• Surprisingly roomy cabin
• Miserable luggage space
• Usable cup holders

How much space is there?

You’ll struggle to find a two-seater high performance car that feels as roomy as the Audi R8 Coupe. Sure, you sit low, but you’re also positioned well back and nearer the centre of the car, meaning there’s plenty of space around you. Only the tallest of occupants – and we mean 6′ 5″ plus – will struggle for headroom.

Oddments stowage is acceptable rather than good: there’s a pair of cupholders large enough for one-litre bottles and a cubby in the centre console to complement the glovebox, plus bottle holders in the doors.

Boot space and storage

The R8 is mid-engined so there’s no room for a rear boot. Instead, there’s one in the nose of the car, accessed via a little switch on the driver’s door. Its official capacity is 112 litres, which is pitiful. It’s basically big enough for one soft weekend bag.

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Should you need to store more, there is an area behind the seats which can offer up to 226 litres of room, but you’ll have to make sure you can live with the seats pushed forwards to accommodate such loads.

Is it easy to park?

Unlike with some supercars, the view out of the front is easy to judge. The view out of the rear is largely obscured by the engine, but there’s a parking camera to help out. Rear visibility is comprised by the large wing on GT models, but you can still work around it. There was also the option of a self-parking system on top spec models.

During our time with an R8 we found parallel parking on a terraced street and parking in a multi storey car park to be easy. It’s only a bit wider than an Audi Q5 SUV, so fits everywhere nicely.

Safety

• No results from Euro NCAP
• Good levels of safety tech
• Should prove to be safe

Underpinning the R8’s design is a lightweight yet strong chassis and a body built from aluminium. The combination of both means it’s incredibly stiff and robust, which means usual levels of Audi safety aren’t compromised, although there’s no independent crash test by Euro NCAP to verify it.

There’s an Isofix point for the passenger seat, and each seat also gets front, side, head and thorax airbags as standard. 

Other safety equipment on offer when new included automatic high-beam headlights and LED laser headlights, which we’ve tested and work fantastically well.