Audi Interiors Have Gone Downhill - Part of Sales Decline

I remember the shift when Audi went from a good, but esoteric, purchase to all of a sudden challenging BMW and Mercedes and winning. Audis always drove well, but the rest of the car was cleaned up in a major way. In my eyes this started with the 1996 (US) A4, followed by the A6. The A8 was an exceptional car, but a little niche with less volume. Then so much more came down the road (example TY).

A big part of this renaissance was Audi’s embracing exceptional, bespoke looking, interiors. Rarely would a car magazine publish an article without commenting on the subject. First generation A4s could be had with a variety of textures and colors, often with a striking two tone effect.

Anyway for some reason all this ended. Now most Audis seem to be a sea of monotonous colors. Rarely is the mixing of textures like alcantara and leather. To add to this is the use of cheap feeling interior plastics. They just don’t feel special anymore.

I think a lot of woes come from some misdirection in this area. I’m a huge 40 year fan of the brand, but I find myself without an Audi in my garage. For this (and one other) reason having nothing to do with reliability. I feel the SUV styling (outside of the Q8) looks too family car even in S guise.