Need a sporty and posh, potent and expensive ride to impress your friends and spice up the commute? Take a look at the 2015 Audi S8 5-passenger full-size luxury sedan. Based on the more plebian A8, Audi’s largest 4-door offering, the S8, like its sibling, boasts some reworking to the hood as well as the front and rear fascias this year, along with redesigned headlights and several techno-goody safety add-ons. Available only in the well-equipped 4.0T Quattro trim, this plush people-hauler still comes with a sport-tuned suspension, standard 21-inch alloy wheels, a power sunroof and heated power-adjustable mirrors. Upgrades to interior wood accents for 2015 complement the leather and alloy dashboard and door inserts, as does the newly available piano-black inlay. Meantime, premium leather upholstery, heated, power-adjustable and massaging front sport seats and full power accessories bolster standard cruise control, telescoping tilt-wheel steering, 4-zone climate control and a remote garage-door opener, with memory for driver's settings and hard-drive-based navigation also returning. Further standard techno-bling includes Bluetooth hands-free calling, a rear-view camera and a 630-watt Bose premium audio system complete with 14 speakers, a single-CD player, satellite radio and a memory-card slot. Additionally, Audi’s MMI infotainment interface, allowing Wi-Fi access, also remains standard this year. Options for this year’s S8 remain mostly in package mode and include a Bang & Olufsen Advanced Sound System with Surround Sound, upgraded 21-inch wheels, rear-seat DVD entertainment, upgraded leather upholstery and cabin trim, a heated steering wheel and a Driver Assistance Package that’s improved for 2015. Said Driver Assistance Package includes adaptive cruise control and, new for 2015, an emergency secondary collision braking system that brakes the car automatically after a collision to help prevent further damage. Further options, meantime, include heated rear seats, and, again new for 2015, improvements to night-vision technology that can now detect large animals as well as pedestrians in the road. Now for the good stuff! Powering the 2015 S8 is a 520-hp—that’s right, 520 hp!—twin-turbocharged V8 that uses the traditional 8-speed shiftable automatic transmission to manage a hefty 479 lb-ft of torque. Mileage remains estimated at an okay 15 mpg city/26 highway, though the new-for-2015 cylinder-shutdown technology might help improve those figures. Keep in mind, however, that this blown V8 burns only premium gasoline. Finally, Audi has a reputation to uphold as far as safety is concerned, thus the standard 4-wheel antilock braking system (ABS) remains, as do traction and stability control, front and rear head airbags, front and rear head airbags and active front headrests. Standard daytime running lights, LED headlights and pre- and post-collision braking also return for this year, along with a remote antitheft alarm. For 2015, meanwhile, this plush and sport-oriented Audi 4-door offers optional lane-assist technology to keep drivers from inadvertently straying into the next lane over, while an optional parking-assist system boasts a simulated 360-degree camera view and auto steering and braking to make light work of parallel parking. Oh, and a new optional head-up windshield display allows drivers to check engine systems, speed and revs without taking their eyes off the road.