German Car Zone

you only concentrated on audi's bad bits, and mercedes good bits. How about you show us all the crap bits on the merc, as quite frankly the mercedes interior still leaves alot to be desired of such a upscale brand.

Mr Merc, to answer your question...

Being a Scoob owner one would think that I would have fairly low expectations around interior quality but actually it's the exact opposite. One of the main reasons why I went for a Subaru was - believe it or not - the interior quality! No sh!t. Plastics and finishing surfaces are mucho el cheapo but what can't be denied is the quality of the fitment and fastening. No rattles - largely as a result of the no frills, unimaginative interior design. I've been put off cars with dashboards that make use of extensive centre console panelling and surface finishes. My distaste for such is because of the rattle factor - more fancy bits more to rattle another reason I'm so keen on BMW's very solid, horizontally partitioned interior design.

I spent a great deal of time in the new A4. Fancy interior design, massively mediocre plastics, surfaces, switchgear tactility and panel fit. A good thump on the top of the dash reveals a hollow, empty sound. I've driven the new C-Class too and the interior is as solid as I could possibly expect - the new B8's interior is distinctly cheaper feeling. All in all a distinct disappointment and a far cry from that of the B7.

Car journalists aren't 100% correct, they are people like us, people with opinions. Like all people , we all see different on things. Some might think C-class have the best interior quality, others might not feel the same. Who is right? its in the eye of the beholder.

Car journalists are no Gods, they are people like us, they have different opinions just like us. Sometimes its scares me how much trust people put in those car journalists.
Make your own opinion, they are just as much worthful as the guys working at carmagazines.

Well, a quality interior is made from fine materials and built with precision. You definitely know when you're in one. You can feel it and usually see it as well. But it's not something you can have an opinion about. Either it is a quality interior or it isn't.

Yes of course but the thing is, all three offer good interior quality. No one here can claim these three are bad. Which one is the best is still in the eye of the bolder and which one is the best, that we can argue all day long about without coming to an agreement.

I don't care what car journalists say i just used it as an example. IMO A4 is the leader and followed by 3 series which has a little bid worse materials but very good assembly , C class ranks third. The interior design and quality are not bad but are not as good as the other two cars.

Wow this was excellent...

come one now! be fair man,the C's interior is FAR from being third and u know that

Heres on of my pictures of the B8 interior!

The layers don't seem a bad in this A4, Maybe you got a faulty A4

Thanks for the pictures Vroom. That vehicle does look like its got a much tighter finish.

But still some fundamental problems remain. While I can see from the pictures the car has an upgraded trim finish, overall the majority of the plastics I am complaining about remain. And the layer upon layer impression is still there.

@ Poverty - There are very few issues with the Merc interior that I have noticed and I'm pretty satisfied with it for the price. I did mention the dash material could be improved, but honestly there's little much else I would change. Maybe the silver finish around the Speedo, Temperature gauge etc.

Maybe there is a few things you have noticed that you could point out and give some examples?

Well I'm glad this thread has turned out pretty well. And it seems I'm certainly not in the minority in terms of dissatisfaction with the A4's interior. A LOT of you guys have noticed the exact same thing. As luw mentioned, keyboard like plastics and Martinbo noted, there is a hollow feeling to the dash.

So it appears while Jurno's continue to ramble on the same thing they have been doing for years, Raoul is right on point when hes says it often takes them years to change the perceptions, but they need to stop and take a closer look. MB and BMW are no longer inferior offerings to the Audi's in terms of interiors and I might even suggest the new MB's have an edge.

Well I better head off to drop my car off at the dealers. Fingers crossed they give me a face lifted 3 -series! :-)