Quote:
Originally Posted by mrad01
- They look HOT from the outside. No doubt.
- Their engines are noisy and have CRAP power delivery. It has power - its just the crap way it delivers it.
- The seats don't hold a candle to BMW seats
- My biggest problem is the lack of steering feel - none.zero.nadda. But I was told that this is because thats how the yanks like it. Bugger that.
- The interior. I think I have worked it out now. At first glance you think it looks luxurious. But after a while you realise that it has been designed by a drunken man with one arm tied to his penis. Lots of things to make it look nice, but buttons and knobs everywhere with no sense of design and simplicity. For example, to open the glovebox. It is a bloody great button on the dashboard. My passenger went crazy looking for it, and then when we found it - it was miles away.
Or maybe the drink holders. There appeared to be one. But if you lift up the center armrest - there is another! Cool....NOT. So, the designer forces you to have 2 drinks in the holders and no armrest. I like the armrest on a long trip. Stupid.
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I no longer have a BMW nor an Audi. I'm a fanboy of neither. But last year I thought I'd check out the new Audi and maybe get serious.
My feelings were almost identical. I really like the outside look. Not too radical and not too conservative, kinda in the middle. I think Audi has that going for them.
The interior was deceiving. At first it looked nice. But after an hour in it, it ended up being a cluttered mess. And the materials are weird. The headliner has the same sort of material as one of those Dobie brand pot scrubbers. The interior is almost a facade. Looks good at first, but there's really nothing going on there.
The motor was loud and always there, reminding you. It started to bug me after driving it for a while. The steering was heavy. It actually felt heavier than the E63 AMG I now have.
The leather is greasy. I think it's heavily painted. And the seat cushion shape is weird. VW/Skoda kind of weird.
In the end I wasn't very impressed. It seemed to lack power and any true finesse. I honestly wanted to be impressed because I thought it would be a perfect addition. A good looking daily driver that isn't too obvious. But it's just kind of there. I have to commend Audi for doing some successful marketing to get people into these cars. Especially after a bad start years ago. And granted, the cars have come a long way.
Just recently I tried it out again, this time in an Avant (I want to add a wagon to my garage) Same thing. Other than exterior design, these cars have little going for them, imho. Nothing really stands out, unlike BMW (nimble handling and steering), AMG (pure power and cruising comfort), Porsche (total sports car handling and precise steering.)
Looks seem to be the main attraction with Audi, but looks are only skin deep.
btw, in respect to reliability: We know Audi was horrible in the past. And so was MB (esp 2000-2004) But both have changed dramatically (although MB is still too over engineered and maintenance is expensive) Both are quite good now. And we all know BMW has its issues too.