I clearly remember a conversation I had with my father on returning from an overseas launch that included a few business-class flights. Impressed that his son gets to (by the generosity of various motor companies) travel in this fairly exclusive club, my dad wanted to know what it was like to sit at the pointy end of the plane, as opposed to the cramped and uncomfortable economy seats towards the rear.
I remember watching his enthusiasm wane and face scrunch up as I explained that, on this particular flight, the business class seat actually wasn’t that comfortable. “But, the seat still fully reclined and you had loads of leg room?” he asked. “Surely then it was still the better place to be than in a tight economy class seat, where you struggle to find space even for your elbows!” Of course, my father had valid point, and I immediately felt bad for coming across as ungrateful for my upgraded seat number but – and perhaps it’s a conversation best held with people who have also experienced business class with a few airlines – there is a definite difference in overall seat comfort between the various carriers, to the point where, despite being able to recline and adjust in many more ways than an average seat, some are (by comparison) downright uncomfortable.
The exclusive world of the long-wheel base grand saloon has much the same traits as business class travel. Sure, the rear seats of these luxuriously appointed, predominantly chauffeur-driven, saloons are never ultimately a terrible place to be, and most “average” passengers would love an upgrade into one, but, like the airlines, there does seem to be slight differences in the execution and ultimate comfort of these seats between each of the manufacturers.
While one of the most comfortable grand saloon rear seats that I can remember sitting in in recent years was in the Lexus LS600 h L, one of the most uncomfortable has to be in the new Audi A8 6,3 Quattro W12 lwb.
You’ll forgive me for going on a bit about rear passenger comfort in a “driving” impression, but in a vehicle designed and built exclusively for the transportation of important rear seat passengers, it seems a fairly important aspect of this particular car. While the A8’s actual seats are comfortable enough in the default “upright for landing” setting, things start to go a bit wrong when you begin to play with the various electronic adjustments. The seat never drops low enough so the rear passenger is actually afforded a (unwelcome) stadium view over the front seats, while the rear headrest cannot be adjusted separately to the seat so in a full recline position you are forced to rest your head upwards, as opposed to being able to sit back but still look ahead. Again, these may seem like the complaints of an ungrateful person but they are never-the-less complaints – something that someone paying over R1,5 million for ultimate luxury should not have to deal with.
Indeed, the best seat in the A8 W12 “liner” is the driver’s one. From here you gain access to the standard Audi drive select technology to switch, change, and customise the ride, steering and throttle settings, you get to unwind in one of the most comfortable driver’s seats on the market, while lightly gripping the thick-rim multi-function steering wheel, and you get to enjoy the silky-smooth character of the 368 kW/625 N.m W12 engine. The fact that this 2,1 ton, long-wheelbase, grand saloon is capable of a 0-100 km/h sprint in just 4,7 seconds somehow doesn’t seem that important while you are able to engage cruise control at 120 km/h, in 8th gear, with the rev counter resting comfortably on the 2 000 r/min mark.
Just like the pilots who get to be in control of the very latest in passenger airline innovation, it’s in the driver’s seat where you truly start to appreciate the technology and refinement that goes into a high-end grand saloon and, in the case of the new Audi A8 long-wheel base, just like the pilots, I would want to close the cockpit door so as not to hear the grumbles and moans from the spoilt upper-class passengers.
