The 2012 Audi A8 gives nothing away to its rivals in terms of performance, comfort, technological wizardry or build quality. As such, this driver-focused luxury sedan should be on the consideration list of anybody shopping this segment.

Not being the most popular choice doesn’t necessarily equate to not being a good choice. As proof, consider the 2012 Audi A8. With its lightweight aluminum construction, standard all-wheel drive and impeccably trimmed cabin, the A8 has plenty going for it and stands as our favorite alternative pick in the premium large luxury sedan segment. Completely redesigned last year and bolstered by this year’s introduction of the A8L W12 with its 12-cylinder engine, the A8 might well become the Underdog of the class.

In its long-wheelbase (“L”) form, the A8 measures bigger than its German and Asian rivals, yet still weighs less than most of them. When you factor this in with an automatic transmission with eight gears, the Audi A8 can make the most of its 372-hp V8 (or 500-hp W12) while also returning excellent fuel mileage. To provide the sporty feel of a rear-drive performance sedan, the A8’s all-wheel-drive system has a decidedly rear-biased power split. Although normally the power is split 40 percent front/60 percent rear, up to 80 percent can be sent rearward when needed. For even more athletic road manners, an optional torque-vectoring limited-slip differential is available.

In addition to its performance chops, the 2012 Audi A8 is liberal with the high-tech luxury and safety features. There’s the available Dynamic steering system that automatically countersteers should the car start to slide, and also performs such prosaic low-speed trickery as cutting the steering ratio in half to reduce the number of turns that you have to put on the steering wheel while parking. The available, adaptive cruise control boasts stop-and-go capability, and there are also automatic emergency braking and available night vision assist (with thermal imaging and pedestrian detection). Audi’s MMI electronics interface features an additional touchpad that reads fingertip gestures as letters and commands, while Google Earth mapping for the navigation system is another A8 exclusive.