Home»Review»2022 Audi S8 review: Icon of big, in-charge sports sedan lives on

2022 Audi S8 review: Icon of big, in-charge sports sedan lives on

By Auto On 26 October 2022 In Review | No Comments

If you need to go fast, stay low-key and stretch your legs, it’s still hard to beat the S8.

Will Sabel Courtney

For car enthusiasts of a certain age, the Audi S8 will always hold a special place in their hearts. Credit director John Frankenheimer, who practically made him a supporting character in his 1998 spy thriller and the seminal car chase film Ronin.

However, in 1998 there weren’t that many options when it came to “Something very fast…something that can push a little bit”, as Skipp Sudduth’s character describes the S8. That was before BMW had M cars beyond the M3 and M5 (the latter of which also has a supporting spin on Ronin), before Mercedes-Benz put an AMG engine in the S-Class, before Cadillac wouldn’t even think about pushing supercharged or turbocharged engines in its sedans, and before the Tesla Model S it was as much of a twinkle in Elon Musk’s eye, let alone the idea of going plaid with him.

Times change, of course, but the S8 has remained a staple of the Audi lineup for decades, even as trends ebb and flow. Fresh off a mid-life refresh for the 2022 model year, we take the OG out of full-size sport sedans for a week to see how it stacks up against modern rivals. This is what we learned.

The S8 is the sharpest of Audi’s S models

Will Sabel Courtney

Audi applies the full RS treatment to seemingly everything in the lineup these days – everything except the A8, that is. That works in the S8’s favor, though; That’s why Audi’s RS development teams played a bigger role in the development and fine-tuning of the S8 than they did in the S6 or S7, for example.

The Audi Sport benefits of the S8 are clear as soon as you throw it into a corner and find that this long-wheelbase beast tackles corners as if it were a foot or two shorter. The rear-wheel steering system that narrows the turning radius at lower speeds plays a key role here, as does the Audi Sport-tuned electronic limited-slip differential at the rear that boosts torque for maximum effect. . Likewise, the air suspension keeps the car’s 5,126 pounds (and the number of humans, pets, and cargo inside) flat and stable, controlling the body nicely without giving it a shattering ride. (That’s in part thanks to a $6,000 option for predictive active suspension, which reads the road ahead using cameras and adjusts to counter impacts before they even happen.)

The S8 is also the only non-SUV in the S fleet that still boasts V8 power, with the VW Group’s ubiquitous and impressive twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8. Here, it’s officially rated at 563 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque, but hit the throttle hard and it’s easy to wonder if Audi is underestimating those numbers; Despite the S8’s mass, it hurtles over the horizon with shocking speed as the Go pedal hits the firewall. On the street, at least, this beast feels as worthy of an RS badge as the RS Q8 does, especially when you hear its eight cylinders roar to the 7,000-rpm redline.

The S8 is a great player, for better and for worse.

Will Sabel Courtney

In case it’s not clear from the pictures, the S8 is a great sedan. It looks even bigger with its air suspension in low aero mode, as seen here, which brings the big body closer to the ground. (The S8 does have a fun party trick, though: Open the door and quickly jump to full ride height for easy entry and exit.)

While it may not handle like this on the open road, it’s still something to be aware of in urban settings and other tight spaces. At about the same length as a Chevy Tahoe, finding parallel parking spots requires a little more care than in your average sedan.

Inside, it’s a modern Audi, just with plenty of legroom.

Will Sabel Courtney

Audi has played the same car-size game with its model lineup longer than most automakers, and still sticks to that method; at a glance and without proportional context, it’s easy to mix an A4 and an A6 or an A6 and an A8 at a glance.

That’s even more so on the inside, where the S8’s front cabin is nearly identical to a well-appointed example of its slightly more affordable siblings. But the S8’s long wheelbase pays dividends for occupants that the S6 could only dream of. Not only could he sit behind me with enough room to cross my legs, the heated rear seats were so comfortable and roomy that I sat there and had breakfast one morning simply because I could. And if you want to go completely hedonistic, Audi even offers a comfort package for the rear seats that includes power adjustment, ventilation, and massage for the thrones, as well as available LED reading lights and drop-down tables.

For now, at least, the S8 is the king of discreet Q-ships.

Will Sabel Courtney

Remember when I mentioned how free direct competition the S8 was in the mid to late ’90s? Well, here in the fall of 2022, the market for giant, stealthy sports sedans seems to have contracted again. There is no AMG version of the latest S-Class, at least not currently; the Cadillac CT6-V is sadly long gone; and while there is an M-lite 7 series, its alien look and squared-off angles mean it’s anything but inconspicuous. If your heart is set on the legroom of a full-size sedan (ie not CT5-V Blackwing or M5) and you don’t want to go electric (hence no Mercedes-AMG EQS), the S8 is currently your best choice.

Part of that, of course, is because many people today prefer SUVs to sedans, even when they want high-performance vehicles. Still, while an RS Q8’s ground clearance might have made the Ronin’s mission a little easier, it just wouldn’t have looked as good as a low-slung sports sedan like the S8.

And while that’s not quite so true with my Ultra Blue Metallic test car, the S8 still boasts understated styling that remains a deliciously appealing alternative to the outgoing design languages that dominate much of the automotive world. Paint it a stealthy color and no one will see you coming, until you’ve wowed them.

2023 Audi S8