Having to use voice commands (or a touch screen) to adjust heating/fan controls sounds horrific.
I'll stick to my manual aircon thanks.
Next model A3
- Thread starter Muttley75
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I'll stick to my manual aircon thanks.
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I might just buy this car l have mate or a 2 years old Cayman etc etc not buying cheap Tat Audi anymore
Or even a 12v hairdryer plugged into the fag lighter lol
Audi's current implementation for the climate controls in the A3 is perfect, it might possibly stay as I don't think the A3 will have the two screens but just one (ignoring the virtual cockpit)
Muttley75
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To save money I suspect. Plus who ever puts the screen down and doesn’t use it?
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To my ears it was a first when l first watched reviews of the new A1 most reviewers commented on the cheap interior plastics of the car .... Come on ... their simplistic classic exterior designs have gone their pricing has gone through the roof, WLTP also has had a adverse affect on their performance models blah de blah de blah
Use to do it all the time driving in the dark on long distances. There’s also a bit of cool factor that the screen comes out the dash. Suppose with all these touchscreens the mechanisms won’t cope with it flexing.
Muttley75
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Touchscreen shouldn’t make any difference. When I was at the dealers once, a sales guy I was chatting to said a lot of them started retracting on the wonk. Not sure if there’s any truth in that though, as mine has been a paragon of reliability and I’m not aware of anyone here or elsewhere who’s had a duff retractable screen.
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Was meant to be a common problem on early a6 c7. Mine was replaced on my first a6 after a year or so. Second and third a6 was fine. They either started rattling like the mechanism was loose or they get stuck coming or going back out. A3 is different as it’s straight up and down on the a6 it was out then fold up.
I've done it a couple of times myself when there's just no need for it to be up. Especially if I get one of my ever so frequent headaches it's nice to put the screen down (one of my biggest worries about upgrading to a car with a virtual cockpit is how I will get on with it at night...!)
The screen going up and down really does attract attention, people like it.
I was in AUDI today and saw the A1 and Q3 too. Exterior wise both nice, interior wise I think they look OK but they do not speak AUDI, they don't ooze the simplistic class that made me instantly love my current A3/S3. They look too busy. However, nothing offended me more in the whole showroom then when I was stood at the far end looking at the rear of all the cars, and seeing them all plastered with the new badging at the back, 30 TFSI etc etc. They're not even subtle either, massive big numbers! And what also hurt my OCD is how close they go to the edge of the boot lid, arrrrrgh. The first thing on any future purchase options list would now be DE-BADGE! God damn awful. Q8 on the other hand, seeeexxxxyyyyy
I don't really understand the "it isn't Audi" comments. Times change, people change, models change, perceptions change! The Gen 1 A3 had rectangular air vents, Gen 2 circular. Gen 2/A3 8P had a big screen low down and was impossible to use without looking down. Bet there were no comments of how difficult it was to use whilst driving! Also the quality aspect, never understood this part either. Just got a new Q2, all reviews say how the door cards have cheap plastic on one part. Never ever touch that part, looks wise it looks normal. I also speced the additional trim so it looks way nicer than any A3 iv sat in yet no comments come up about this but yet people rave about SS seats. People will happily spend thousands on these and not complain about rubbish normal seats, yet won't spec an additional trim pack to make the interior a tad higher quality at only a few hundred pounds! Is the inability to twist a knob for your air temp really dictating peoples perceptions of quality? now we press a button instead of twisting, we cant feel the quality of that knob so its instantly bad?
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Agree, this also pretty much sums it up: https://www.topspeed.com/cars/mercedes-amg-a35-vs-audi-s3-ar182632.html (Sorry if it has already been posted in the thread).
The technology and looks of the A35 is more modern yes (and a bit too much if you ask me), but I think our "old" S3 still does a good job
Audi build quality is not what use to be jump out of my car and into my mum's car even the closing of the A1's door feels more satisfying than in my S3 then on to to buttons, rotary knobs the textile feel to these in the A1 is better than etc etc the new models are worse that's where Audi got its renowned build reputation from and its Not What it use to be considering how expensive they it's not relative anymore
Muttley75
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Mercedes went down this route of cheapening down their cars. Build quality went down hill, and cheap scratchy materials used inside. Certainly affected peoples perception of the brand, and no doubt was reflected in their sales. Took them a while to shake off that image.
If Audi insist on cheapening down their cars, it won't be long before all the reviews say the same thing. Audi's reputation could be damaged. As for the angular look of the exterior and interior of their new cars? I'm certainly not a fan, and it will put me off considering another Audi in the future. If enough people don't like the looks too, then customer loyalty doesn't count for anything these days. People will simply walk across the road into the nearest BMW or Mercedes dealerships.
Remember then Bangle designed all new BMW's and changed the design ethos of the brand. It split opinion, and those who weren't a fan probably went to Audi. BMW soon went away from that design ethos next time round. He's obviously been sat around at home awaiting a new challenge. That call from Audi was his Christmas and Birthday presents all at the same time. If sales start falling, how long before Audi quickly change design ethos back again?
The current Audi range make BMW cars look good. Apart from the current A3 (which looks miles better than the current 1-2 series) I can't think of another Audi I'd take instead of the equivalent BMW. And I've never been a fan of BMW. Be interesting to see what the next 1-2 series cars will look like?
The rot starter prior to Diesel-gate though. Taking S3 badges and S3 embroidered seats out, and replacing them with simple `S` badges / seats.
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Completely agree with the above comments @jassyo06 & @wab172uk 
Audi may lose many loyal customers if they mess too much with the styling & materials which has drawn us to the brand for so many years.
There is no excuse IMO either as the prices have shot up - so they are clearly trying to enhance margins at the expense of quality.
Audi may lose many loyal customers if they mess too much with the styling & materials which has drawn us to the brand for so many years.
There is no excuse IMO either as the prices have shot up - so they are clearly trying to enhance margins at the expense of quality.
I wouldn't worry though, other manufacturers quality is dropping even faster ;-)
Agreed ... the wife’s Golf she got 4 months ago is rock solid build quality & feels very premium.
Agreed Snake (love your name and Escape from New York), I visited a VW dealer recently and I thought the Golf interior looked and felt every bit as good as an A3 and more modern.
T-Roc definitely looks cheaper than Q3 interior in my opinion
T-Roc is more comparable to the Q2 I feel. I test drove the T-Roc before buying the Q2. Nothing wrong with it. Good car. Didn’t see much wrong with the quality but it just didn’t have that feel that you get in the Q2. The tech in it seemed quite advanced, my Q2 has less tech but the dash design and just layout of everything didn’t excite me. The T-Roc just felt like a VW, nothing special, for the masses! The dash design of the Q2 is way nicer, the T-Roc VC seemed a little smoother but this was perhaps due to the glossy screen design. Not sat in the Q3 but it looks a huge improvement on the old version.
The troc is the Q2 equivilent not Q3 though, different price points etc. Tiguan aligns to Q3, obviously a bit older now but a smart cabin.T-Roc definitely looks cheaper than Q3 interior in my opinion
Agree. Ford are on my radar for my next car. If VW keep the next Golf similar to the current (not out there styling like the route Audi is taking) then the next Golf could be an option for me. Though, VW need to keep the Golf prices reasonable.
Very cheap plastics etc etc, not like the Q2 although I haven’t had a thorough look at a Q2. Missus was interested in the t-roc until we went and sat in one, she was near sick in her mouth, was c disappointing
Same view here. The T-Roc i was looking at was the R-design spec and even though it had all options imaginable, it just didn’t impress. Unfortunately the Q2 is also very cheap and basic when in standard spec. I had to get various upgrades to make it up to a standard that was acceptable to me.
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I do like the Cayman but they are just such a limited car with not having any back seats for the odd time you need them or for example being able to go to ikea/buy a new TV and throw it in the back. This is where the hatchback format excels imo.
Also i bet the Porche forums are full of people saying the exact same things regarding "it aint as good as it used to be" re build quality.
If you've only one car in the drive.............that is and dont bet unless you know for sure,you've a 2014 S3 l had a 2015 S3 and now l have a 2018 S3 as you know, and l can see and feel the difference....very small changes may l add but multiply these changes with production numbers and £££££ saved up,and that's why we use to buy Audi's to "feel the difference"...........and now it's all about screen resolution/sizes in cars sadly
T-Roc definitely looks cheaper than Q3 interior in my opinion
That interior belongs to a fully loaded Vorsprung Ed £40k plus....its not even got the flat bottom steering may i add.........add another £2k...........for that lol
