2011 Audi A8 Tops Rival Hybrids in Fuel Economy

Not Suprised.

VW / Audi Engines of the last 5-10 years have been Exceptional

The 5 valves per cylinder 1.8T of 1998 when others were running 3 or even 2 valves per cylinder
The V5
The VR6
The 3.0 TDI
The 4.2 TDI

And Who can forget the Colossus V12 TDI

Too bad some of the more extreme (V8/V12 TDIs, V10TT) never made it to the states.

Apparently the A8 V8 TDI might actually be even quicker than the V8 FSI and of course has even better fuel economy.

Chewy

Not Might

It is actually Faster than the 4.2 Petrol V8

Which makes me think the V8 might be due for replacement as it just don't seem right for a Diesel Powerplant to be the most powerful in your Flagship Vehicle.

Takes a Diesel to beat a Petrol Hybrid, but at the end of the day there's more to go wrong in high compression diesel engine than an Atkinson cycle petrol hybrid..

I didn't see anything about a diesel in there, that's the 4.2FSI. They've been making diesels forever so I'm not so sure about your argument...higher compression but they are built to hold up. The diesel probably gets 25% better mpg's than the gas car as well.

Oh Shoot

I did not even notice that.

It makes it all the more astonishing that the NA V8 FSI Petrol could Match or Best its Hybrid Competition.

I happen to know the TDI is quicker and also achieves about 37% better fuel economy.

WOW

Quite good, especially as the few hybrids in this segment are real barebones hybrid implementations (as in, they have the badge, but there are more electrics in a contractors Dewalt kit).

The way hybrids are designed is that they are meant for city folk! Hence the hybrids do a little better in the city and just a little worse on the highway, this plus the 8 speed auto trans in the audi account for the differences. Either way people buying cars in this class couldn't care about a couple of miles per gallon on one car versus the other.

so basically you are saying the Audi is a superior vehicle but people are dumb?

Not really. What I am saying is that the hybrids might perform better than the Audi in real world city driving. However, for a few miles per gallon difference I still don't see the point of the hybrids other than to appease some government emissions standards. Unfortunately, falsities about hybrids and government emissions which favor hybrid designs force companies to produce them.

The Audi is a very nice car and is competitive in this segment but in this segment fuel economy has a small influence on the purchase decision of the vehicle.

I've said this from day one, the S-class hybrid is a total waste, somehow Benz managed to create a hybrid with mediocre performance AND fuel economy. The 7-Series hybrid doesn't really compare, since it's performance biased and outruns everything else in the segment, while also offering pretty great fuel economy considering the performance (according to magazines it's as quick as a 760 or AMG S-class).

As for the A8, I just read the new writeup in C&D. Looks like a great vehicle, and much better looking than the launch photos (though still plainer than I'd like). They were only able to get 17mpg out of the car, though, so that 17/27 figure is probably optimistic (Audi always seems to get some pretty incredible figures from the EPA). Performance-wise it was also literally identical in just about every statistic (0-60, 1/4 mile, braking, skidpad, etc.) with the BMW 740 they tested recently. I'd be interested to see a comparison test when BMW puts the 8-speed automatic in the 740 and 750 (and I'd like someone from BMW to explain to me why the 7-Series doesn't already have it).

The car that has been impressing the hell out of me (and I'm surprised no one is talking about) is the new Jag XJ. I've seen a couple of writeups recently and the performance numbers are just ridiculous. Both writeups were on the "middle" version of the car (supercharged 470bhp version), and they just demolish every other car in the class. Acceleration, braking, handling -- every stat, the XJ was on top. BMW, Audi, and Benz better be on the lookout.