If you’re one of many luxury car buyers who’d prefer to remain serenely isolated from pavement irregularities, you may find theis big German car’s suspension a bit too taut for your liking. If, on the other hand, you count yourself among those who drive as much out of pure enjoyment as necessity, you’ll likely find the Audi A8L’s air suspension provides an optimal balance of road feel and comfort.
In the automatic mode—one of four driver-selectable settings—the suspension system continuously evaluates driving conditions and adjusts itself accordingly. For enthusiastic driving along a glorious stretch of twisty two-lane, the system allows you to dial in a firmer setting that gives this big sedan sporty handling that belies its substantial size and weight. In fact, perhaps the biggest compliment that can be paid to this suspension set-up is that it simply makes the A8L feel like a much smaller car than it is. To make things just that much better, the A8L’s rack and pinion steering with speed-variable power assist is amazingly precise and communicative, with just the right amount of weighting and on-center feel. Combined with the car’s standard stability control, the steering and suspension set-up has the very flattering ability to make most anyone feel like a better driver than they probably are. All this wouldn’t amount to much without the means to bring the big car to a safe, sure stop. The A8L’s massive four-wheel antilock discs brakes handle that chore very nicely, delivering excellent pedal feel and impressive stopping power.
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