Compare the2023 Audi A8VS 2023 Maserati Quattroporte

The A8’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Quattroporte doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the A8 and Quattroporte have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The A8 has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Quattroporte’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Audi A8 has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Quattroporte doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The A8 has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Quattroporte doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

The A8 has a standard Secondary Collision Brake Assist, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Quattroporte doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the A8. But it costs extra on the Quattroporte.

A passive infrared night vision system optional on the A8 helps the driver to more easily detect people, animals or other objects in front of the vehicle at night. Using an infrared camera to detect heat, the system then displays the image on a monitor in the dashboard and even aims one of the vehicle’s headlights in the direction of the person or object. The Quattroporte doesn’t offer a night vision system.

Both the A8 and Quattroporte offer rear cross-traffic warning, but the A8 has Automatic Brake Activation (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Quattroporte’s Rear Cross Path doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the A8 and the Quattroporte have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, around view monitors and available blind spot warning systems.

The A8’s corrosion warranty is 8 years and unlimited miles longer than the Quattroporte’s (12/unlimited vs. 4/50,000).

There are almost 3 times as many Audi dealers as there are Maserati dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the A8’s warranty.

A reliable vehicle saves its owner time, money and trouble. Nobody wants to be stranded or have to be without a vehicle while it’s being repaired. Consumer Reports rates the A8’s reliability 40 points higher than the Quattroporte.

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Audi vehicles are better in initial quality than Maserati vehicles. With 16 fewer problems per 100 vehicles, JD Power ranks Audi higher than Maserati.

On the EPA test cycle the A8 gets better mileage than the Quattroporte:

Regenerative brakes improve the A8’s fuel efficiency by converting inertia back into energy instead of wasting it. The Quattroporte doesn’t offer a regenerative braking system.

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Audi A8 higher (5 out of 10) than the Maserati Quattroporte (1 to 3). This means the A8 produces up to 39 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Quattroporte every 15,000 miles.

For better stopping power the A8’s standard brake rotors are larger than those on the Quattroporte:

For better traction, the A8 has larger standard tires than the Quattroporte (255/45R19 vs. 245/40R20). The A8’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Quattroporte (265/40R20 vs. 245/40R20).

The front and rear suspension of the A8 uses air springs for a smoother, controlled ride than the Quattroporte, which uses coil springs. Air springs maintain proper ride height and ride more smoothly.

The A8 offers an available adjustable active suspension system, which counteracts cornering forces actively, limiting body roll and improving handling and stability. Maserati doesn’t offer an active suspension on the Quattroporte.

The A8 has a standard automatic front and rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The A8’s height leveling suspension allows the driver to raise ride height for better off-road clearance and then lower it again for easier entering and exiting and better on-road handling. The Quattroporte doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

The design of the Audi A8 amounts to more than styling. The A8 has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .26 Cd. That is lower than the Quattroporte (.28) and many sports cars. A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the A8 get better fuel mileage.

The A8 has .7 inches more rear headroom and 2.3 inches more rear shoulder room than the Quattroporte.

With its sedan body style, valet key and remote trunk release lockout, the A8 offers cargo security. The Quattroporte’s non-lockable folding seat and non-lockable remote release defeat cargo security.

Unlike the driver-only memory system in the Quattroporte, the A8 has standard driver and passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat, steering wheel position, outside mirror angle and climate settings and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The A8 offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed, warning and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Quattroporte doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

If the windows are left open on the A8 the driver can close them all at the outside door handle or from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Quattroporte can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

Heated windshield washer fluid is optional on the A8 to defrost the washer nozzles and quickly clear ice and frost from the windshield without scraping. The Quattroporte doesn’t offer heated windshield washer fluid. Its standard heated washer nozzles will defrost the washer fluid but not the windshield.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the A8 has standard extendable sun visors. The Quattroporte doesn’t offer extendable visors.

The A8 offers optional massaging front and rear seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the Quattroporte.

The A8’s optional Park Assist Plus can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Remote Park Assist Plus will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Quattroporte doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Audi A8, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Audi A8/S8 outsold the Maserati Quattroporte by almost three to one during 2022.