Wot! Still no Mercedes?

[Mactech]

I went on an almost 300 mile round trip today with almost 5.5hrs at the wheel it gave me time to get to know the A8 better.
It is the sort of trip I used to complete regularly before breakfast on a Monday morning a few years ago when living in Norfolk and working in the Lake District
What a wonderful way to rack up the miles! I got out almost fresher than I got in.
The adaptive cruise is at least as good as the excellent Volvo one and the steering assist is better. The light rain today was dismissed as just a distant hiss such is the benefit of the acoustic double glazing.
What still surprises me is the fact that it is more economical than the 4cyl (and 100bhp less) Volvo.
I had no following wind on a round trip today, 50% of the journey was wet, I didn't spare the horses and it still returned 53mpg.
I checked the meter by brimming the tank at my destination, and the mpg
reading appears to be with 1%
After the 150 mile return trip I've only got a range of 600 miles left.... The tank is just 72 litres.

 

[Mactech]

Having said how cheap the parts were for the old Land Rover previously in this thread, I was returning home in 'Vera' this morning when a small rock was thrown up by a passing truck and put a big crack in the windscreen.
'Phew, glad I wasn't in the new Audi' I thought.
After 130k miles and soon, 24 years, the screen was going a bit 'milky' around the edges and must be a cheap replacement for just a small bit of flat glass.....and anyway, the insurance will cover it.
What I failed to spot is the insurance excess on the Land Rover was £140 compared to £90 for an acoustic glazed, tinted super trick screen of at least 3 times the area on the Audi
Turns out there are very few of the glass company technicians can actually replace the old 'rubber surround' screens and most have been brought up on the modern bonded-in screens.

Should clock up about 500m miles in the Audi before Monday. Off house hunting back in Norfolk for a pending return to the Far East.....of England.
A journey I would not look forward to in 'Vera'

 

[Mactech]

After a month of ownership and over 1000 mile with the A8, I have discovered a few more things.

Border Collies and Terriers are very happy with the ride comfort in the back seat, and you don't actually need and an estate or SUV to move them around
....and that leaves the boot free for things like....well.... luggage! Using a large dog 'hammock' and harness retention leaves the interior clean and dogs happy.
Even with viewing 8 houses and trips into the city, the long term mpg is still over 50 and verified by measured fuel in. I'm still very impressed with the mild hybrid Tecnology.
I'm not sure if that has had any influence on our choice of property in Norfolk, but we have had an offer accepted on a 10 year old Eco house in Norfolk which will half the running costs of our current 200 year old 'draughty castle' up north.
Maybe it's something retirement does to you, or the fact it's just over the road from our son's house....which he has just sold
The car, by the way, is just lovely!

 

[zipdip]

This morning I completed my dawn raid on Tesco in the the A8. Just an 8 mile round trip with a cold start, something I would normally use one of the other vehicles for.
But the A8 acquitted itself very well, gliding to almost deserted Tesco and with more than enough space for the weekly shop (!)
It also managed 45mpg with this usage, so the mild hybrid is really doing it's job. The only downside is that it seemed to overhang the parking bay a little, but as I say this is not it's typical usage but the peace and tranquillity of the interior could become addictive.

That is the problem with big cars the supermarket spaces are to small, but it is a great car,one thing I would point out is that your car may well have a recall,I know you bought off a main dealer but they might have been more interested in selling your car,than putting it into their service department,for your car up to late December2019 there is a faulty connection on the gearbox oil line,I am sure if your car has a recall it will be done at your first service,but you might think you can wait for it to be serviced or might find they have it for a day or two,which might mess things up for you,I thought I would mention it.

 

[Mactech]

That is the problem with big cars the supermarket spaces are to small, but it is a great car,one thing I would point out is that your car may well have a recall,I know you bought off a main dealer but they might have been more interested in selling your car,than putting it into their service department,for your car up to late December2019 there is a faulty connection on the gearbox oil line,I am sure if your car has a recall it will be done at your first service,but you might think you can wait for it to be serviced or might find they have it for a day or two,which might mess things up for you,I thought I would mention it.

Thanks for the 'heads up' but I have checked with the dealers and my car has no outstanding re-calls and that '38C7' (the gearbox oil line) did not apply to my car. My car was an August 2019 build and the date code on the tyres does tally with that.

 

[E55BOF]

We went to pick up the Audi in a dark blue car with black interior, and sliver spoke wheels.....but we had the top down
View attachment 98239
Are you spotting a theme here....

Lovely colour scheme... apart from the interiors. What you need to have impeccable taste is dark blue paintwork set off by light-coloured leather in a honey/beige/biscuit sort of colour, not funereal black...

 

[Mactech]

Lovely colour scheme... apart from the interiors. What you need to have impeccable taste is dark blue paintwork set off by light-coloured leather in a honey/beige/biscuit sort of colour, not funereal black...

I quite agree! However the number of new A8's with light interiors in the country I can count on one hand. Those I could buy at 50% RRP, non existent.
I was worried that it would be very dark and drab, but I sat in an S line one in the showroom and, to my surprise, really liked it
I can light the interior with whatever colour I choose with the ambient lighting, but to me it's still about what the car does rather than the way in looks....

 

[Mactech]

What you need to have impeccable taste is dark blue paintwork set off by light-coloured leather in a honey/beige/biscuit sort of colour,

What! Like in my XJ220?

or S211?

Or ML?

Or Range Rover?

Or more recently Volvo?


To be honest, I've almost done that one to death now!

 

[E55BOF]

You can never overdo good taste...

 

[Mactech]

I've just discovered that the garage at the house I'm buying in Norfolk is 47mm too short for the A8
It's not a disaster as I'm sure the double garage will be full of other clutter for the initial few months when we move in, however I'd love to hear your opinions on how to resolve the puzzle. They may include:

• Sell the car and get a proper Mercedes
• Don't buy the house
• Modify the garage
• Modify the car (!)
• Use a small thermo-nuclear device to erase the problem!

I'm sure you may have other ideas

 

[Deleted member 113659]

Does the rear wall of the garage back onto the house? Is it a cavity wall? If so you could remove the blockwork/brickwork on the garage side gaining 100mm plus the cavity size (50/75/100mm) strap house wall with timber, kingspan/celotex insulation, plasterboard with fireline and skim it. It should/could gain you at least 100mm

Or is it possible to fit a new garage door within the opening (thus bringing it forward) as opposed to where it is now?

Could you build a wee extension to the front elevation by 1000mm or so with a nice mono pitch roof above?

A few photos of the garage in question would be good.

Don’t sell the car, it’s awesome.

 

[Mactech]

Does the rear wall of the garage back onto the house? Is it a cavity wall? If so you could remove the blockwork/brickwork on the garage side gaining 100mm plus the cavity size (50/75/100mm) strap house wall with timber, kingspan/celotex insulation, plasterboard with fireline and skim it. It should/could gain you at least 100mm

Or is it possible to fit a new garage door within the opening (thus bringing it forward) as opposed to where it is now?

Could you build a wee extension to the front elevation by 1000mm or so with a nice mono pitch roof above?

A few photos of the garage in question would be good.

Don’t sell the car, it’s awesome.

You are spot on! The rear wall of the garage is non structural and backs into a bike shed under the same garage roof. I had the idea of putting in a sort recess to about 1M high in the back wall using concert lintel just to nose the car into. May decide to put a plywood cover on the access hole or not.

 

[bob6600]

Sell the car and get a proper Mercedes

Noo. You already have a proper car

Don't buy the house

Possible, but the wife may shoot you

Modify the garage

Probably the most sensible idea. But who likes sensible?

Modify the car (!)

Not unless you can add some James Bond style electronic bumpers that tuck in

Use a small thermo-nuclear device to erase the problem!

Keep this as a back up plan

I'm sure you may have other ideas

Knock the whole house down and start again ensuring the garage takes at least half the plot

 

[m2mb]

Park it at a 8 degrees slope - how you do it is another matter. That will give you 5 cm more space. Elementary trigonometry...lol.

 

[Mactech]

So I've had the 'limo' for over 3 months already and only done about 2k miles. But I have enjoyed everyone of them
The car has been used mostly as a 'long distance' car but it has done it's share of short, shopping and into city centre runs. In retirement I guess it will only do about 7 to 8k miles a year.
Given its usage I'm more than happy with 'long term' figures appearing on the dash. The 750 to 800 mile range is rather better than any electric car will currently (no pun intended!) manage and filling up with a maximum of 72litres is not breaking the bank. The mild hybrid suits me just fine.



Oh! Did I mention what what a wonderful car it is to travel in?
It still has features I've yet to try....and maybe never will. I'm still capable of parking the car myself despite its size.

 

[Mactech]

It may seem odd that after a lifetime of trying to make cars go faster, one of my primary objectives in my own road car is peace and tranquility.
One of the big contributions to this in the A8 is the Goodyear tyres with SCT.
The road car guys were working with Pirelli at Bentley back in 2013/14, but at that stage it was very much work in progress.
It is basically a sound absorbing foam band on the inside of the tyre tread which reduces the internal tyre resonances and noise transfer to the car interior.

soundcomfort-technology.html

There are absolutely no downsides to this in terms of tyre performance and my experience in the Audi confirms the that it works surprisingly well.
The tyres do cost about 15% more, but what price do you put on comfort and the ability to hear yourself think on those rough road surfaces

 

[Mactech]

I've had the car since June, but as I'm not predominantly nocturnal and it has been summer, I drove it in the dark for the first time last night.
What a treat!
The exterior lighting is another level on from the adaptive lights of the GLE and the Volvo. Just left the lights on main beam and it was like daylight, except it didn't dazzle anyone and the 'shading' of the areas of beam effecting other vehicles was instantaneous and much more precise than I have experienced previously. Just totally relaxing with such great visibility. I used to have to count seconds before the shaded areas would light up again after a car passed in the GLE. The adaptation to street lighting is just like magic!
Then there was the interior. The comfort and sound pack included the extended LED package which means you can dial up any mood you fancy in the cockpit.
Not something I would have specced separately, but I have to say the interior design bods have really moved the game on and the whole atmosphere makes it a lovely place to travel in. Day or night.
I'm still discovering new things about the car and I'm yet to be disappointed with any of them
Maybe I should try riding in the back next....

 

[Deleted member 113659]

I've had the car since June, but as I'm not predominantly nocturnal and it has been summer, I drove it in the dark for the first time last night.
What a treat!
The exterior lighting is another level on from the adaptive lights of the GLE and the Volvo. Just left the lights on main beam and it was like daylight, except it didn't dazzle anyone and the 'shading' of the areas of beam effecting other vehicles was instantaneous and much more precise than I have experienced previously. Just totally relaxing with such great visibility. I used to have to count seconds before the shaded areas would light up again after a car passed in the GLE. The adaptation to street lighting is just like magic!
Then there was the interior. The comfort and sound pack included the extended LED package which means you can dial up any mood you fancy in the cockpit.
Not something I would have specced separately, but I have to say the interior design bods have really moved the game on and the whole atmosphere makes it a lovely place to travel in. Day or night.
I'm still discovering new things about the car and I'm yet to be disappointed with any of them
Maybe I should try riding in the back next....

And there’s me just about to make a post about how amazing the ILS in my new (to me) C Class is.

I have a mate with a very well spec’d A5 Sportback and he also loves the Matrix Lights.

 

[Mactech]

And there’s me just about to make a post about how amazing the ILS in my new (to me) C Class is.

I have a mate with a very well spec’d A5 Sportback and he also loves the Matrix Lights.

Adaptive lighting is one of the very fastest moving areas of automotive tech and the A8 is at the very front of it.....this year!

 

[Mactech]

I hadn't seen this before in the sales patter, but it aligns perfectly with my experience:

The Audi A8’s optional HD Matrix LED headlights
produce a light similar in colour to daylight.
They also incorporate sensors and an inbuilt
camera that detects other road users, as well
as ambient light in built-up areas. They then
react by dipping individual LEDs to reduce
the risk of dazzling other road users, while still
fully illuminating the remainder of the road.

Where available, Matrix LED technology
will even use the vehicle’s navigation data
to anticipate corners, adjusting LEDs as you
negotiate the bend. The result is a much wider
visual range, benefitting both you and other
road users. Dynamic sweeping indicators
complete the striking look at the front and rear.