jatp

So I thought you guys might like to hear what I think about the car after driving it around for a week or so. First, I should tell you, the car I bought has pretty much EVERYTHING with the exception of the upgraded B&O stereo. It's got the comfort seats, black interior with the fine grain ash trim. I should also say that I'm coming from a 2015 A6 prestige, so I immediately noticed a significant improvement in acceleration.

As far as the driving goes, it's pretty comparable with my 2015 A6, with the exception if the better acceleration. The tech inside is amazing. I can basically say it did all of the things my old car did, but does them much better. A small example is when you go to open the door when it's locked. In my old car, it wasn't uncommon to grab the door handle, pull it, and have the car still not unlock for about another second or so. This is seamless. As soon as you grab the handle, it's unlocked and ready to open. The voice command is much improved as well. When searching for "online destinations" in the old car, you had to navigate from the initial prompt to whether you were searching nearby or in another city before you executed the search keyword. In this car, you can simply say "drive me to XXXX", or drive me to the nearest XXXX" and you're on your way. Additionally, if you're manually searching for a destination, the lower screen turns into a large touch pad. You're able to use the whole screen to type in full word searches, or if you prefer, you can just write letters and numbers on top of one another, and the inputs are displayed on the upper screen. The faster processors are also very noticeable in the time it takes to search, and in the boot up process of the various car functions (NAV, Media, etc). They come to life in just a few seconds as opposed to 30secs to a minute. Also noticeable improved is the start/stop function. I found my old system to be somewhat clunky, and very obtrusive on start up, so I finally ended up deselecting it. The new system, with the help of the additional battery, is almost unnoticeable. As you begin stopping, the system shutdowns the engine without turning off the power steering and accessories. As soon as you lift your foot from the brake, there's a very mild "shudder" as the car comes back to life.
Other nice features are the additional safety features with the pre-sense and sensors. I find this one does a better job of warning me of issues, while not (so far) giving me any false warnings. It has the cross traffic detection, door opening warning (if it senses an object approaching after you park), and various predictive notifications on efficient driving. The whole surround camera system is better, the graphics are improved, and the areas the camera can see are increased. The 3D camera to me, so far, has just been a "gee whiz" addition. It's very impressive, but I don't see myself using it so much in normal driving. Also, again from my 2015, the HUD is improved. It's got better displays for NAV and speed warnings, and it's also got a function where you can rotate the display. I assume that's in case you tilt your head to one side or the other. The comfort seats are also a big improvement. Beyond the massage function, the side bolsters, you can adjust bolsters in the seat, and extend the seat as wheel, all welcome features. New for me, was the night vision. I don't know that this system has changed much from previous years, but it's a nice addition, and if it detects an intrusion from pedestrians, it will flash the high beams as a warning. Also new to me on this model are the automatic high beams. So far, those have worked flawlessly.

Now to the "negatives". As I posted earlier. I'm having some issues with the trunk unlocking without me commanding that. Not sure if it's an issue with the redesigned fob (which is much smaller), or the trunk itself. Also, so far, I've had a couple of occasions, where the driver's side door is momentarily difficult to open after stopping and shutting down. I think this may be something to do with the rear warning function, but it's coming on when it shouldn't, and I'll be mentioning it to the dealer when I bring the car back in to have the trunk looked at. I'm also getting used to the resigned gear shifter. To put the car in reverse, you press the button on the side, and push forward. To me that just seems counter intuitive. To park, you simply press the Park button. I'm sure I'll get used to it over time, just a little different from what I'm accustom to. As far as the MMI goes, there's a lot there, but I can't say it's anymore complicated than the original. So far, it's proven to be a little distracting, but I'm going to chalk that that up to my inexperience operating it. I did turn off the haptic function in the settings. While the sound and artificial feedback are nice, it does require some extra push time to accomplish the task. With the haptic feedback off, you can simply touch it, and it works. The only other negative I have coming from the 2015 model, is Audi has disabled more functions when you're driving. Personally, I wish they hadn't done that. Two other negatives, least for me. The center armrest has much less storage space than my old car. And the cup holders don't have pop out covers. I saw pictures where they did, but those mostn be on the European models.

Anyway, those are just some of my initial experiences and thoughts with the redesign. If you have any questions, just let me know.

filberteinstein

Hi jatp, thanks for the pro and con post. I'm in a 2014 A6 Prestige and weighing the same issues before buying a new 2019. Pretty much all the Prestige with comfort seating cars in my area have the 21" wheels and I am concerned they may be harsh and noisy compared to the nice quiet 19"s on my current car. What wheels does yours have and are they smooth and quiet?

jatp

I have the 21" wheels on my car. The ride is pretty smooth and noise hasn't been a problem. But I don't know where you live and the condition of your roads. Here the roads are pretty well maintained, so that's not an issue. Overall I'm quite pleased with the new car, and I'm sure I'll be even happier after I get the few "quirks" worked out.

Two other things I failed to mention. Though you lose storage in the arm rest, there's a rather large storage area just to the left of the steering wheel. And with this model, I lose my sunglass holder. I know it's a small detail, but sometimes it's the small details that matter.