While there's a great deal that is good about the A8 L, more of which is explained in greater detail in a previously featured review found in the archives, it's difficult to be enamored with a car after an experience such as being locked out, and its niggling quality issues bother me more than I could live with day to day. Still, like the girl my mother didn't want me to date, the sexy Audi kept luring me back with its seductive styling and sinful performance. But I know better now. I'm past the teenage years, married with children. Why would I want to take a chance with over the top gorgeous looks when I could find a nice, albeit slightly frumpier car that would offer all the performance, better build quality, even more luxury features and better expected reliability than the A8 L? But baby it looks sweet.

Like the girl my mother didn't want me to date, the sexy Audi kept luring me back with its seductive styling and sinful performance. (Photo: Shawn Pisio, Canadian Auto Press)

In the end though, the A8 L doesn't measure up to the BMW 7-Series, its main rival. Where BMW went overboard to create a sense of handcrafted detail, the A8's less visible interior bits and pieces seem as if they're assembled on a regular old VW line. While it looks special at first glance, only size and eye candy separate it from the much less expensive A6.

But Audi shouldn't feel badly. After all, Jaguar's new XJ doesn't come close to the BMW either. Neither, for that matter, does the Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Still, once again the Audi looks so ruddy nice I can almost look over its foibles.

While the A8 looks special at first glance, only size and eye candy separate it from the much less expensive A6. (Photo: Shawn Pisio, Canadian Auto Press)

When it all comes down to making a decision, what truly concerns me about this car is the nameplate's worse than average reported reliability. In the most recent J. D. Powers and Associates 2003 Vehicle Dependability Study, it's placement among competitors is hardly worth bragging about. In the nameplate ranking, Audi scored a somewhat pathetic 26th place out of 37 automakers with 318 problems per 100 vehicles. It was tied with Mercedes-Benz for last place among luxury car brands. In comparison Lexus, with a score of 163, came in first overall. Infiniti was second and Cadillac, moving up dramatically, came in seventh. BMW didn't fare too poorly either in thirteenth place.