Presence. Hollywood stars have it, that indefinable star quality which grabs your attention and holds your gaze, even if not all of them have the same pleasurable eye appeal as Angelina Jolie.
Audi's new A8, launched here in July, is the cleanest-styled large sedan in the market and Audi's managed to give it neat, shrink-wrapped proportions that make it look less bloated than rivals such as the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and BMW 7 Series.
But in so doing it lacks the presence one might expect of a million-buck limo. It's handsome in a low-key sort of way and could easily drive past without you registering that this is, in fact, the Audi.
Step inside and it's much the same. The cockpit is smart and solid in a very formal and businesslike setting, although there are a couple of ooh and aah features such as the three-colour ambient lighting system (ruby red, polar white or warm ivory) which can be changed to suit your mood at night. The leather seats too are beautifully sculpted and felt as good to snuggle into as Angelina herself (or so I imagine).
The front seats are 22-way electrically adjustable with heating, ventilation and memory settings, and the cabin's big enough to swing a rottweiler in so there's oodles of passenger room.
Every new generation of luxury car brings with it new toys in automakers' endless quest to out-gizmo each other, and the A8's gadget du jour is a finger touchpad - much like the mousepad on laptop computers - that allows the driver to choose preselected radio stations and input a satnav address.
Instead of twirling a knob to select letters from the alphabet you scrawl them with your finger on the touchpad located at your left hand - yup, your left. I didn't find it saved any time compared to the already user-friendly MMI interface, but then I'm not left-handed.
I did, however, very much like the super-sized monitor with its easy-to-read graphics and panoramic navigation view.
Like its rivals the Mercedes S-Class and BMW 7 Series, the A8 comes with all manner of accident-avoiding gadgets which automatically set your following distance, give you a computerised "slap on the wrist" when you wander out of your lane and help you see much better at night.
All of these are optional extras in the A8 4.2 quattro, which is priced at R1 105 905 in standard trim.
Automakers tend to copy each other's best gizmos so I was surprised to see the A8 didn't emulate the 7 Series' fancy hinges that allow opened doors to be stopped in any position. The Audi uses regular pre-set notches which can lead to the big doors springing open and bashing their edges.
The climate-control system is devilishly effective at cooling or warming the supersized cabin, but isn't too user friendly if you wish to override the auto setting and choose your own fan speed - it usually starts blowing at its own pace again soon afterwards (Ze fan is at ze right speed, please adjust your attitude!).
SILKY-SMOOTH POWER DELIVERY
In 2011 there will be three-litre supercharged V6, three-litre V6 TDI and 4.2 V8 TDI versions added to the A8 range, but for now the only A8 available is the 4.2 quattro.
It's powered by a normally-aspirated petrol V8 wielding 273kW and 445Nm, with drive fed to all four wheels through a super-slick, eight-speed automatic transmission.
It's a lusty and silky-smooth power delivery without quite being in super-sedan territory but its seven-second 0-100km/h figure, governed 250km/h top speed and effortless cruising ability supply all the grunt most owners will ever need.
Audi's done its homework in terms of noise, vibration and harshness and the big A8 wafts along at vicious velocities so silently you could hear fleas fornicating in the cabin.
The German limo tackles straight or curvy roads with equal flair. As before, the A8 is aluminium-bodied to keep weight down and this large sedan shrinks around you when you drive it.
The big car nips through tight turns with an alacrity that belies its size and, rather than feeling like a bloated behemoth it invites fast-paced exploration of twisty roads.
Our test car had optional adaptive air suspension which allows the stiffness of the dampers and the ride height to be set for the situation - whether it's comfy cruising or hardcore cornering. The two extremes are generally handled very competently, except over really bad bumps where I felt the cushioning could have been better.
VERDICT
Audi's new A8 scores an A in most of the important areas: space, luxury, refinement, safety, driving dynamics, decent power, along with enough gadgets to make the neighbours jealous.
What it lacks is a bit of Hollywood flair. It looks essentially like a stretched Audi A4 and might be too visually under-the-radar for owners who want to be seen as being at the top of the totem pole.