Audi is able to compete with Mercedes-Benz and BMW to become the three major international luxury car giants. It relies not on comparable sales, but on comparable technologies and products. The battle for sales falls more on mid- to low-end products, but the brand height and technical foundation are determined by high-end models, such as the Audi A8L, BMW 7 Series, etc. So the question is, who is better, Audi A8L or BMW 7 Series?
This question has the answer at Beijing Shengdao Boyue International Circuit. This time the comparison is between the Audi A8 45 TFSI quattro luxury model and the BMW 7 Series 735Li M sports package. Both cars belong to their respective entry-level models. We By comparing performance in terms of power, suspension, etc., let’s see who is the entry-level benchmark for luxury D-class cars.
Power comparison:
The Audi A8L 45 TFSI is equipped with the fourth-generation EA888 high-power engine, with a maximum power of 195kW and a peak torque of 350 Nm. The transmission part is matched with an 8-speed Tiptronic gearbox, and the acceleration time from 100 kilometers to 100 kilometers is 6.7 seconds. The BMW 735Li is equipped with a 3.0T engine with a maximum power of 200kW and a peak torque of 400 Nm. The transmission part is a ZF 8AT gearbox, and the acceleration time from 100 kilometers to 100 kilometers is 6.7 seconds.
The official data of the two cars are consistent, so what is the actual performance? When accelerating from the start, the Audi A8 45 TFSI's power response is very fast. The vehicle jumps out the moment the accelerator is stepped on. The quattro full-time four-wheel drive system allows the vehicle to firmly grip the ground, and you can clearly feel that all four wheels are present. The force is clearly exerted and the entire acceleration process is very stable. The final measured 0-50/KM acceleration time was 2.74 seconds.
Next is the BMW 735Li. The engine's power response is also very fast, and it works well with the ZF 8AT gearbox. Basically, the body starts to get restless when you tap the accelerator. However, this car uses rear-wheel drive, and in the sports mode Starting with a heavy throttle caused the rear wheel to start in a slipping state. In addition to the decrease in stability, it also affected the acceleration ability at low speeds. The final measured 0-50/KM acceleration time was 3.15 seconds.
The time difference between 2.74 seconds and 3.15 seconds is enough to prove that the 2.0T+8AT power system equipped with the Audi A8 45 TFSI is no weaker than the 3.0T+8AT BMW 7 Series in terms of power reserve and transmission efficiency. Behind this It also represents the technical height of Audi. The acceleration difference of 0.41 seconds from 0 to 100 kilometers is already a very obvious gap in a car.
On the other hand, we can also see that the Audi A8 45 TFSI is equipped with a four-wheel drive system, which pays more attention to the stability and safety of the vehicle's driving state. The BMW 735Li uses rear-wheel drive and pays more attention to the vehicle's controllability. The two cars have different product demands, so which one do you pay more attention to?
four-wheel drive test:
Audi's quattro four-wheel drive system is world-famous and is one of its core technologies. It has dominated the rally field for a long time. So what about D-class cars like the Audi A8 45 TFSI? A definite answer is to improve the passability of vehicles. What, cars are also about passability? Let friends from the northern region answer this question. The answer is definitely that it can be driven casually in the snow. In fact, it also has practical value in the rainy southern region.
In this test, we also conducted tests on single-wheel pulleys and diagonal pulleys. The Audi A8 45 TFSI can easily pass them. Equipped with a quattro four-wheel drive system with a purely mechanical self-locking center differential, it can The power of the front and rear axles is distributed in a ratio of 40:60. In the extreme state, the front wheels can get 70% of the power and the rear axle can get 85% of the power. The power can be utilized to the limit for different slippery roads.
The rear-wheel drive BMW 735Li has difficulty passing through the diagonal pulley block. When the two rear wheels enter the pulley, the vehicle moves very hard. It requires very precise torque control to get out of trouble, and the throttle is too small. Or it could just slide in place. If you are a friend from the north, you should have seen the famous scenes of BMW 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class rear-wheel drive versions digging into snow pits. In the early years, everyone thought that rear-wheel drive was king, but for luxury D-class cars that do not pursue extreme driving, stability is king.
bump test:
bump test is one of the most commonly used evaluation methods, which mainly considers the vehicle's suspension and shock absorption system. The Audi A8 is equipped with front and rear multi-link independent suspension, and the BMW 7 Series is equipped with front double wishbones and rear multi-link independent suspension. Both cars are equipped with adaptive air suspension systems, so their ability to cope with bumpy roads is excellent. The basic comfort requirements are guaranteed, but there are some differences.
In addition to air suspension, the Audi A8 45 TFSI also provides a terrain management system. The system can adjust the suspension damping strength hundreds of times per second. When passing through bumpy roads, it can better absorb and resolve vibrations, and the body is basically close to Horizontal posture. The front double-wishbone suspension equipped on the BMW 7 Series has strong sport characteristics, so the support force is relatively harder, and it will respond to bumpy roads in a relatively tough way, so the vibration is relatively higher and the ups and downs are more frequent.
Quietness test:
The quietness of luxury D-class cars is very important. In this test, we placed a large electronic EDM speaker outside the car. Through the test, the Audi A8L and BMW 735Li were respectively 53.7dB inside the car. In the car, the readings are 58.5dB, which are both very good levels, but there are still differences.
curve test:
The last step is to test the controllability of the two cars in curves. I originally thought that the rear-wheel drive BMW 735Li would be stronger, but in fact the Audi A8 45 TFSI performs better. When passing through sharp bends, first of all, the Audi A8 45 TFSI has stronger lateral support, the roof feel of the one-sided suspension is more obvious, and the body posture is more stable than the BMW 735Li. With the blessing of the four-wheel drive system, the steering wheel directivity, The body tracking is more flexible.
Obviously, rear-wheel drive is more suitable for smaller B-class cars and C-class cars. Once you get to a large-sized D-class car, the performance of the rear-wheel drive is not as good as the four-wheel drive system. Because the car body is heavy and long, it will put a relatively large load on the rear-wheel drive system, which can easily destroy the balance of the car body. On the contrary, the four-wheel drive system can more evenly share the pressure brought by the car body and improve the vehicle's handling.
Editor's note:
has been dealing with Audi A8L and BMW 7 Series for many years. From my personal experience, the Audi A8 has always adhered to the "stable" product characteristics during its five generations of models. With the upgrade of technology, the product characteristics are also constantly upgraded, giving people a very balanced feeling. In fact, Audi The A8 never disappoints.
The BMW 7 Series has continued to change. When I came into contact with the third-generation BMW 7 Series, the sportiness that did not match the body shape was really amazing. However, BMW did not stick to this style. The current generation model focuses on comfort. , but I think the comfort is too much, which causes the suspension to lose its balance and reduces the dynamic stability of the vehicle. Although D-class luxury cars do not require intense driving, an excessively soft driving experience is not the right way. In some specific situations, Instead, the environment became uncomfortable.
So in terms of the comprehensiveness of the vehicle, I would vote for the Audi A8L.
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