Greetings. I recently did something that many people think is idiotic: I traded in my 2021 Audi RS7 for a 2021 Audi S8! Thought I'd post some pictures and write about the differences between the two for anyone who cares. I bought the 2021 Audi RS7 in 2022, which was my first Audi. It was black on black and had every available option except for night vision and carbon ceramic brakes. I loved the car, it was very reliable, and it turned a lot of heads. Truth is, I've wanted an Audi A8 for the past twenty years. When the A8 was redesigned for the 2004 model year, I remember seeing it and immediately falling in love. To me, it was the most beautiful full size luxury sedan I'd ever seen, particularly in long wheel base. Of course, the A8 has gone through body style redesigns since, but my love for the A8 never waned. Fast forward to present day, and I have been lusting over a current body style S8 since it came to the United States for the 2020 model year.
I have virtually zero complaints about the RS7, but it's the A8 (well, S8) that I've really wanted. Finding an S8 with all of the option packages I desire turned out to be really difficult. I'd usually find one that had the right color combination, but the options weren't there or it had those awful black rims. A few months ago, I stumbled across a CPO 2021 S8 with 26,000 miles at an Audi dealer in Minneapolis. It had the Audi Care prepaid maintenance and the dealership agreed to put new all season tires on it instead of summer tires, both of which save me a lot of money. I live in Indiana, so I have no interest in swapping out summer and winter tires, and purchasing a second set of tires, like I did with my RS7.
Comparison observations: The S8 is obviously a larger car, but it doesn't feel, drive, or handle all that much larger-feeling than the RS7. They both have rear wheel steering, so that helps. The rear seat room in the S8 is gargantuan, and my S8 has the three-passenger rear seat comfort package which includes powered, heated, ventilated, massaging, memory rear outboard seats. It also has the rear removable center armrest tablet which controls HVAC, seat, lighting, shades, and stereo settings. In terms of acceleration, to me they feel almost identical. I am surprised how spry the S8 feels compared to the RS7, as it gets up and goes about the same as the RS7. Surprisingly, there are a couple of videos on YouTube where a current body style S8 reached 60 faster than an RS6 and RS7, which makes no sense considering the increase in size and weight. But regardless, I feel as if the S8 and RS7 accelerate almost identically. I lost some cargo versatility with the S8 since I lost the hatch back, but so far it hasn't been a detriment. One of the MOST appreciated features in the S8 is the fact that I can actually adjust the headrests! I hated that the RS7's sport seats didn't have adjustable headrests, and I couldn't use them comfortably as I always could with prior vehicles. The seats in both cars, however, are very comfortable.
The S8 has the predictive active suspension ("PAS") which isn't available on any other Audi model, and boy does it have some great party tricks, most of which I find more gimmicky than desirable. The PAS does the following, in no particular order: 1. when you open any of the doors, the entire car quickly lifts up about two inches to help aid entry; when all doors are closed, the vehicle slowly lowers back to its original height. 2. if you floor the gas pedal, the suspension automatically lifts up the rear end to counteract front end lift such that the car stays virtually flat; contrarily, if you slam on the brakes, the front end lifts up to counteract nose dive. 3. when you turn into a curve at higher speeds, it elevates the side of the car on the outside of the curve to counterbalance the forces you typically feel when going around a curve. 4. when its front camera appropriately reads and detects a speed bump, the car lifts up just before you drive over the speed bump such that you don't feel driving over the bump near as much as you typically would; in other words, the suspension readies itself to "eat" the bump and sort of glide over it by increasing the space above the tires to absorb the impact. 5. if the car detects you're going to be t-boned, the side about to be hit lifts up so that the cross beams in the doors absorb the brunt of the impact, thereby better protecting vehicle occupants. I hope I never have to find out if this PAS feature actually works!
My RS7 and S8 both have the expensive optional Bang & Olufsen Advanced sound system. The S8's stereo sounds better than the RS7's, particularly because there are a lot more speakers in the rear, including in the rear shelf which the RS7 doesn't even have due to it being a hatchback. One thing that always bothered me in the RS7 was that you couldn't really hear the music coming from the back seats. There is a small tweeter on either side of the rear head rests in the RS7, but they have virtually no sound emitting from them. They were totally useless. With the S8, it has a legitimate rear shelf, so there is more sound emitting from the backseat area. The stereo in the S8 just sounds more innate and "organic," as if it was designed as part of the vehicle from the beginning. The RS7's stereo sounded more like they installed 19 speakers after the car was complete, and the sound isn't as enveloping as the S8. Definitely not worth the $5,000 price tag. As a side note, for those of you who aren't impressed with the Bang & Olufsen stereo in your Audi, particularly because you can't even control the midrange, try using Spotify which has its own built-in equalizer - I guarantee you the sound quality will significantly increase as you set Spotify's equalizer to the way you like it. And don't forget to select "very high" sound quality in the settings and TURN OFF audio normalization.
Finally, I'll note some features in the S8 which I like, and which can't be had in the RS7: massaging seats; hidden dash vents which disappear behind motorized doors when the climate system is turned off (yes, totally gimmicky); ionized air; dual sunroofs; rear powered window shades (all three rear windows); powered adjustable headrests front and rear, rear seat comfort features; all-seat memory settings; heated armrests; and quasi-hidden storage cubbies in each door armrest.
The RS7 definitely has cooler looking headlights, a sportier appearance, and more head-turning looks. I have nothing negative to say about the RS7, and I can't necessarily say that I think the S8 is better - I just like the extra room, comfort, and features it offers. I know this was a long post, but oh well. I'm bored and enjoy talking about cars. I hope someone finds this helpful. Let me know if you have any questions. Pictures are below, including the S8 and RS7 side by side at the dealership. Happy holidays!
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