2005 Audi A8 Test Drive

Awesome Audi

If you're in the market for a midsize luxury SUV, do yourself a favor and consider the elegant and powerful Audi A8.

High gas prices hurt the sales of SUVs, right?

Read the automotive headlines, and you'll see that story repeated constantly. To a certain extent, it's the truth. Sales of large SUVs that cost around $30,000 to $40,000, like General Motors' Chevrolet Suburban and Ford's Expedition, are in near freefall; no matter how much cash is offered back, buyers don't want to get near vehicles that drink so much gas.

But that's not true for the more expensive models.

Even with gas prices at $2.50 a gallon or higher, luxury SUVs and crossovers are, far and away, better sellers than luxury sedans. Just look at these numbers, from the trade publication Automotive News, for sales of 11 leading crossovers and SUVs (figures are of U.S. sales only through February 2005).

BMW X5: 5,121
Volvo XC90: 5,571
Land Rover LR3: 2,814
Cadillac Escalade: 6,441 (not including sales of the Escalade EXT pickup)
Cadillac SRX: 3,264
Lincoln Navigator: 4,536
Hummer H2: 3,701
Acura MDX: 8,655
Infiniti FX35/45: 4,029
Infiniti QX56: 2,389
Lexus GX 470: 5,042
Lexus RX 330: 14,010
Porsche Cayenne: 2,061

That's a total of 67,634 of these 11 luxury SUV and crossover models sold in the first two months of 2005 in the U.S.; none of these models is cheaper than about $35,000. Now compare those numbers to the ones in the following table of 12 leading luxury sedans (again, U.S. sales through February). Taken as a group, the cars listed here get far better fuel economy, handle more nimbly and safely (especially in an emergency situation), and in some cases even offer more passenger volume than the SUVs and crossovers listed above.

BMW 5 Series: 7,072
BMW 7 Series: 2,316
Mercedes E-Class: 5,321
Mercedes CLS-Class: 2,136
Mercedes S-Class: 2,092
Acura RL: 2,783
Lincoln Town Car: 6,582
Lexus LS 430: 4,145
Cadillac STS: 3,917
Cadillac DeVille: 7,196
Audi A6: 2,473
Audi A8: 695

That's a total of 46,728 of these 12 cars sold in January and February. That means nearly three of the luxury SUVs/crossovers listed above sold for every two of these luxury sedans. Take out the Town Car and DeVille (which are largely sold to fleets), and it's two SUVs/crossovers sold for every sedan.

Sure, you might argue that some of these cars, like the 7 Series, S-Class and Audi A8 (the subject of this review), ring the register much more loudly than any vehicle on the SUV list, save the Porsche Cayenne. That's true, but compare for a moment the $36,025 Lexus RX 330 to the $41,300 BMW 5 Series. The price is pretty close and both seat the same number of passengers (five), but the RX has a whole lot more cargo volume. You pay for the extra room at the pump, with a fuel economy of 18 miles per gallon in the city and 24 on the highway versus 19 mpg in the city and 28 on the highway for the 525i BMW.

In fact what's really clear here is that people who spend from $35,000 to beyond $60,000 for a vehicle are going for crossovers and SUVs, not luxury cars. That's despite the fact that flagship luxury sedans are far more technologically advanced than their SUV counterparts. Again, look at the charts, and you'll see that the Cadillac Escalade ($53,850 to $70,175) far outsells the splendid new STS ($40,525 to $47,025) despite costing more, having a much worse fuel economy (about on par with the slow-selling Chevy Suburban) and being based on a fairly old GM truck platform.

If you're planning to spend $70,000 on a vehicle, an alternative to the Escalade sits at the bottom of that list of sedans above. The $66,590 A8 didn't make that list for being among the top sellers in the luxury sedan segment; it's there because it's the subject of this review. Besides, it's quite remarkable that, in a 60-day window at the start of this year, three Porsche Cayennes and more than five Hummer H2s sold for each Audi A8. That's a big difference in sales and begs the question: What do those vehicles have that the A8 doesn't? You'll have to keep reading to find out.