Compare the2024 Audi S8VS 2024 BMW M8

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Audi S8 have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The BMW M8 doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Audi S8 are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The BMW M8 doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

Both the S8 and M8 Gran Coupe have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The S8 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 M8’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 S8 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 M8 doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

Earlier warning of stopped traffic, traffic signals, dangerous road conditions, weather, or accidents, can keep driver's safer and prevent crashes. The S8 has Car-to-X Services, a system that seemlesly communicates important warnings to the driver about impending danger, if they're available. The M8 doesn’t offer a system that can receive automated systems from infrastructure.

A passive infrared night vision system optional on the S8 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 M8 doesn’t offer a night vision system.

Both the S8 and M8 offer rear cross-traffic warning, but the S8 with Rear Cross-Traffic Assist also has Automatic Brake Activation (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The M8’s Cross Traffic Warning doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the S8 and the M8 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras and available blind spot warning systems.

The Audi S8 weighs 566 to 831 pounds more than the BMW M8. The NHTSA advises that heavier cars are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

The S8’s 4.0 turbo V8 hybrid produces 37 lbs.-ft. more torque (590 vs. 553) than the M8’s 4.4 turbo V8.

On the EPA test cycle the S8 gets better fuel mileage than the M8 Competition (15 city/24 hwy vs. 15 city/22 hwy).

The S8 has 1.6 gallons more fuel capacity than the M8 (21.7 vs. 20.1 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the S8 offers optional 21-inch wheels. The M8’s largest wheels are only 20-inches.

The S8 has a standard space-saver spare tire so you can replace a flat tire and drive to have the flat repaired or replaced. A spare tire isn’t available on the M8; it requires you to depend on roadside assistance and your vehicle will have to be towed.

The front and rear suspension of the S8 uses air springs for a smoother, controlled ride than the M8, which uses coil springs. Air springs maintain proper ride height and ride more smoothly.

The S8 has a standard automatic front and rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The S8’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 M8 doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the S8’s wheelbase is 11.9 inches longer than on the M8 Gran Coupe (123.2 inches vs. 111.3 inches).

For better maneuverability, the S8’s turning circle is .3 feet tighter than the M8 Competition Coupe’s (38.7 feet vs. 39 feet). The S8’s turning circle is 3.7 feet tighter than the M8 Gran Coupe’s (38.7 feet vs. 42.4 feet).

The design of the Audi S8 amounts to more than styling. The S8 has an aerodynamic coefficient of drag of .28 Cd. That is significantly lower than the M8 (.34) and many sports cars. A more efficient exterior helps keep the interior quieter and helps the S8 get better fuel mileage.

The S8 uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The M8 doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

Because it has more passenger and cargo room, the EPA rates the S8 a Large car, while the M8 Gran Coupe is rated a Mid-size.

The S8 has 11 cubic feet more passenger volume than the M8 Gran Coupe (111 vs. 100).

The S8 has 1.9 inches more front shoulder room, 1.4 inches more rear headroom, 7.7 inches more rear legroom and 3 inches more rear shoulder room than the M8 Gran Coupe.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the S8’s available rear seats recline. The M8’s rear seats don’t recline.

Unlike the driver-only memory system in the M8, the S8 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.

Heated windshield washer nozzles are standard on the S8 to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The M8 doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

To shield the driver and front passenger’s vision over a larger portion of the windshield and side windows, the S8 has standard extendable sun visors. The M8 doesn’t offer extendable visors.

The S8 has standard front air conditioned seats and offers them optionally in the rear. This keeps the passengers comfortable and takes the sting out of hot seats in summer. The M8 doesn’t offer air-conditioned seats in the rear.

The S8 has standard massaging front and optional massaging rear seats. Massaging seats aren’t available in the M8.

The S8 offers an optional 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The M8 doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

The S8’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 M8’s automatic parking system does not offer parking by remote control.

Insurance will cost less for the S8 owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the S8 will cost $475 to $885 less than the M8 over a five-year period.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Audi S8 will be $4854 to $7323 less than for the BMW M8.