Audi owners in here!

Well most OEM's make it out of Polypropylene as a rule, so it comes down to styling and the choice of grain and textures chosen and the extent of soft areas. Then made all made by the same few suppliers. Wrap a few parts, bit of chrome and nice grain and you can fool most people for a few quid more on the cost. :D
 
The problem is that Audi flog platforms to death. The A5 Sportback sucks badly inside because the A5 itself is now 10 years old and is in the process of being replaced.

I don't know why people keep buying them when they get to this stage really. The A4 is much better at the moment as it's an all new platform.
 
9designs2 said:
Well most OEM's make it out of Polypropylene as a rule, so it comes down to styling and the choice of grain and textures chosen and the extent of soft areas. Then made all made by the same few suppliers. Wrap a few parts, bit of chrome and nice grain and you can fool most people for a few quid more on the cost. :D
Click to expand...
In the same way all watches are made from metal cogs and some have some leather or all hifi has some chips, valves and wires then yes, but we all know that's a very simplistic view.

[TW]Fox said:
The problem is that Audi flog platforms to death. The A5 Sportback sucks badly inside because the A5 itself is now 10 years old and is in the process of being replaced.

I don't know why people keep buying them when they get to this stage really. The A4 is much better at the moment as it's an all new platform.
Click to expand...

The A4 is actually a good motor, I was impressed with the one I had on loan, surprised me on a number of levels, but the old ones suck. My car is 10 years old in design, but it still feels relatively fresh even if the infotainment is from the Flinstones. I get that designs are subjective as to some is quality, but as we know German cars feel better inside than French cars because, well, they are.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I actually really like the A5 interior. But only the Black edition spec.

That photo (if that was your courtesy car) looks like a low spec one.

The new A5/S5 interior is very nice though, definitely a big improvement.
 
Housey said:
In the same way all watches are made from metal cogs and some have some leather or all hifi has some chips, valves and wires then yes, but we all know that's a very simplistic view.
Click to expand...

It's simplistic or true, due to the fact that I have to engineer and produce this stuff for a living, the company I currently work at present being one of the leading suppliers for automotive interiors ....LOL
 
9designs2 said:
It's simplistic or true, due to the fact that I have to engineer and produce this stuff for a living, the company I currently work at present being one of the leading suppliers for automotive interiors ....LOL
Click to expand...

There is a massive supply chain all around the Midlands, but to equate your bit in that is to miss the point I am making. If you are tying to tell me that the base materials mean they are all the same quality that would be silly. It just means they might use common components, has nothing to do with the ergonomics or design.
 
Where I think Audi has done better than most is in the small details. Which will have come from the styling studio mainly. For example where some brands will plant a door handle onto the door trim, Audi would put a little platform or moat for it to fit to. Some will make a speak fret by just adding a pattern of holes, a better design adds a feature around the edge to simulate a bezel. On higher series perhaps make that a true separate moulded bezel and then chrome it. These little details still use the same cheap "tupperware" plastic and cost much the same but create a better perceived quality.

Pay attention to enough small details you end up with an overall better result that people notice. Crazy thing is it doesn't really cost any more to do, just have designers and engineers with an eye for detail.

Mate of mine had the previous ( and now the current) A8, we did a part by part study on the doors and trim, when you got down to the detail it was surprising just how much hard plastic trim they had got away with using on such an expensive car, just by well placed styling groves and choice of texture/grain to break the parts up.
Audi also appear to put more effort into ensuring the fit and finish, gap and flush, is tuned and controlled. Was in BMW 5 series recently and it wasn't as good. Uneven gaps, large gaps etc. More attention to detail in the design stage as how the parts will fit together. They are no more accurate than anyone else. An area that JLR is focusing on a lot more these days, well the end result but not so much how to get their successfully as some one seems to have forgotten to tell the design studio you can't make mouldings to zero tolerance.
Viewed from a distance as a whole Audi do a better job than many in creating a good over all impression, when you break it down the difference in parts is much less between brands, which is to their credit.
 
Last A4 and A5 had the same interior, same for the Q5, i felt it was better than the last 3 series, but it was dull. The best A4 was the B6 imo around 2005, they were like old mercs, really built to last. I think VAG cars, apart from Skoda, have really gone down hill, ive sat in all current gen VW and Seat and they feel a bit cheap considering the reputation and price tag. Skoda are the only ones that have improved.
 
Housey said:
New one is nicer
32793616930_06e4f6f951_h.jpg
Click to expand...

I had a brand new A4 the other day with this interior (minus, sadly, the virtual cockpit and the wood) and it was very impressive. Lovely interior and nice to use. The 150bhp 2.0TDI also did a good job, aided by the DSG S-Tronic. Still suffered from the same old S-Line ride quality niggles though. Was more jarring yet somehow also more wallowy and less planted than my Mondeo.
 
On Monday I spotted a black de-baged RS3!

I must say it looked pretty good. The fact it was de-baged made it look even better!
 
The interior in my 2010 A6 is rather nice IMO and very well put together, but then I know that the car was launched in 2004. Had I bought a new A5 in 2017 then yes, I would have been miffed. The new A4/5 is much improved!
 
9designs2 said:
Well most OEM's make it out of Polypropylene as a rule, so it comes down to styling and the choice of grain and textures chosen and the extent of soft areas. Then made all made by the same few suppliers. Wrap a few parts, bit of chrome and nice grain and you can fool most people for a few quid more on the cost. :D
Click to expand...
Audi use metal where other manufacturers will use plastic.
 
The material is only a part of what makes a good interior, there are many other things that determine the quality, either subjectively or objectively. The design is the major part, how it's laid out, where the buttons are, how they feel to use, where the dials sit, how clear they are to read, how focused on the driver it is. Audi has historically lead the way on that front and their latest cars I think are a return to form, though for me the jury is out on the fully digital displays. Also the touch and feel is important, soft textures over hard, matt plastics over gloss plastics, high quality stitching to leather, mixtures of textures on doors and dashboards. But for me the most important is how well it all fits together, is is tight and rattle free and are the touchy feely bits nice to use. Little things like damping of hand grips, control surfaces, cupboards and storage all add to that and again have been something Audi has done, mostly, brilliantly and why the car I posted above is such a let down as it does most of this stuff badly.

To my point above the components that go to make up something are only part of the equation and are not the determining factor of what looks and works the best. If that were the case then all cars would feel the same and that is not the case, far from it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom