Understated luxury.
It's difficult to appreciate just how long the A8L is until you stand next to it...or attempt to park it in your garage. Perhaps this will provide some perspective: the A8L's wheelbase and overall length are within a half an inch of the three-row, eight passenger Honda Odyssey minivan. In other words, they aren't kidding around when they added the "L" to the name. Hip and headroom are plentiful, although as in the A7 the wide console in between the front seats -- which houses the MMI dial flanked by related buttons and now the touch pad -- makes the driver's seat feel tighter than it should in such a big car. The upside is that this large area provides another place to use the gorgeous, matte wood veneer that we loved in the A7.
Photo Gallery: 2011 Audi A8L - Editors' Notebook - Automobile Magazine