Audi interiors...am i missing something?

MTBD

I sat in a new A4 at the ploughing match. After reading endless praise in magazines about how amazingly well built and beautiful their cabins were my expectations were high.

Average. Absolutely thoroughly average is the only way I would describe it. Bland design, horrible screen sticking outbid the middle, and absolutely no flair whatsoever. It also felt relatively flimsy which I know it is having sat in older Audi's.

I saw in a BMW, Volvo s90 and Lexus is300h also. The Lexus is superior in every way inside. Better built and more style. The Volvo also felt like an incredibly special place to sit. I've never sat in a similar looking cabin to that. BMW was better than a4 but nothing special.

What planet do car reviewers live on? Everything they say about cars in my experience is inaccurate or a lie. Reading magazines you would think the Germans are way ahead of every other car manufacturer. I've driven lots of cars and I have never been impressed with anything German aside from some Mercs.

It's a shame because people actually believe this crap about German cars.

I've said this before but every single magazine I have compares every car with the Germans said they are the standard bearers. They really aren't.

tossy

Hard to seperate BMW and Audi for me, Lexus and volvo don't age well at all.

The likes of BMW, Audi and even VW age very well. The interior of my old 98 B5 just didn't feel like it had 300k on it. My 2000 S3 could hold it's own against most modern hatchback interiors. The interior of my current 2008 S3 feels as if it could be a 2016 car.

Who won the ploughing match ?:D

SBPhoto

Every one to their own taste, but i find the Audi interior one of the best in the premium cars, One of the reasons that i bought one.

Giacomo McGubbin

It's a classic case of emperor's new clothes.
You're not missing anything, German marques are still living on past reputations.
In comparative terms, they've been slowly going downhill in both quality and style since the 90's, whereas 'average' cars have come on leaps and bounds.
An Audi/BMW/Merc used to be a special car, relatively rare, and usually understated and sophisticated.
Now they are fat and garish and pimped, and ironically as the germans have realised to their profit, sell far more than they ever did.

Bazzy

I know its horses for courses but it seems to me the focus in Audi is on the 4 rings on the front

I think Volvo has aged well very well they've made some lovely changes

mikeecho

Build quality v fancy extras


Don't get me wrong, I love the fancy extras.

But being a bmw fanboy, I prefer the build quality of a bm trouble u

Neilw

By any chance was it a ploughing special spec A4, i.e poverty spec?

kefir32

Im assuming it was a bog standard paddy spec also, drove a 16 reg Q7 sline in the UK a few months and the interior was second to none.

coolbeans

MTBD wrote: »

I sat in a new A4 at the ploughing match. After reading endless praise in magazines about how amazingly well built and beautiful their cabins were my expectations were high.

Average. Absolutely thoroughly average is the only way I would describe it. Bland design, horrible screen sticking outbid the middle, and absolutely no flair whatsoever. It also felt relatively flimsy which I know it is having sat in older Audi's.

I saw in a BMW, Volvo s90 and Lexus is300h also. The Lexus is superior in every way inside. Better built and more style. The Volvo also felt like an incredibly special place to sit. I've never sat in a similar looking cabin to that. BMW was better than a4 but nothing special.

What planet do car reviewers live on? Everything they say about cars in my experience is inaccurate or a lie. Reading magazines you would think the Germans are way ahead of every other car manufacturer. I've driven lots of cars and I have never been impressed with anything German aside from some Mercs.

It's a shame because people actually believe this crap about German cars.

I've said this before but every single magazine I have compares every car with the Germans said they are the standard bearers. They really aren't.

I think you'll find VAG and BMW have the biggest advert budgets in the industry. The magazines are essentially in hoc to them.

coolbeans

MTBD wrote: »

I sat in a new A4 at the ploughing match. After reading endless praise in magazines about how amazingly well built and beautiful their cabins were my expectations were high.

Average. Absolutely thoroughly average is the only way I would describe it. Bland design, horrible screen sticking outbid the middle, and absolutely no flair whatsoever. It also felt relatively flimsy which I know it is having sat in older Audi's.

I saw in a BMW, Volvo s90 and Lexus is300h also. The Lexus is superior in every way inside. Better built and more style. The Volvo also felt like an incredibly special place to sit. I've never sat in a similar looking cabin to that. BMW was better than a4 but nothing special.

What planet do car reviewers live on? Everything they say about cars in my experience is inaccurate or a lie. Reading magazines you would think the Germans are way ahead of every other car manufacturer. I've driven lots of cars and I have never been impressed with anything German aside from some Mercs.

It's a shame because people actually believe this crap about German cars.

I've said this before but every single magazine I have compares every car with the Germans said they are the standard bearers. They really aren't.

I think you'll find VAG and BMW have the biggest advert budgets in the industry. The magazines are essentially in hoc to them.
They sell many good cars but they're not all that like their made out to be.

Audi and VW do some of the nicest interiors going imo so wouldn't agree at all op.

mikeecho

coolbeans wrote: »

I think you'll find VAG and BMW have the biggest advert budgets in the industry. The magazines are essentially in hoc to them.
They sell many good cars but they're not all that like their made out to be.

While a bmw might not have ALL the bells and whistles as standard.
I do find the general build quality a hell of a lot better than a lot of other marques.

(Again..... I'm a bmw fan)

coolbeans

mikeecho wrote: »

coolbeans wrote: »

I think you'll find VAG and BMW have the biggest advert budgets in the industry. The magazines are essentially in hoc to them.
They sell many good cars but they're not all that like their made out to be.

While a bmw might not have ALL the bells and whistles as standard.
I do find the general build quality a hell of a lot better than a lot of other marques.

(Again..... I'm a bmw fan)

I don't even know what you mean by build quality though. To me a well built car is one that'll be more reliable and dependable over its lifetime. When people talk build quality in cars it seems to mean nice squishy plastic and no rattles and a general solid 'feel' rather than pure dependability.

Ericdravancrow

Problem is anyone with a Audi, will never admit they are bland. They all think it's an R8 they are in.

Ericdravancrow

Ericdravancrow wrote: »

Problem is anyone with a Audi, will never admit they are bland. They all think it's an R8 they are in.

Bland? They are some of the best looking cars on the road far far from bland.

I don't own one by the way, I have a VW.

MTBD

kefir32 wrote: »

Im assuming it was a bog standard paddy spec also, drove a 16 reg Q7 sline in the UK a few months and the interior was second to none.

It wasn't poverty spec as it was a show car. Leather and plenty of extras.

A Q7 starts at €75K for poverty spec. It'd want to be very special for that price.

I'm specifically talking about the a4 here though. I genuinely could see nothing special in it. The overwhelming blandness of it struck me more than anything. It's ergonomics weren't as good as the Volvo and it's overall quality was well behind the Lexus. It's certainly not worthy of the universal praise it gets in car magazines.

There isn't a German car on the planet worth it's price tag. All of them sacrifice real quality for bling.

tossy

Ericdravancrow wrote: »

Problem is anyone without an Audi, will never admit they are a nice place to sit .

It's generalisations that ruin a good debate lol

tossy

MTBD wrote: »

There isn't a German car on the planet worth it's price tag. All of them sacrifice real quality for bling.

There isn't a car on the planet (bar one or two) worth it's asking price when you look at what it costs to build them. Are you going to ruin a good point and interesting thread you started with sensationalist Bs like this ?

Oafley Jones

MTBD wrote: »

It wasn't poverty spec as it was a show car. Leather and plenty of extras.

A Q7 starts at €75K for poverty spec. It'd want to be very special for that price.

I'm specifically talking about the a4 here though. I genuinely could see nothing special in it. The overwhelming blandness of it struck me more than anything. It's ergonomics weren't as good as the Volvo and it's overall quality was well behind the Lexus. It's certainly not worthy of the universal praise it gets in car magazines.

There isn't a German car on the planet worth it's price tag. All of them sacrifice real quality for bling.

Was stuck behind a Q7 today. Seriously awful rear to it. I struggling to think of a worse example. Never cared for the previous model, but it's a work of art against the new one.

Look at that ****ing thing.



I've said it a few times on here, but I'd love to see a clear out of Audi's design group. They've absolutely gone to **** in recent years.

MidMan25

A4 and S90 is hardly a fair comparison. A4 starts at around 35k, you're looking at 55k for the base model S90.....

Oafley Jones

Oafley Jones wrote: »

Was stuck behind a Q7 today. Seriously awful rear to it. I struggling to think of a worse example. Never cared for the previous model, but it's a work of art against the new one.

Look at that ****ing thing.



I've said it a few times on here, but I'd love to see a clear out of Audi's design group. They've absolutely gone to **** in recent years.

Brilliant looking car imo.

Oafley Jones

MidMan25 wrote: »

A4 and S90 is hardly a fair comparison. A4 starts at around 35k, you're looking at 55k for the base model S90.....

48k. The S90 would targeting the A6 and 5 series.

MTBD

Oafley Jones wrote: »

48k. The S90 would targeting the A6 and 5 series.

That's true but the a6 is just a bigger version of the a4 and largely follows it's design. I sat in an s60 too and preferred that to the a4 but it's an old design now. I imagine it's replacement will be very like what is in the s90.

recyclebin

Milana Abundant Warden wrote: »

Brilliant looking car imo.

Looks awful in that blue colour IMO

Oafley Jones

Milana Abundant Warden wrote: »

Brilliant looking car imo.

I particularly like how the lower set of lights aren't tied into anything at all. It's as if they stuck any old thing on, said **** it and went home. It's the least cohesive design I've seen in a long time. Brutal.

Edit: I'm sure Audi removed it's designer following the reaction to it.

Triangla

The in laws have an A4, while lovely to look at the inside is pretty poor compared to my older Volvo S40.

I love the look of Audis but the interior would put me off buying them. I like the BMW interior and the Merc also. I've not seen the Lexus close up. For me the interior has to be right, it's where you spend all your time. Volvo interiors can be really classy. Mine is over 8 years old and it hasn't aged at all. If I bought a new car with that interior tomorrow I'd be impressed.

In fairness though, it was top spec at time of purchase so that accounts for certain aspects.

Zascar

I have a 15 year old Audi TT and I still think the interior is better than in very many new cars these days, even some bmws - they have barely updated. I think thew new TT interior is incredible, but also very impressed by the A4 S-Line.

audi12

MTBD wrote: »

I sat in a new A4 at the ploughing match. After reading endless praise in magazines about how amazingly well built and beautiful their cabins were my expectations were high.

Average. Absolutely thoroughly average is the only way I would describe it. Bland design, horrible screen sticking outbid the middle, and absolutely no flair whatsoever. It also felt relatively flimsy which I know it is having sat in older Audi's.

I saw in a BMW, Volvo s90 and Lexus is300h also. The Lexus is superior in every way inside. Better built and more style. The Volvo also felt like an incredibly special place to sit. I've never sat in a similar looking cabin to that. BMW was better than a4 but nothing special.

What planet do car reviewers live on? Everything they say about cars in my experience is inaccurate or a lie. Reading magazines you would think the Germans are way ahead of every other car manufacturer. I've driven lots of cars and I have never been impressed with anything German aside from some Mercs.

It's a shame because people actually believe this crap about German cars.

I've said this before but every single magazine I have compares every car with the Germans said they are the standard bearers. They really aren't.

Ive a 02 Audi A4 people say its almost like a new car inside hasnt aged a day no idea what your on about new Audi must be even better great cars more importantly.

The VAG blinkers are strong in this topic, both the pro and anti VAG :pac:

tossy

Augeo wrote: »

The VAG blinkers are strong in this topic, both the pro and anti VAG :pac:

This is it - best post so far. Plus there is no accounting for taste.

Giacomo McGubbin

Oafley Jones wrote: »

Was stuck behind a Q7 today. Seriously awful rear to it. I struggling to think of a worse example. Never cared for the previous model, but it's a work of art against the new one.

Look at that ****ing thing.



I've said it a few times on here, but I'd love to see a clear out of Audi's design group. They've absolutely gone to **** in recent years.

Awful, they are getting worse looking every day. Probably will sell more though. That's all Audi care about and who can blame them.

MidMan25

Zascar wrote: »

I have a 15 year old Audi TT and I still think the interior is better than in very many new cars these days, even some bmws - they have barely updated. I think thew new TT interior is incredible, but also very impressed by the A4 S-Line.

Mk1 TT is still a great looking car

MTBD

tossy wrote: »

There isn't a car on the planet (bar one or two) worth it's asking price when you look at what it costs to build them. Are you going to ruin a good point and interesting thread you started with sensationalist Bs like this ?

Well if you can tell me what the value proposition of German marques is over cars from other countries I might withdraw the comment.

I just went to Lexus and Audi's sites and specified an a4 to a similar level as an is300h and it was coming to €54,983 vs €47,850 for the Lexus. Considering the Lexus adds a very real benefit of hybrid vs diesel and also real reliability vs perceived quality, then there is a very good reason to spend the money on the Lexus. What is the benefit of the Audi's premium? What are you actually paying for? In the 80s mercedes commanded a premium because they were genuinely miles ahead of other brands. What real, non subjective qualities do the German brands bring to the table now?

There are some Audi's I like from the past and a handful of new ones. The RS3 and TT rs both come with awesome 5 pot engines which are worth some premium nowadays.

Neilw

MTBD wrote: »

There isn't a German car on the planet worth it's price tag. All of them sacrifice real quality for bling.

I wouldn't agree with that, I think build quality of vag cars has come a long way.
My experience is the mk7 golf and mqb based cars. The build quality, refinement and materials used are excellent. They are proving to be very reliable too.

No new car is worth its price tag but it helps ease the pain when it's a nice place to be, comfortable, quiet, well spec'd and reliable.

audi12

Neilw wrote: »

I wouldn't agree with that, I think build quality of vag cars has come a long way.
My experience is the mk7 golf and mqb based cars. The build quality, refinement and materials used are excellent. They are proving to be very reliable too.

No new car is worth its price tag but it helps ease the pain when it's a nice place to be, comfortable, quiet, well spec'd and reliable.

They do the opposite there is no bling and great quality as for the poster on about hybrid what would you want a hybrid over a diesel. Ive a 02 for the last four years needed almost no work in that time not two many cars its age on the road that gives as little trouble as mine.

mikeecho

coolbeans wrote: »

I don't even know what you mean by build quality though. To me a well built car is one that'll be more reliable and dependable over its lifetime. When people talk build quality in cars it seems to mean nice squishy plastic and no rattles and a general solid 'feel' rather than pure dependability.

So.. You drive a toyota

tossy

audi12 wrote: »

They do the opposite there is no bling and great quality as for the poster on about hybrid what would you want a hybrid over a diesel. Ive a 02 for the last four years needed almost no work in that time not two many cars its age on the road that gives as little trouble as mine.

Here we go! FFS the resident troll has arrived.

audi12

audi12 wrote: »

...... as for the poster on about hybrid what would you want a hybrid over a diesel. ......

I drive a diesel myself but test drove an is300h a few months ago.

I do about 30k miles a year..........
- about 12k miles motorway (Cork to Dublin return spins)
- 10k miles country road commute with little traffic but rarely going over 50mph as the little traffic on it flows at that speed, going home in evening I'm stuck in traffic for about 10 minutes.
- to be honest, I'm not sure about the other 8k miles, largely little trips in urban areas I expect with some less routine long spins.

Anyway, the is300h would do at least 33mpg on the motorway spins & close to 60mpg on the rest with little noise, no diesel rattle and in real waftiness.

I don't want to drop €25k on a car this year or next but if I was I reckon I'd be going the 2/3 year old is300h route rather than diesel

audi12

tossy wrote: »

Here we go! FFS the resident troll has arrived.

How am I a troll for telling people my a4 is a reliable car explain that one to me im entitled to post same as anyone else.

audi12

audi12 wrote: »

........Ive a 02 for the last four years .......

An 02 what?

tossy wrote: »

Here we go! FFS the resident troll has arrived.

I'm not reading motors topics often enough to know that :pac:

MTBD

audi12 wrote: »

They do the opposite there is no bling and great quality as for the poster on about hybrid what would you want a hybrid over a diesel. Ive a 02 for the last four years needed almost no work in that time not two many cars its age on the road that gives as little trouble as mine.

Hybrid is vastly superior to diesel. Cleaner, quieter and more reliable. You actually have to drive a hybrid to get an idea of how superior they are to a diesel. They are so relaxing to drive it's incredible. You sound like you have never been in one.

Also, your 02 diesel is a hell of a lot more reliable than any modern diesel. Almost all modern diesels give trouble now. It's pretty much unavoidable no matter how well you maintain them.

Voodoomelon

Drove a '12 A6 the other day, not very well specced, but had leather and a few other bits, I thought it was very dated and boring, was hard to keep my enthusiasm up for the new owner showing me.

A '12 facelift decent spec A8 on the other hand is a spectacular place to be

tossy

audi12 wrote: »

How am I a troll for telling people my a4 is a reliable car explain that one to me im entitled to post same as anyone else.

You are you're right, i apologise i just wasn't aware you drove an 02 A4 and had zero trouble with it. That puts it into context for me.

audi12

MTBD wrote: »

Hybrid is vastly superior to diesel. Cleaner, quieter and more reliable. You actually have to drive a hybrid to get an idea of how superior they are to a diesel. They are so relaxing to drive it's incredible. You sound like you have never been in one.

Also, your 02 diesel is a hell of a lot more reliable than any modern diesel. Almost all modern diesels give trouble now. It's pretty much unavoidable no matter how well you maintain them.

Il stick with for another while so that or a Golf wouldent touch anything else id still prefer Diesels

tossy

audi12 wrote: »

Il stick with for another while so that or a Golf wouldent touch anything else id still prefer Diesels

I'd say you're right an 02 diesel wow - had a 01 A4 diesel myself and a 98 A4 diesel never had an 02 though . Sure you'd be mad to change.

jca

I really hate the trend of sticking what looks like an iPad in the middle of the dash. It's like they designed the dash and showed it to the shiny arse in the office who promptly asked "where's the ipad?" We're putting in there now boss....grovel grovel..
P.S. my next car is going to be a hybrid, fabulous to drive.

coolbeans

mikeecho wrote: »

coolbeans wrote: »

I don't even know what you mean by build quality though. To me a well built car is one that'll be more reliable and dependable over its lifetime. When people talk build quality in cars it seems to mean nice squishy plastic and no rattles and a general solid 'feel' rather than pure dependability.

So.. You drive a toyota

No, an Abarth 180 , basically a turbo FIAT 500. Although the difference between Toyota and an Audi is exactly what I'm on about.
Still think the mk1 TT is one of the best looking cars of its time though. Its successors aren't a patch on the original TT and Audi's mass produced designs now just look like the blinged up Skodas and VWs that they are. The Q7 is a taste free zone imo.

MTBD

mikeecho wrote: »

So.. You drive a toyota

I'm not really sure if that is supposed to be an insult or what? Have you seen the current range of Toyota's? Aside from the Auris , corolla and Avensis it is probably one of the most radically styled ranges of cars on sale today. Not to mention Lexus and how far ahead in technology they both are.

In my experience Toyota's handle better than any Audi/VW and stand up to abuse much better. They are a better car in every way and even their interiors are nice in high spec ones now. It's amazing how people make excuses for "paddy spec" interiors on BMW/Audi but then slate Toyota who also have very high spec interiors if you want them.

I don't drive a Toyota BTW.

Ded_Zebra

Zascar wrote: »

I have a 15 year old Audi TT and I still think the interior is better than in very many new cars these days, even some bmws - they have barely updated. I think thew new TT interior is incredible, but also very impressed by the A4 S-Line.

Are you kidding me!!!! No offence intended but it looks like a wheelie bin turned on its side with a few Fisher Price buttons sticking out of it! Really sh1t plasticky and dated. Like some sort of 90's americana.

In my experience VAG use very poor quality materials in their interiors. 2 guys I work with drive A4s. One is a 2004 quarto diesel and the other is a 2006 s-line. In both of them the rubberised surface is falling off the buttons. Looks like they have some sort of disease!

In my experience no one can beat Mercedes for interior quality (well I don;t know about the new stuff). In the early 00's the quality of the materials they sure were far ahead of the competitors. The really stand the test of time. I will say that they don't look the most fashionable but when you actually sit in and drive it makes so much sense! Everything is logically laid out and the switches have an excellent tactile feel. Very positive.

Ded_Zebra

Ded_Zebra wrote: »

Are you kidding me!!!! No offence intended but it looks like a wheelie bin turned on its side with a few Fisher Price buttons sticking out of it! Really sh1t plasticky and dated. Like some sort of 90's americana.
............

:pac:

Christ, wouldn't want to see you have a real go.

OldMrBrennan83

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