derfA8L

Combo'd with Vesuvius Gray exterior and eucalyptus wood trim ... Which would you folks choose from these photo examples???--First 2 are Saiga Beige; Last 2 are Nutmeg. The Vehicle Build Order goes in 1 month from now and I'm vacillating between the two choices :-()



Saiga Beige interior

Saiga Beige interior


Nutmeg interior

Nutmeg interior

angrypengu

FYI, I have always bought a car with a black interior - I'm a suit/shirt/tie sort of person, and I have driven a D5 with the nutmeg brown interior and it made me really question my choices of sticking to a black interior.

I really like the nutmeg brown, and I'm not so sure if ease of maintenance is important to you, but nutmeg brown should be worlds easier to maintain. I personally LOVE the look over sahara beige, but that's me!

Can't wait to learn that you've placed your order!

derfA8L

Thanks for the feedback “angry.” I had a beige interior on my 2011 D4 and it did need fairly frequent cleaning. The black interior I now have makes me lazy on the cleaning issue, which makes me think about all the unseen dirt that’s actually in the seats—I’m not that OCD about this, but the thought does make me a little uneasy...Ugh! Yes, the Nutmeg brown will require more care than black, but should be somewhat more forgiving than the beige leather. Pinnacle has a new Black Label leather cleaner/protectant product that should work well on that front—both as a shield against dirt, as well as a periodic cleaner.

Exactly one month to go till order time, so thought-intensity on the matter is increasing as each day goes by now. And yes, the B&O Advanced sound system is still under consideration. Will have to re-test/listen to the standard B&O Premium system again with some selected music, and then try to find a dealer with a D5 that has the optional system to test—My dealer doesn’t have one of those on hand. The thing is, I don’t play music very loudly and the standard system did sound really good to my ear on my last test drive. I’m also a bit disappointed that the lazer hi-beam headlight option isn’t offered in the U.S. for 2020, as well as the S-line sports seats...Oh well. As my salesperson “playfully” said to me: “it’s time for the Crazytown Express to warm up.” After all the years I’ve worked deals with him, he does know me really well and is prepping himself for the wild ride...Oh well, here we go...LOL!!!

angrypengu

Nothing wrong with being particular! I had a lovely experience with my sales person, and according to him, he had a great experience with me, despite being the longest (in duration) deal that he's ever been part of. Very few people can afford, let alone end up buying an A8!

As far as the B&O system goes, now that the honeymoon effect has worn off on me, I certainly do believe the scales tip in the favor of buying said system. As a sufferer of tinnitus, I am careful as to when and how often I listen to music more on the loud side, and I will certainly state that the Advanced flavor comes more into life once it approaches the 80db side of things (so loud-ish). The difference is much paler on the quieter side, although the clarity of the mids/highs is certainly noticeable (and appreciated by me) in the entire spectrum vis a vis loudness. The pop up tweeters and the metal grill/LED in the door add a cherry on top, as does the regret of not buying it, but I certainly understand that this is not a cheap option. If I were to think back as to which package is the 'least loved' that I paid for, I would still rank the exterior lighting package higher than the B&O Advanced system (e.g. I regret buying the lighting package more than I do the Advanced B&O system), if that helps any.

Either way, you're getting a fantastic sound system in the D5! The delta between the two systems is more appreciated by rear passengers, and when the system is louder, and if the music you're playing is more acoustic in nature (acoustic - jazz, vocals, concert, lofi (ha!) as opposed to Top 40 music which is a waste of either sound system IMHO)

derfA8L

Angry- as always I appreciate your feedback and input. You’ve given me some things to think about concerning the sound system.

MorganMay

As a fan of greater interior/exterior contrast, I would favor the Saiga Beige. Lighting can make a significant difference in perceived color. In your photos of the two choices, I don't see a great difference between them except for the nutmeg being ever so slightly darker. To me, when looking at the swatches below, the difference seems much greater with the nutmeg appearing to have more of a red tone in addition to being much darker.

I am homing in on the Terra Grey exterior and Pearl Beige interior for my much anticipated order.

derfA8L

Terra Gray and the Pearl Gray interior will look really good. I originally thought about the Pearl Gray leather, but it’s a bit too light for me. Be careful about wearing blue jeans with that interior. They blue dye can rub off onto the lighter leather, and it is nearly impossible to remove it.

Thanks for the pic of the swatches. Got to go visit my dealer and plan this out in person 🧐

derfA8L

Here’s an actual photo of a Nutmeg D5 interior. Really looks much different compared to the sample swatch—BTW, my salesperson says those aren’t actual leather swatches, but are really prints on cardboard. They might be subject to printing color variances that stray from the actual product.

angrypengu

Also be aware that Tarra gray in the daytime looks far more red/brown to me than gray.

I had initially wanted it but strayed after seeing it in person.

If after a true gray than monsoon grey is much closer. Tarra gray has a earthy tone to it.

derfA8L

Visited our dealer this morning to look at the color sample cards. By chance, they had a D5 with the Saiga Beige leather in the showroom. I can conclusively report that the color printed cardboard samples bear no resemblance to the actual leather trims—at least for Saiga Beige which is much lighter in real life and does not have the fleshy color tone exhibited in the printed sample card. The below pic is a virtual color match to the Saiga Beige interior of the car we saw in the showroom:



The exterior paint colors seemed more true to actual, based on a few of the paint colors I’m familiar with. The wood trim sample cards (also printed) seemed very close to actual, based on the match up to the showroom car’s wood trim.

Now the decision: My wife’s call was for Saiga Beige. She liked the “real thing” she saw in the showroom and has little confidence in what the Nutmeg interior will actually look like based on the printed sample card. The photo of it from an actual car (previously posted) appears too orange for her taste. So...it’s gonna be Saiga Beige interior (black headliner) with Vesuvius Gray exterior.

On another note, musical that is—I re-tested the standard B&O system in the showroom car with tracks from my iPhone. The mix of classical and jazz I played wasn’t impressive (via Both CarPlay and normal Bluetooth connections) and is now having me lean towards the B&O Advanced sound system. My sales rep, who is usually pretty conservative on options, thought I might be disappointed listening to this mix of music genres without the optional system—and I’m reluctantly in agreement...just another $100 bucks a month on the lease—and life is short ��