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Living large going green

2012 Audi A8 Hybrid - long, black, green
Germans know their stuff when it comes to engineering efficiency, efficiently. Blame their lack of humour or refer to their rocky history of trying to take over every country in sight. Nowadays they take over
from a high end luxury car, massive amounts of rear legroom, five passengers sitting in complete comfort; and does it all in a sleek, muscular body that hides the true bulk of the car. Powered by a measly
the following facts. Peak power is 211 hp and torque is 258 lb-ft, available at your right foot from just 1500 RPM, and in Dynamic mode the throttle response is spiked up by the Audi Valvelift System (AVS),
countries by selling their products, like this brilliant Audi.
Smart packaging is a hard thing to pull off, but the Audi A8 Hybrid is a success story. It packs in a hybrid drivetrain, tons of equipment as expected
sounding 2.0 litre turbocharged four-cylinderTFSI engine and combined with the hybrid powertrain, the A8 is surprisingly rapid for a car of its size. If you think 2.0 litres is too small an engine for you, look at
making sure your driving experience isn't dull, even if it is a fullsize luxury' sedan.
This car is less about the driving experience and more about the comfort of the passenger, while keeping a keen eye
on efficiency and the carbon footprint. The rear thrones feel plush and padded, made for pampering your backsides. You're bombarded by cold air from every direction, and the legroom is enough for a couple of Jeremy Clarksons to stretch out fully and relax. Audi offers a huge list of options, and depending on which boxes you tick on the options list, you can keep the car basic and functional, or an over the top living room/bedroom on four wheels. Our particular test car was well equipped, but none of the fancy equipment you have access to if you go for the long wheelbase A8 L.
Its massively quiet. When running on Hybrid mode, its practically noiseless, even when the petrol engine is engaged, only the quietest of hums permeate the cabin. The credit goes to the Active Noise Control system, which uses a neat interference system to cancel out the sounds from the engine and the
drivetrain. Liberal use of sound deadening limits exterior noise from reaching the occupants.
Luxury car equals quietness, and the Audi is a silent black giant.
Fuel efficiency is a huge deal for this car. The biggest mistake most people make is in thinking the Audi will be better than all other petrol cars in terms of fuel efficiency since it's a Hybrid and Hybrids are magical unicorns capable of running for miles without stopping for a drink.
The truth: they aren't. You compare only with cars in the same class. You can't complain that your Corolla gives you better mileage than your Audi A8 Hybrid, because there simply is no basis for comparing the two. For the level of equipment, comfort, performance and prestige
drive, we got an average of 4.5 mpg driving around medium traffic laden roads, as touted by the (very cool) heads up display nestled between the speedo and the hybrid power/tacho meter.
Speaking of HU Ds, one complaint about the cabin would be the sheer amount of buttons and trackpads to play around with and screens to look at. Frankly, its quite distracting, which is actually the intended purpose. You can stare for hours at the Audi MMS screen and watch an animated A8 display whether the car is charging the hybrid system or miming on the petrol engine, without being bored.
Is it worth it, though? Probably not, unless you own several industries and you can buy this land yacht and maintain it. To fix it is going to be a bit of a problem given the lack of after sales support in the county (all of these are grey market imports), but have faith in German engineering to
Words: Shaer Reaz PHOTOS: RAHIN SADMAN ISLAM