For years, the Audi A8 was best known for its aluminum spaceframe and alloy body panels. It didn’t really register – except for its price – that it competed with cars like BMW’s 7 Series and Mercedes’ S-Class. To most people it was that aluminum car built by Audi, nothing more. Many stayed away out of fear that repairing it would be a nightmare, while others were put off by the lack of grandeur associated with the Audi name. That is, it wouldn’t impress the neighbors, the parking valet, or the folks at the club.

Audis have always been intelligently designed and crisply styled, which makes the tag line found on the window sticker – “The World’s Most Intelligently Designed Car” – a tad redundant. And does Audi want to place its entire future on this variant of its German credo, “Vorsprung durch technic” (roughly: Advancement through technology), when it has so much more to offer? Maybe so, but it would be a shortsighted mistake.

Let’s start with the exterior. The standard A8 (it also comes in an extended wheelbase version) sits on a long 115.9-in wheelbase, but – at 198.9 in overall – is smaller than some of its competitors. Unlike its Phaeton cousin, which tips the scales at 5,000 lb, the A8 is a comparatively lithe 4,288 lb, and had a drag coefficient of 0.27. Every panel is sleek and smooth with a hint of the “tuck and roll” ethos you’d find on a specially built hot rod. Only the A8 is a bit too sleek and smooth, as you might expect from a car aimed at conservative upper luxury buyers. Which means it is a bit anonymous. This is not what a brand still short on image compared to BMW and Mercedes needs.

The A8’s “Advanced Key” device – which is part of a $2,000 Convenience Package that includes a power rear and manual side sunshades, and a power opening and closing trunk – looks like a normal key set with integrated transmitter. The difference is, you never have to take it out of your pocket. Just walk up, wait briefly for the sensors to detect the Advanced Key’s presence, and open the door. Then, place your foot on the brake, press the “start” button, and drive away. When it’s time to park, put your foot on the brake, and push the “stop” button. All very simple, and techie. But not at all unusual in this end of the luxury market.

The same could be said of the “MMI,” which stands for “Multi Media Interface.” It’s a mouthful, but I-Drive was taken. And that’s what you’ll think of when first you set eyes on the knurled aluminum knob on the center console. Fear not. Audi has added four navigation buttons around the knob, and uses simpler menus than can be found on BMW’s 7 Series. Plus, in a move of sheer genius, Audi engineers added redundant controls for the radio on the steering wheel, and flash the station list on the screen located in the gauge cluster. (The navigation directions can be shown there, as well.) Despite my misgivings about Audi’s singular focus on technology, score one for the team from Ingolstadt.

Score one more for the interior designers who crafted a cabin of rich textures, arrow-straight and narrow gaps, clear gauges, and minimal distractions. Detract points from the product planners who insisted the A8 be a luxury car first, and a sporting vehicle second. Their assertion gives the A8 a slightly anodyne character when a dash of liveliness is called for. As a result, no matter how rich and tasteful the interior, the overall effect is slightly cold and sterile.

It’s a feeling that dogs the A8, and makes me yearn for a slightly more overt model with sporting overtones. That is, quite honestly, the image Audi often has embraced, and one that serves it well. At a time when BMW and Mercedes have chased electronics to the limits of near-term feasibility and subdued aspects of their character in this pursuit, Audi has the opportunity to step cleanly into the gap by offering high levels of technology in a vehicle that expresses a distinct and – dare I say it? – manly character. Nothing over-the-top or farcical, just a calm, contented and clear personality that makes no excuses for its choices. It is a precision and statement of purpose its competition currently lack, and one that would lift Audi’s image from out from behind their shadows.