Audi RS6 vs Audi S8

What's the difference?

You’ll notice a number out of 10 on this review, you should ignore it.

Not only is it irrelevant because you can’t buy one, but the RS6 Avant GT isn’t a ‘brain’ car, it’s a ‘heart’ car. As much as a five-seat wagon can be, anyway.

Whether you think it’s overkill, overpriced, or overhyped, the GT is a celebration of a car that’s become such an icon for petrolheads. It’s also probably a marker for the end of an era, because we don’t see many V8 family cars getting about anymore.

Well done to Audi, the accounting team in particular, and if anyone who owns an Avant GT is willing to let me have another drive, my in-box is open. 

Or I’ll just keep an eye out.

The S8's existence is a source of joy for me because it's not a huge SUV. Yes, it's a huge sedan but it's a reminder that the technological flagship is alive and well, at least in Germany. And the important thing about these cars is the way the toys filter down through the rest of the range. That used to take years but we're seeing this cool stuff a lot more quickly, right down to the A1.

The S8 punches, and punches hard in this rarefied part of an already shrunken section of the market - the twin-turbo V8 matches its German rivals, it's lighter and it's as well-stacked as any of the three. What it doesn't do, however, is shout about itself the way the other two do.  It's the incognito choice.

“It looks like a toy car you’d get in a Kinder Surprise” was the first comment from my housemate upon seeing the $400K collector's item on wheels.

Harsh, but to anyone unfamiliar with the Audi 90 quattro IMSA GTO racer, there’s arguably too much going on with the RS6 Avant GT.

The red, grey and black decals, the chunky white 22-inch wheels, the flared and vented front fenders and the wing over the rear window… all of it is a lot to take in, but it’s very faithful to the IMSA car.

As pictured, the 90 quattro IMSA has the red around the bottom lip of the car, on the bonnet, and even its rear wind, the same as the red on the rear of the Avant GT.

Some of the black at the front of the car, where the bonnet and fenders are, is just exposed carbon-fibre rather than a black decal.

Short of the sponsors and racing numbers, the Avant GT does a fabulous job of paying homage to the 1989 race car. It just means you’re going to be the centre of attention anywhere you drive. Or park.

On that note, an alternative paint and graphic scheme in 'Mythos Black' (this car is 'Arkona White') was available to customers and is decidedly more ‘under the radar’. You have to wonder, though, if you opted for the subtle version of a car that pays homage to a fire-breathing IMSA car, would you feel like you took the coward's option?

Besides, you’re either keeping this car in some kind of temperature-controlled bubble, or (hopefully) spending most of your time around it in the driver’s seat. From there, you don’t have to grapple with the question of garishness.

The interior is, while elevated past standard RS6 vibes, a lot more subtle. Dark materials of microfibre, carbon, leather and the smudge-prone piano black (an Audi favourite) are joined by a relatively restrained serving of red in the contrast stitching and seatbelts.

The sheetmetal is obviously very restrained given it's an Audi first, and secondly, it's just not done to go wild in this part of the market.

It's an A6 that's joined a gym, but didn't join that weird gym with men that can't run after you when you insult them (don't ask how I know this). Rolling on 21-inch wheels as standard, you can go up to massive 22s if you so choose.

The A8 created a subtle redirection of Audi's passenger car look, with the updated A4 and A6 both picking up on the horizontal bar between the rear lights and the huge grille framed by family lights with signature DRL patterns. The S8 builds on that with subtle S cues but nothing even vaguely shouty.

The interior acreage - or 'cabin', if you will - is very comfortable, but you already knew that. The multi-screen layout was first seen in the A8 and has now found its way into A7, Q8 and Q7 and is, as ever, brilliant to look at and use.

The MMI updates that have found their way into other cars are present and correct. Like the exterior, it's very restrained but not to the point of sparse minimalism, despite the lack of switches and buttons.

I really don't like the steering wheel, though, and I can't put my finger on why. It certainly isn't especially sporty-looking but I wonder if the standard flat-bottomed S wheel just looked stupid.

The materials are beautiful and everything fits together perfectly.

You’ve bought a $400K collectible sports car capable of effortlessly deleting kilometres of highway with your family and enough luggage for a week. Usually a special edition driver's car at this price point is doing well if it has a place to put a phone and a water bottle, let alone phones and water bottles for four people - five if you really need.

Yes, in the performance car world, the Audi RS6 Avant has long been king of the convenience game and the GT holds onto that. 

The seating position and ergonomics remains comfortable, the driver’s seat being manually adjustable means it can sit even lower, there’s decent storage in the door cards, cupholders are able to be hidden, the phone charger is under the armrest, there’s a spot for small items like keys, change or glasses and the rear seats have mostly the same alongside their own individual climate controls and heated seats.

Behind those, a 548-litre boot puts most performance cars to shame, but its 1658L space when the rear seats are folded down is unbelievable for something that you’d want to take to a race circuit.

The cabin is clearly built with rear seat passengers in mind, with rear leg and headroom configured for those continent-crossing drives.

The S8 has plenty of comfort for two rear seat passengers and a few amusing options to while away the hours in traffic or on the autobahn.

That doesn't mean the front seat passengers are in purgatory, with huge but supportive seats adjustable in all conceivable directions.

Front and rear rows score a pair of cupholders and bottle holders while the boot is a handy, if not awe-inspiring, 505 litres.

For $260,000 there is a lot to get through, as there is on the less sporty A8. Start with huge 21-inch alloys, 17-speaker Bang & Olufsen stereo, panoramic sunroof, matrix LED headlights with laser lights, soft-close doors, acoustic glazing, leather trim, S front seats, extra leather over the A8, Alcantara headlining, carbon inlays, four-zone climate control, heated and cooled front seats, 'Virtual Cockpit' with S mode, and a tyre repair kit.

You also get active suspension, a sport version of the 'quattro' all-wheel drive system (with a sport differential), and a walloping great twin-turbo V8 to get you moving.

A massive touchscreen on the centre stack (familiar in Q8, A7 and Q7) hosts Audi's 'MMI plus' system, which is very good and does away with the console-mounted rotary controller. It also has wireless Apple CarPlay to go with the console-bin wireless charging pad. Android Auto is still USB. 'Audi Connect plus', now in full-featured glory, is also along for the ride.

Another technical highlight is the active noise cancelling which is meant to reduce the noise in the cabin the same way noise cancelling headphones do.

There's a clever rear seat remote control, which is a little detachable tablet to allow those who are being chauffered to faff around with various settings.

Our car had the $13,900 'Sensory Package', which adds a 1820-watt B&O 3D sound system with 23 speakers, electrically adjustable outer rear seats along with heating, cooling and massage function, and full leather.

Audi’s venerable 4.0-litre, twin-turbo V8 engine remains at the heart of the RS6, though in the GT there’s no more power than the RS6 Avant Performance.

That means 463kW of power and 850Nm of torque delivered to all four wheels via an eight-speed torque converter automatic and Audi’s ‘quattro’ all-wheel drive system, making the RS6 Avant GT capable of a 3.3-second sprint to 100km/h, according to Audi. Top speed is a blistering 305km/h.

All this in a car I took to Coles.

Under that long bonnet is a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 pumping out 420kW and a diesel-like 800Nm of torque. 

That's a lot, even for this big bruiser. Obviously, being an Audi S-car, it has quattro all-wheel drive, which is fed by an eight-speed ZF automatic. Which is in everything now. Well, just about.

That huge torque figure is available between 2000rpm and 4500rpm while peak power arrives at 6000rpm. The 0-100km/h sprint is despatched in - gulp - 3.8 seconds.

As it's riding on the MLB platform, the mild hybrid system is a 48-volt set-up. A lithium-ion battery in the boot takes charge from the belt alternator/starter, which means the S8 can coast at higher speeds with the engine off and also cut out at 22km/h and under in traffic.

The system can also add up to 60Nm of torque in the right conditions for up to six seconds, and if it happened for me, I didn't notice it.

Do you care about this section of the review if you’ve bought one? Surely not. 

Anyway, Audi claims 11.8L/100km in terms of fuel consumption and you’d better believe it’s 98 RON minimum. 

It’s got a 72-litre fuel tank, which was depleted rather rapidly on test. While driving conditions weren’t ‘fair’ in terms of the test given the content demands of a short-term loan, there’s probably a realistic figure somewhere between the claim and the 17.9L/100km I achieved over a few days.

The 10.5L/100km official figure is, shall we say, optimistic. The launch drive was mostly highway so there's no real information to be gleaned from that, so we'll have to wait for real world fuel figures.

I'd say 12-13L/100km is achievable if you don't like having fun, in which case, the lesser A8 is probably for you.

Audi says the MHEV system saves 0.8L/100km with an early cut-out for the stop-start and the ability to coast on the highway for over half a minute at a time.

There’s something unfortunate about how good the Audi RS6 Avant GT is from behind the wheel. That’s knowing how few people will properly get to enjoy it.

Not just because only 660 were built, but also because the majority of those 660 owners will be too worried about how much they’ve just spent on an automotive rarity to properly take it for a burn on a road, or even a track.

The RS6 was always an icon of Germany's penchant for subtle-looking cars that just happen to be capable of embarrassing much more brash vehicles, but the GT does away with the pretence and sharpens its teeth a little.

The specifically tuned rear differential makes for a more rear-biased driving experience in Dynamic mode, which means more agile cornering and a more natural balance compared to the way the RS6 sometimes feels - like a family wagon.

Its rival, the BMW M5 Touring, can go full rear-drive, but the Audi doesn’t need that as an option. It feels more capable and composed; ready to obey commands without fuss. A set of Continental SportContact 7 tyres (285/30) help there on the grip front.

The suspension underneath, adjustable coil-overs with three settings, is unique to the GT and lowers the ride height by 10 millimeters. It’s stiffer, 30 per cent at the front and 80 at the rear, and you notice it.

There’s more control and much less body roll, but the trade-off is the RS6 Avant GT is a little less comfortable on Australia’s particularly rough roads. Its 22-inch wheels don’t help.

It’s not, however, crashy or rattly. The suspension still does a fine job of stopping the driver being jostled around, but there’s a decidedly firmer response to the surface underneath. Again, still very composed.

With the new suspension, steering the GT feels easier than memory would suggest and the baseline was already good. There’s no unnecessary weight, but there’s still decent feedback from the front wheels and accuracy is bang-on.

Throttle adjustment in the corners, too, is easier with the rear differential, and it means anyone who still had reservations about Audi and understeer can be proven wrong.

The drivetrain remains unchanged from the Performance, which is a good thing. The effortless acceleration, even in the more aggressive 'Dynamic' setting with the transmission set to 'Sport' is smooth but seemingly unending.

Fortunately, the 4.0-litre V8 under the carbon bonnet sounds delightfully burbly, so getting to the speed limit or overtaking is a little treat every time. While the steering wheel paddles are there if you really need to drive in anger, the eight-speed is fine left to its own devices.

A 2.0-tonne family wagon with a V8 up front, easy communicative steering, and sporty suspension that settles well over bumps but allows enthusiastic corner attacks?

The RS6 Avant GT is in limited company.

Driving any of the cars in this segment is a rare treat, whether it's the 'entry level' diesel or this top of the heap sports sedan. My day with the S8 was filled with the usual surprise and delight that only these tech-packed cars can deliver.

Heading out of the Sydney CBD in 'Comfort' mode, the car scans the road ahead and adjusts the active suspension accordingly. You already know it has active suspension because when you pull the door handle, the car lifts by 50mm to make it a bit easier to get in.

The suspension's party trick is flat-topped speed bumps - drive at one, brake a little and sense the way the body feels like it stays exactly where it is in the air but the suspension almost completely flattens the speed hump.

It's uncanny and almost unnatural, with just the tiniest change in altitude and no noise from the suspension.

It also manages the terrible narrow lanes of CBD thoroughfares with ease, the lane keep system letting you know if you're straying.

On to the motorway and you get a feel for its crushing performance. You won't hear much, though - the stereo's noise-cancelling system shuts out almost all tyre noise and consistent wind noise is largely banished, too.

I'm going to admit I gasped when I found some corners. Active suspension bodes well for the tricky stuff, as does the all-wheel steering. Both are exceptionally clever systems for making the car feel a lot smaller in town and in car parks but they're also really good if you want some fun.

But the way the rear-wheel steer adds agility to such a big car is hilarious and clever. While you can't quite chuck it around - and really, you're not buying an A8-sized car for that kind of nonsense - brisk progress is far from intimidating.

Now, obviously, a Ford Fiesta would drive away from the S8 in the really tight stuff but it would take some time to properly shake it. The colossal torque from the V8 hurls even this two-tonne-plus limo out of the corners in a most satisfactory manner.

It's surprisingly agile for a machine more than five metres long and two metres wide. If your passengers are corner enthusiasts, you'll all be having fun in near silence. It's oddly engaging to be moving at pace in such a hushed cabin.

The S8's considerable safety equipment list includes nine airbags, ABS, stability and traction controls, forward AEB (up to 250km/h), reverse cross-traffic alert, lane departure warning, various collision mitigation and protection systems, exit warning, lane keep assist, active cruise control and on, and on, and on.

The rear seat's centre airbag is terribly clever, popping up between passengers to stop you knocking heads. Another clever trick is the way the car detects a side impact is about to happen, boosting the height of the side about to cop it to try and get the sills to take more of the impact, rather than the door.

Given the relatively niche status of the A8, let alone the S8, there is no ANCAP crash test or safety rating. One imagines given the ton of safety gear a five star rating is all but assured. Even the US IIHS gave the A8 a miss.

Audi’s five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty is below industry par, though most premium brands are in the same boat.

Twelve years of bodywork warranty against corrosion is also included, as is a five-year run of free Audi roadside assistance.

Five-year service plans can be purchased, or customers can buy back-to-back two-year extensions for the warranty, servicing and roadside assistance.

Audi continues to fail to match Mercedes move to a five year warranty, sticking with three year/unlimited kilometre cover. BMW is still doing it too, so maybe Ingolstadt and Munich are playing chicken. 

You can get a five-year service plan for the S8, coming out at $3990 for the duration.