German Car Zone

Ok so I've been meaning to make this thread for a long long time and just haven't got around to it.

Firstly, a brief history:

2006 - Bought an Audi A3 2.0 FSI. Absolutely loved the car. Fantastic interior for a vehicle in its price bracket and it satisfied me completely in most other respects.

Early August 2008 - Got the new car itch and decided to sell the A3. Started to look at new cars. Saw the new A4 at the dealer. Was not at all impressed by the interior and the exterior looked a little mundane.

Late August 2008 - Search for a new car continued and I came across an unbelievable deal on the new A4. I rationalized, this car has received UNIVERSAL praise for it's interior. Surely all these jurno's can't be talking nonsense. With the new found driving dynamics and heightened refinement it was being hailed my many as 'best in class'. Surely I was mistaken about the interior. And the exterior, in the right colour, was starting to look good. Maybe even great. The deal was done. A brand new Audi A4 for me.

Picked up the car and was enamored with it. New car excitement you see. But it wore thin very soon afterwords. Evey time I sat in the interior I became less and less enamored. This thing didn't feel like a German car. What was wrong with it? Why was I not loving it anymore? I began to notice:
- CHEAP plastic everywhere, shiny black on the console, light and foam feeling on the doors. And that fake pseudo aluminum look plastic they have lavished on the dashboard and doors was looking more and more horrid by the day.
- Poor leather quality. Audi used to be a benchmark in this respect. What this car had was no better then vinyl!
- The doors didn't close with the familiar German thunk. Absurd as it may seem i noticed more often then not passengers would close the door expecting it to slam tightly behind them. PLOP. The door often was not closed. They would have to reopen and bang it firmly shut. Perhaps I'm a tad insane. But this car did not feel like a proper Audi.

I started to despise the car, not because it was bad; certainly not. But Because I had such high expectations for it. I felt better and more satisfied driving my A3. What was wrong?

September 2008 - After a 4-5 month wait, our new C-class arrived. This was true love. This is what a real German car feels like. This is how a real German car is put together. NOTE: The Audi LOOKS GREAT in photos, The C-Class LOOKS & FEELS GREAT in person. Day after day after day.

Let's compare INTERIORS only.

Note the silver trim on the bottom of the air vents. Horizontal gaps/slits above the black plastic are very noticeable in person as the trim does not appear to fit and clip in perfectly. I have since checked many A4's and they all look the same/have the same problem.


And now for a perfect fit.


Perfect panel allignment and fit. So neat.


The Audi. Poorly resolved. Layer upon layer of plastic. Overlaps!


The panels don't even look tight.


Look on the right hand side of the steering wheel just above the rain wiper stalk where the 'metal look' plastic meets the black plastic. A very poor fit. In person you notice some sort of lumps/imperfections going on inside the gap and what I swear is glue.


Lots of lovely plastic EVERYWHERE. Note, NON of the silver items in this picture are real metal or even feel remotely close to real metal.


And now for the Benz. If that's not real metal on the front of the gear lever and around the shifter, at least it certainly feels like it. Oh and note the lovely wood surround.


It certainly feels like real metal!


More plastic in the Audi:


Such a LOVELY PLASTIC lighting knob by Audi...NOT:




LOVELY. And yes the silver bits again feel like real metal...even if it isn't. I can't tell.


Mr. Shiny black plastic.


Nice matte look.


Ahstray and surrounds...all wood in the Benz.


What else but plastic in the Audi.






CLASSY...Not...yet again more cheapness.


An attempt at real quality.


Which grab handle feels and looks more inviting?


Ahh yes...those little lumps actually caress your fingers when you pull the door shut. And the plastic feels soft touch. Great attention to the little details you see.


Check out the beautifully trimmed speaker surrounds and door storage in the Audi. Hmm maybe not. Yet again more drab plastic.


The silver is a nice touch. And yes, that's nice fabric on the lower part of the door storage area:


Real wood. Chrome highlights!


Wouldn't you love even more plastic that is TRYING to look like metal but certainly feels completely plastic? Oh did I mention the door and dashboard foam/plastic picks up finger prints and smudges like you wouldn't believe. It drove me nuts.


The leather looks and feels good.


Ahh yes. The AUDI does look great in good photos. Luckily the vinyl black looking seats are out of the shot.



Proof these shots are from the same photo session, both cars in our driveway





Now I know the Benz has a more appealing colour combination, but the actual physical feel of these interiors were worlds apart. The Audi can be had with different trimmings (wood) here and there, but the general feel remains the same.

2 months and 5000km I SOLD the Audi and was VERY happy to have done so. Thankfully at no financial loss.

Karma for your analyze. Can't read about it now but will later this weekend

Cheers Just Me.

Wimmer, would you agree or disagree with my comments?

Big up for this post..
Amazing stuff..and it really shines a light on MB´s recent quality hike..
And audi´s lazyness ..
You can only for so long use your name as a selling point..
MB has always had a larger name than any german brand..but even they couldnt sell under avrage products..
The consumers are not stupid..

PS
The interior of your C class is gorgeous..

You sure worked hard on that post. Thanks given for the effort.


I can't comment much on the Audi A4 interior but to me it appears to be of very high quality. The same applies to the W204 C-Class. In regards to A4 vs C-Class, the Audi interior will always appear more "inviting" due to chrome (or chrome-imitating plastic) adorning certain sections. Both interiors certainly strike me as very good.

I do have to agree with you that owning the car for longer periods will give you better insight into just how good the interior is. This is why I rarely take magazines seriously when they talk about interior quality at "first glance", because the true character of the interior generally becomes apparent after driving the car for sometime.

^True, I am guilty of this too in my testdrive reports etc.^


*Lexus hating mode on*

But one thing I am really sure of is this. If you want a cheap interior in this class, look no further than the Lexus IS. It has got to be the most overrated interior in this class. I've spent time and time again inside the IS at the local dealership, Geneva and that Lexus show a few years ago in my town and I simply was not impressed with it. I am almost positive that this interior is just terrible, yet it keeps getting high marks and praise simple because "it is a Lexus".

*Lexus hating mode off*



Interesting opinion though and you supported it well enough with your pictures and the write-up.


During my Q5 testdrive with Pekka, I felt that the Q5 interior was very well-made and warm. The GLK interior is equally well-made but appears to bland / spartan and the dark colored variants just make you feel so glum. Both are great cockpits, no doubt, but in terms of overall appeal and warmness the Q5 just wins easily.

Karma from me, too.

I'm also rather sensitive in questions of finish, build quality. I sat in both B8 A4 and W204 C-Class and felt the same as you. The A4 has a great look but don't look too close... On the other hand, the dash material of the C-Class doesn't look as good as on the A4. However, the closer you look, the more you love the C-Class: everything is perfectly made, everything feels extremely solid. This car feels like an 80's Benz. Sit in, and voilà! you're well at home.

The A4 B8 on the other hand, is quite cheap everywhere you look. You feel like you're in a Golf.

What a difference with older Audis, where everything was matt, soft, expensive and well-assembled! And what a difference with W203s, where you couldn't help but feel disappointed by the interior, even after the FL...

I was really very impressed by the W204 C-Class. Really. And I heard the dash material is softer on 2009 MY.

Some comparative shots of the interior of the 3-series loan car we were given when the X5 was in for a service. Do keep in mind the interior was quite scuffed and dirty.









And proof it's in the driveway. What GORGEOUS alloys

I think we're almost on completely the same page Raoul apart from one point. I think:
* Audi dash and door material looks good, actually feels light and foamy and marks easily (fingerprints and smudges).
* Mercedes dash material has a little bit too much of a 'sheen,' but feels solid and nicely textured and marks less easily.

Great effort Mr. Mercedes and far more informed and objective than very many motoring publications who have gotten into the rut of blabbing about the Audi's supposedly superior interior quality out of habit rather than proper analysis.

Good job!

Thank you very much for this write-up Mr. Mercedes. You can't trust anyone more than you, since you owned both cars and you have 100% first hand and good time experience!

I'd love to hear what you have to say about the 3er interior in comparison to A4 and C!