Audi A8 facelift (2007) CAR review

I'm sorry, did you say this was a mid-life facelift for Audi's luxury A8?

Fair enough – the cosmetic changes aren't that exciting. In fact, they're really rather difficult to spot, being limited to some new front grille colours, re-arranged LEDs in the tail-lights, and new LED indicator strips in the door mirrors. Plus a different alloy wheel or two (or four for the sake of cosmetics). But under the skin, Audi's been busier tweaking the mechanicals to make an already refined car even quieter. It's also rustled up some extra equipment, added some toys to the options list, and – stop the press – boosted the engine range by dropping in a new 2.8-litre V6 petrol engine.

A new 2.8-litre petrol? Be still my beating heart...

OK, so it isn't all that stimulating, though 0-62mph in 8.0 seconds and 147mph isn't really hanging about – on paper, at least. But that's not the point. While we wouldn’t usually be that bothered about a new entry-level powerplant, producing only 199g/km of CO2 makes it by far the most environmentally friendly combination of car and engine in the luxury saloon class. All achieved via clever FSI direct injection, Audi's efficient new valvelift technology, and a Multitronic CVT auto. Average economy of 34.0mpg is impressive for a luxo-barge, too.