the A8 L W12 debuts, ready to depreciate that cash from the moment you sign the sales contract. It’s got a 6.2-liter W12 engine – two V6 engines sandwiched together, hence the “W” – making 500 horsepower and 463 pound-feet of torque. This model is visually distinguished from the standard A8 L by its chrome grille, side mirror and tailpipe accents, but it also comes standard with much of what costs extra on the A8 L.

In other news, the 2012 A8 L gains a standard Audi Connect system with Google Earth and mobile wi-fi hotspot capability, a new Full Leather Package, and a new Audi Design Selection Interior Package rendered in Balao Brown and Snow White.

Audi sells the A8 L in two different levels of specification that might as well be described as “awesome” and “super awesome.”

The A8 L is the, ahem, “entry level” model, but there’s nothing basic about it. The features you expect to find on an $85,000 luxury sedan. We won’t go into minute detail in this regard, focusing instead on highlights such as 18-way power heated front seats, a power tilt-and-telescopic steering wheel, a power rear window sunshade, LED ambient cabin lighting, a Bose surround sound audio system, and Audi Connect with mobile wi-fi hotspot connectivity for up to eight devices and Google Voice Local Search capability. The standard Audi Multi-Media Interface (MMI) Navigation Plus system includes a handwriting recognition pad that the driver can use to input letters with a finger while driving, along with Audi Xenon Plus headlights with LED running lights and Audi Drive Select with Normal, Comfort, Sport, and Individual driving modes.

If you’re wondering what the A8 L includes over the standard-wheelbase A8, in addition to a bunch of extra rear seat room, guess no more. Your extra six grand is also paying for power door close assist, power trunk operation, power rear side window sunshades, paddle shifters on the steering wheel, Audi Parking System Plus (parking sensors), and an Audi Advanced Key keyless entry and push-button ignition system. The A8 L also has nicer cabin trim.

The A8 L is also a luxury sedan buyer’s ticket to exclusive options like a panoramic sunroof, a Rear Seat Comfort Package (rear vanity mirrors, power rear seats with recline and lumbar support with memory, four-zone automatic climate control), an Executive Rear Seating Package (Rear Seat Comfort Package plus Valcona leather, a rear refrigerator, a rear entertainment system with dual screens, and individual ventilated massaging reclining rear seats with an executive position power footrest), and an Audi Drive Select Plus Package (sports rear differential, dynamic steering).

Otherwise, the Audi A8 L’s option menu resembles its shorter sibling’s. There’s a Cold Weather Package (heated rear seats, heated steering wheel, rear-seat pass-through with ski sack), a Premium Package (22-way power front comfort seats with ventilation and massage), a Full Leather Package (Nappa leather covering much of the cabin, Alcantara headliner), and an Audi Design Select Package (Balao Brown Valcona leather; Mocca Brown upper dashboard; Snow White headliner, seat stitching, and seat piping; brushed aluminum and Ash Natural Balsamic Brown inlays, four-zone automatic climate control system).

For the best in available safety technology, get the Driver Assistance Package, which includes Adaptive Cruise Control, Audi Lane Assist (lane departure warning), Audi Side Assist (blind spot detection and warning), and Audi Pre-Sense Plus (forward collision warning).

In addition to these option packages, the A8 L can be upgraded with a number of individually sold extras including a Bang & Olufsen Advanced Sound System, a rear-seat entertainment system with dual 10-inch viewing screens and a DVD changer, a four-zone automatic climate control system, an Audi Night Vision Assistant system, and a solar sunroof. For a fully loaded A8 L, check all of these boxes on the order form plus the LED headlights, dual-pane window glass, power rear side window sunshades, and rich Dark Brown Walnut or Assam Gray Vavona wood trim. Load the A8 L up with everything on the menu and the price nearly reaches that of the all-new A8 L W12 model.

To the A8 L’s standard equipment list, the new W12 adds the Premium Package, the Rear Seat Comfort Package (with individual heated and ventilated massaging rear seats on the W12), and the Cold Weather Package. Additional inclusions are a rear-seat entertainment system, a panoramic sunroof, full LED headlights, dynamic steering, and 20-inch aluminum wheels. The A8 L W12 includes rear-seat controls to power the front passenger’s seat forward for maximum legroom in the executive position, along with dual-pane acoustic security glass, Piano Black Lacquer interior accents, an Alcantara headliner, and aluminum doorsill plates.

As expensive as the Audi A8 L W12 is, there are options available. They include the Driver Assistance Package, the Audi Design Selection Package, and the Full Leather Package. On this model, the Executive Rear Seating Package adds a rear refrigerator and ventilated massaging reclining rear seats with an executive position power footrest. Bang & Olufsen sound, Audi Night Vision, a solar panel sunroof, and a Black Alcantara headliner are also available, and if you want five-passenger capacity, the individual rear seats can be swapped out for a standard rear bench seat. Audi also supplies a 19-inch wheel option for a softer ride quality.

As with the Audi A8 4.2, the Audi A8 L 4.2 is equipped with a – surprise! – 4.2-liter V8 engine. This is a strong engine, making 372 horsepower at 6,800 rpm and 328 at 3,500 rpm, and accelerates the A8 L to 60 mph in 5.7 seconds. An eight-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission distributes the power to all four wheels through Audi’s Quattro all-wheel-drive system, and the EPA claims the A8 L will return 18 mpg in the city and 28 mpg on the highway. Premium fuel is required.

The A8 L W12 is equipped with a 6.3-liter W12 engine good for 500 horsepower at 6,200 rpm and 463 pound-feet of torque at 4,750 rpm. Quattro and the eight-speed Tiptronic are standard here as well, but this car is dramatically faster to 60 mph, sprinting there in just 4.4 seconds. Fuel economy suffers, of course, dropping to 14 mpg in the city and 21 mpg on the highway.

Ten airbags, four-wheel vented-disc antilock brakes with electronic brake-force distribution and brake assist, and a traction and stability control system are standard on the 2012 Audi A8 L, but that’s not all. Audi Pre-Sense technology can determine if a collision is about to happen, and in preparation can tighten the seatbelts, close the windows and sunroof, and add extra braking power to help limit injury.

Several safety technologies are optional on the Audi A8 L, including Audi Pre-Sense Plus, which adds forward collision warning technology to the standard setup. Additionally, the A8 L is available with Adaptive Cruise Control, Audi Lane Assist (lane departure warning), Audi Side Assist (blind spot detection and warning), and Audi Night Vision Assistant (pedestrian detection and warning).

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) rarely crash-test expensive cars like the Audi A8 L. And because they sell in extremely low numbers, it not surprising that neither Consumer Reports nor J.D. Power and Associates make reliability predictions for this model.

If you can afford this car, though, you probably don’t care about dependability because you won’t own it beyond its four-year/50,000-mile warranty period, which includes roadside assistance.

Audi Space Frame aluminum construction is designed to save weight, increase strength, and improve safety. Considering that the A8 L’s base curb weight is 4,773 pounds, you can imagine what this tank might weigh if its structure employed more steel.

Equipped with a 0.27 coefficient of drag, the Audi A8 L is as aerodynamic as a Chevy Volt, which helps it to achieve a 28-mpg highway fuel economy rating with the 4.2-liter V8 engine.

To help ensure that the Audi A8 L exhibits a rear power delivery bias despite its standard Quattro all-wheel drive, the system splits engine power 40:60 front-to-rear.

The Audi A8 L has more rear legroom than it does front legroom: 42.9 vs 41.4 inches.

Given the Audi A8 L’s substantial size inside and out, its 13.2 cubic-foot trunk is comparatively tiny.

We’re so superficial. Because the Audi A8 L benefits from a wheelbase stretch that gives it different proportions than the Audi A4 and A6, it looks like a premium automobile worthy of the price it commands. Yes, the styling themes are the same across Audi’s sedan lineup. But in extended wheelbase guise, and especially when equipped with individual rear reclining and massaging seats, the A8 L suddenly makes our dream sedan list.

-- By Christian Wardlaw