Alluminum interior trim

[steve184]

Hi - seen this trim on a few cars now - but confused in brochure - it says on s-line spec it is 'brushed alluminium' but then in the section which gives you options for all other models its called 'medial alluminium trim' - is it the same thing???

cheers

 

[ren]

they're different. the brushed alu on the sline trim is, er, brushed, and the medial you can have instead of the piano black or wood finish is kind of cross-hatched. i think i've seen it called 'fish scale' elsewhere. the brushed is nicer - but i think unless you get sline trim it's a £750 audi exclusive option!!

 

[steve184]

jeeez how annoying - whay can't they just let you have what you want on the car you want for goodness sake - they are only pieces of plastic at the end of the day - im sure it costs them no more to produce and fit!!!!

 

[benw123]

they're different. the brushed alu on the sline trim is, er, brushed, and the medial you can have instead of the piano black or wood finish is kind of cross-hatched. i think i've seen it called 'fish scale' elsewhere. the brushed is nicer - but i think unless you get sline trim it's a £750 audi exclusive option!!

Yep, that cross-hatched design was a free option on our Sportback SE instead of wood. Still looks nice though, works well with the interior.

 

[ren]

i've got the medial on my sport rather than the brushed and although i prefer the brushed, you're right, ben, the medial is good too and i thought a load nicer than the black piano finish stuff which is the standard sport trim finish. i saw on vagparts website that you can buy the brushed or the medial sets of trim and each set is something like £260, if you fancied changing them yourself, steve...

 

[steve184]

have you got any pictures of how the medial looks in the car? i can only go off the tiny swatch in the brochure - ive seen the brushed ally on a car in an audi showroom but not seen the medial

cheers

ps. would it look ok with the grey interior and not the black - it contrasts quite well with black but am usure whether it will look as good with the lighter grey interior you get with grey leather or grey cloth.

 

[ren]

hmmm. it works well with the 'black' which isn't at all black. it's a medium grey at best. my 'black' nappa upholstery is the sort of grey which was used in the 80s to make suspect men's slip-on shoes. that said, it does work well together as an interior and starting off with grey for black is a battle against UV fading won.

the 'real grey' is a lot lighter and my instinctive feeling would be that the constract between the alu and the lighter interior colour would not be enough to cause anything apart from a bit of an awkward clash. however, it might be a perfect shade and perfect match.

i was really anal about my colours and trim and spent a good while playing with the online configurator and photoshop before i decided on a finish combination. i also got the black rooflining (as i like black black black as you might have guessed) and becuase i haven't seen an A3 with a light roof lining older than a month or two which doesn't have dark marks on the ceiling.

the trim fits in different places on the sportback to the 3dr. i have a 3dr. are you getting a sportback? the sportback has trim running across the dash which the 3dr doesn't and the door trim is different too. so if you're getting a sportback you'd also have to consider that whatever trim you go for, you're going to have it right in front of you all the time.

it's ******* with rain. if it weren't, i'd go out and take some photos for you. in the meantime:

https://sslrelay.com/s74326199.oneandoneshop.co.uk/sess/utn154517ce0d5a40c/shopdata/index.shopscript

(if this doesn't take you straight to the alu bits, pop 'alu a3' in the search box and you should get there)

there really is no subsitute for seeing it for real though.

 

[jasonmymail]

... i also got the black rooflining (as i like black black black as you might have guessed) and becuase i haven't seen an A3 with a light roof lining older than a month or two which doesn't have dark marks on the ceiling.

...

Also have black roof lining - fantastic choice - gives the interior a real feeling of quiet cocooned solidity... also have black leather and like you say it's more of a graphite than black-black.

My medial inlays are like very small honeycomb - looks good... Steve - the glove compartment trim and door handles are brush alu tho.

 

[ren]

Also have black roof lining - fantastic choice

jason - maybe we should start a black tdi group?! as you say, there is definitely a cocooned feeling having the black roof lining. there is a pyschological snugness feeling which you don't get with the lighter roof lining .. i sat in both before i decided and i felt i was more wrapped-up and solid with the black roof even though the seats in both cars were identical. i also opted out of the sunroof as i wanted the extra headroom (and because i don't really like sunroofs anyway) so i don't have the light which a sunroof would afford.

back to the track though ... honeycomb alu: i think (although i could well be completely wrong) that the honeycomb texture is not in the aluminium pressing but is in fact a plastic/varnish coat. if this is true, then a little careful paint stripper or similar would remove the honeycomb texture and leave you with alu which matches the glovebox and door triggers. does anyone know if my varnish/plastic texture coat theory is true?!

jason - which wheels did you get? i have 17" five arm parabolic wheels which i love (also the easy clean option!) but i don't see anyone else with them as most people seem to opt for the five-spoke star s-line design.

 

[steve184]

i disagree - my car has a very light interior with the pebble grey leather and i love it! it makes the car so light and airy makes it feel bigger than it is. i also find (after owning a few cars with 'all black/charcoal interiors' that it is easier to keep clean as lighter materials dont show up dust and crap like black does - black shows every single little bit of dust - this is why i went for the light interior - ok so the drivers seat gets dye on it off jeans - quick wipe over with leather cream every two weeks keeps this at bay - mats get mucky - shove em in the washing machine they come out like new!

Jason you got any pics of your ally trim - and yes i know the door handles are ally as i do have an A3 sport myself so am very familiar with these details - although i wouldn't describe them as brushed ally there more like apolished ally

 

[jasonmymail]

pyschological snugness

Really digging the pyschological snugness

I'll have a closer look at the trim and get some pics but as luck would have it the week I get my car delivered is chocca with other activities to keep me busy.

Standard wheels for me, budget had already got out of hand, might go large later tho.

 

[Vertigo1]

jason - which wheels did you get? i have 17" five arm parabolic wheels which i love (also the easy clean option!)

You mean the standard Sport wheels? They are quite nice but the biggest problem I have with those is that they're the most common wheels out there as more Sport models are sold than anything else

but i don't see anyone else with them as most people seem to opt for the five-spoke star s-line design.

The "star" and s-line wheels are different. The "star" ones have been around since the launch of the A3 and taper towards the edge of the wheel (so the arms are thinner at the rim) whilst the s-line has the 5-spoke "RS6" wheels as standard which flare out a little towards the rim.

When I got my current SE nearly 3 years ago I thought the star wheels were the mutts nuts and wanted them so badly but couldn't afford it and ended up with the standard boring 7-spoke SE wheels. Now I compare the star ones to the RS6 wheels and the RS6 ones make the star ones look crap

 

[ren]

the parabolic ones are not the standard sport ones which i found not very very proportioned. a bit fat on the arms or something. interestingly, in all the audi promo stuff, the car is photographed with the wheels spinning to make the arms look slimmer. the parabolics are really simple and neat and i think compliment the clean lines of the car well. you can see them if you do the audi online configurator (if you can be bothered).

 

[Vertigo1]

Just checked the brochure and I know the ones you mean now. I quite like those - they look nice and chunky and you don't see them that often.

 

[ren]

the 3dr a3 is a subtly muscular lump of a car and so the parabolics seemed to be the perfect partner. i think they'd work on the original tt too, but i don't imagine they'd be as well suited to any of the other audi models.

 

[ManicMunky]

as you say, there is definitely a cocooned feeling having the black roof lining. there is a pyschological snugness feeling which you don't get with the lighter roof lining .. i sat in both before i decided and i felt i was more wrapped-up and solid with the black roof even though the seats in both cars were identical.

I get exactly the same thing in my Lupo, except in the Lupo, large expanses of metal are on show. I don't feel cocooned in it, which is why I'm trying to sell

 

[benw123]

When I got my current SE nearly 3 years ago I thought the star wheels were the mutts nuts and wanted them so badly but couldn't afford it and ended up with the standard boring 7-spoke SE wheels. Now I compare the star ones to the RS6 wheels and the RS6 ones make the star ones look crap

Exactly my thoughts - the Stars were a £750 option new, although thanks to eBay (for a brand new set of alloys plus four part-worn Pirellis), my cost-to-change after selling the SE 16s was just £130!

I like the S-Line wheels but the Stars are becoming rarer because there's just so many S-Line models around.