DETROIT AUTO SHOW: The King Of Interiors Goes To...

Audi!

If at any point you have read our coverage and haven't quite understood why we like Audi interiors, we're about to put on a clinic. This is why we dig Audi's interior craftsmanship:

1) DETAILS, DETails, details. Look at everything in these vehicles. Instead of making something acceptable, Audi's designers make everything functional AND beautiful. From the "leg pads" running down the center tunnel to the contrasting stitch, which is now making an appearance in a lot of standard cars since Audi started hammering it home.

Think of it like a PC and a Mac -- YES, I am using this analogy again. Instead of using cheap, black plastic covers, a MacBook's cover is aluminum.

2) The interior just doesn't look good, it FEELS good. Unlike other automakers, looks aren't everything. Hell, Audi has incorporated the other senses too! When you touch the different layers/textures you feel the perceived quality, and when you breathe you get that scent of leather that's unique to the four rings. If you blindfolded me and tossed me from car to car, I bet I could tell you which vehicle was an Audi.

3) Quality. While Audi may not be best in the electronics department -- the passenger-side airbag in a recently tested 2011 A8 randomly turned itself off at speed with my 120 pound sister in the passenger seat -- one thing it is good at is building a solid interior. When you touch a button it makes a nice sound and when you close the glove box it has a serious thunk to it.


If you happen to disagree, please take a look at the photos below and let us know WHY you have beef with Audi interiors...


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uaw_lax - 1/12/2011 3:19:25 PM

+4 Boost

In my opinion German interiors are well thought out and organized and made with great materials but for some reason they just have an 80's look to them.

LexSucks - 1/12/2011 3:32:52 PM

+5 Boost

Dash is too flat. Looks like 1970's American cars. Whatever happened to "Driver Centric"?

bmwm6 - 1/12/2011 4:02:10 PM

+5 Boost

"From the "leg pads" running down the center tunnel to the contrasting stitch, which is now making an appearance in a lot of standard cars since Audi started hammering it home. "

BMW had tunnel pads on the Z4 since 2002...

Agent00R - 1/12/2011 4:42:43 PM

+1 Boost

@BMW

The reference was to the contrasting stitch.

Joe_Limon - 1/12/2011 5:37:27 PM

+2 Boost

First two aren't that eye catching, I like the third one though.

uaw_lax - 1/12/2011 7:39:55 PM

+3 Boost

agreed.

BondMI6 - 1/12/2011 5:52:08 PM

+5 Boost

No doubt the A8 interior is off the hook- especially at night.

But I also really like the new M-sport 750 Li interior with balck leather and black trim- It's a little more masculine in feel and is light years ahead in quality than previous BMW's......

And the new 6er interior is crazy hot.

Audi beware...........

Steve - 1/12/2011 6:52:51 PM

+1 Boost

I've really liked Audi interiors for about the past decade. They're not as stylized and trendy as BMW's, not like Italian designer furniture. But from the looks of these pictures, I get the impression that's the direction Audi is heading in. If that comes to pass, then it will be said that the Audi interior of today is BMW's interior of yesterday.

mclaren428 - 1/12/2011 7:12:09 PM

+4 Boost

The A8's interior looks good, its comparable to other interiors in the class. The interior on the A6 is a different story it doesn't flow as well, and the instrument panel looks cheap. The A6 interiors not class leading in any way imo.

tattedtwice - 1/12/2011 9:10:24 PM

+6 Boost

More like the king of overrated interiors. Put on all the clinics you want, at the end I will still say theyre ugly and overdone; I can think of a dozen interiors I'd rather look at daily than any of the ones found from this company.

Agent00R - 1/12/2011 9:40:23 PM

-2 Boost

If you can think of a dozen, list them.

0to60 - 1/12/2011 10:33:30 PM

+5 Boost

Im starting to not like woodgrain...

sexlan - 1/13/2011 1:58:24 AM

+5 Boost

That wood and aluminium don't go well together in my opinion. The only Wood trim I actually like is Birds eye maple wood and Black ash wood from Mercedes-benz.
2012 S-class will have an EPIC interior!
And don't forget about the new CLS! That has an amazing interior, cant wait to sit in one!

MPowerDK - 1/13/2011 2:59:58 AM

+5 Boost

Well Audi does not make nice interio imo, and the quality are no better than the competition. My sister had an Audi, I test drove one, but I stick to my BMW E46, like the interior better much better than in Audi.

M53R - 1/13/2011 3:02:05 AM

+7 Boost

Call me biased, but the 7 series has a nicer interior than the A8. In terms of materials, I haven't sat in an A8 yet, but if it does beat the 7, I will be surprised.

JustaCar - 1/13/2011 9:06:48 AM

-4 Boost

OK. You're biased. You can't judge a car's interior from pictures. As an example, Lexus interiors tend to photograph well but, when you actually sit in one and scrutinize the details, you start to see that they don't even come close to the Germans in quality. The other thing Agent00R mentions is the smell of the interior. When you sit in a new Lexus, or most asian cars, you are accosted by the noxious odor of petrochemicals. Not so in a German car.

internationalmanofmystery - 1/13/2011 9:03:57 AM

+4 Boost

Too bad this discussion was not centered around the local boys. THAT would be refreshing! The Germans know how to build amazing machines. I think Germany is the last remaining great manufacturing powerhouse.

internationalmanofmystery - 1/13/2011 9:05:10 AM

+1 Boost

Well deserved, Audi! Kudos

AgentOrange - 1/13/2011 1:40:31 PM

+4 Boost

If it performed and handled like a BMW, I'd buy one in a heartbeat..

TCLA - 1/13/2011 4:57:23 PM

+4 Boost

"The interior just doesn't look good, it FEELS good."

This sentence is worded incorrectly and actually has the opposite meaning of which you intended. It should read: The interior doesn't just look good, it feels good too.

Time to get some actual writers here or proof readers.

I95SPEEDINGTICKETS - 1/14/2011 9:21:00 AM

+1 Boost

The problem with this thread is that it is impossible for somebody who has never sat in an audi vehicle for more than 1 hr and pushed and used all its buttons to understand what the writer and other audiphilles are talking about.

I have notied that a lot of people on this thread comment just on what they see and think not what they have actually experienced, based on that kind of impulse we can never have a rational dialouge.

I spend illogical amounts of money renting and driving the latest vehicles just to experience how they handle and feel and as such i have been in all the flagship vehicles from the 3 german manufacturers for up to 5 weeks at a time. My opinion is that the Audis' have the best interior ergonomics and quality of materials A8 even better than Panamera. Even the sound of the door shut of an Audi is more solid than that of an S-Class or 7-Series.

If i had to purchase a large 4 Door Sedan today, i would choose the Panamera or 7 Series in a heartbeat but that is purely on Driving Characteristics. Interior wise the A8 has them both beat.

But that is just my Opinion. {Backed by almost every other journalist in Europe}.

I95SPEEDINGTICKETS - 1/14/2011 12:07:00 PM

+1 Boost

Why waste valuable brain cells formulating a counter point when you could just hide behind a de-boost.

My point about Idiots and this site Stands.

internationalmanofmystery - 1/14/2011 10:36:27 AM

+1 Boost

TCLA:
"This sentence is worded incorrectly...."

Don't get 00R started!! He don't take kindly to no correction.

TCLA - 1/14/2011 6:06:02 PM

+1 Boost

Well he should take it as constructive criticism since half the time he makes no sense, at least not in the English language.