Audi A8 vs Tesla Model X

What's the difference?

The Audi A8 swims in a luxury car shark tank where those paying the big dollars expect top-shelf everything. It delivers a serene driving experience whether you’re in the front or the back, in a superbly engineered and executed luxury sedan package. Not perfect, but very, very impressive.

After nearly 700km of testing with both cars, it’s fair to say that the Tesla is indeed a capable tow vehicle, provided you keep the distances relatively short and plan around charge station locations.

Overall average - Penrith to Bathurst to Penrith

Fuel and energy consumption will always depend on the driving conditions, which is why we chose different routes for each leg of our testing.

Averaged across the two legs, towing the caravan with the Model X used 101 per cent more energy than without, or halved its driving range, which sounds a bit scary.

The LandCruiser by comparison added 63 per cent on average, which is still a big difference, but matters less in the real world when its big fuel tanks would still give you about 760km of driving range, which can be refilled quickly at any diesel-stocked servo.

So you could do a weekend trip with the caravan from Penrith with one supercharge in Bathurst, but it would’ve been highly unlikely to manage the extra 55km if you were leaving from Sydney CBD.

The bottom line is that there’s plenty of things - like smaller camper trailers - lighter than our caravan that will help the Tesla to do the towing job better right now.

Compared to the ‘Cruiser, the Tesla is a lesson in the benefits of a lower centre of gravity and road-focused handling.

As always, bigger batteries and more recharge points will go a long way to rectifying the Tesla’s towing shortcomings, and I'm sure we'll get there eventually.

But no matter what, its acceleration performance under load is simply excellent.

Thanks to our friends at Avida for making this test possible with the use of the 17-foot Avida Wave Tourer Electric Pop-Top single-axle caravan. They can also be reached on 1300 428 432.

Despite extensive use of aluminium in the ‘ASF’ platform and body panels, the A8 tips the scales at a sturdy 2095kg, yet Audi says the A8 will accelerate from 0-100km/h in just 5.9 seconds. And with 600Nm of peak torque available across a flat plateau from 1750-3250rpm this big four-door gets up and goes hard when asked to. 

At more sedate speeds you’re occasionally reminded there’s a diesel engine under the bonnet, with that characteristic engine and exhaust noise only making their presence felt under pressure. 

In fact, under normal circumstances, noise, be it the engine, tyres or wind is minimal, thanks to a combination of the car’s aero-efficient shape, thick acoustic glass and other sound-deadening measures throughout the car.

The eight-speed auto transmission is suitably smooth, with the central shifter or wheel-mounted paddles able to make snappy sequential ‘manual’ shifts.

There are four drive modes in the ‘Drive Select’ system - ‘Comfort’, ‘Auto’, ‘Dynamic’ and ‘Individual’ - enabling tweaks to the steering, transmission, throttle and suspension. Comfort felt most appropriate most of the time, although dialling up the throttle and transmission to more aggressive modes in Individual adds an enjoyable edge.

The suspension is five-link front and rear with an adaptive air system smoothing even high-frequency bumps and ruts amazingly well.

Push into a corner and the A8 feels nicely balanced, its wide track, sophisticated suspension, plus the quattro AWD system seamlessly distributing drive between the front and rear axles, keeping the big body under control. In fact, you feel the ‘big car shrinking around you’ syndrome from the get-go.

The steering is precise without being overly sharp and road feel is good. Again, with that 2.1-tonne kerb weight in mind, braking is appropriately powerful with big ventilated discs front (350mm) and rear (330mm).

It pays to remember the turning circle is 12.5m, and it’s worth picking your spot for a U- or three-point turn.

Although there’s a lot going on for the driver in terms of screens, buttons and switches it all makes sense ergonomically. The head-up display is helpful and there’s a common sense mix of digital and physical controls, the latter including an audio volume knob. Yes.

Energy consumption is just one element of a tow vehicle though, with stability, braking and acceleration performance being the most important details.

The big ‘Cruiser is always a safe bet for towing heavy loads, but it's fair to say its off-road ability, tall body and short wheelbase mean it could be better on the road, and the Tesla goes some way to proving that.

With all those batteries mounted nice and low, the Tesla is significantly more stable with 1.7 tonnes on the back than the LandCruiser, in all conditions. It’s also helped by that longer wheelbase.

The Tesla’s airbag suspension is another surprise advantage, and while it can be a bit choppy around town over minor bumps, bigger bumps on the highway are soaked up really nicely and it all settles quicker than with the LandCruiser - even with the caravan on the back.

Tesla is famous for instant acceleration at any speed, and this effect remains when towing. The LandCruiser’s twin-turbo V8 (with max torque available from 1600-2600rpm) has long been a benchmark for tow vehicles, but the Model X makes it feel sluggish by comparison.

You know how caravan vehicles are usually the slow ones up hills? This time, we were the ones doing the overtaking, even up the steep bends heading out of Lithgow. To overtake, it just takes the slightest flex of your right foot.

Clearly there’s a big caveat though when it comes to how much energy it’s consuming while you’re enjoying that performance, and it’s deceptive because it doesn’t make any more noise like a conventional engine when you’re pushing it. 

You’d also think the weight of the van would overcome the engine-braking effect of the regenerative brakes, but they are still very effective at conserving your brakes downhill and preventing the car from running away from you, and no doubt giving the batteries a bigger boost at the same time.

On that note, the LandCruiser’s cruise control also does a great job of witholding speed on downhill runs, proactively dropping gears to engine brake enough to keep the Avida Wave in check.