B9 Audi A5/S5/RS5 - Improvements for the refresh - What would you like to see?
 

Background

I have been blessed to have experienced different brands of cars in the relatively short period of time that I have been alive. Many of the cars, you could consider a competitor to the S5. My goal is to hopefully have someone at Audi (I know you browse these forums) see this and improve some areas compared to the competition. I am VERY satisfied with my S5 though. My family had owned nothing but BMW's starting in 1998. My mother broke that cycle with a 2014 C300 4Matic. My father liked that car so much he got a 2016 C300 4Matic! Then, mom decided she wanted to break the cycle again got a 2017 Audi A6. That's where my interest was piqued about the Audi brand. No regrets jumping ship from BMW. There are just a couple things that I hope Audi addresses in the refresh. I'm coming from a 2013 M3 coupe (e92).

1. Rear view camera quality ( more specifically, when it's raining outside or it get wet) - The rear view camera quality is good, but it's not fantastic. I have yet to see the camera's on a car that have better quality than a Mercedes. The C300's camera is absolutely fantastic. What's even better is that it has a nice trick where the rearview camera is actually hidden inside the trunk and only comes out when in reverse. So, the lens doesn't get wet or dirty. My rearview camera is simply unusable in the rain. I also hope they improve the quality of the camera overall My sister has a 2016 428i xDrive and her camera works very well even when it's pouring outside and may actually be a smidge better in overall image quality. This is an area that I hope Audi addresses this when the 9.5 refreshes start to come.

2. Heated Mirrors: Why do they have to be turned on manually? Every BMW and every Mercedes that I have had experience with turns this feature on automatically dependent on temperature and conditions and adjusts accordingly. (Rain or snow).

3. Parking Sensors: My sensors seem to be super sensitive for some odd reason. Precipitation will set it off in an instant. Never have had this happen with any of the Mercedes-Benz or BMW vehicles I have experience with. I do appreciate the fact that they turn on automatically though. Love that.

4. Adaptive LED headlights - Mercedes offers them as does BMW. Granted, the beam pattern on both Audi's is much wider than any BMW or Mercedes I have driven and that really helps. I had adaptive headlights on my M3 that turned into corners and it was fantastic. Saved me a couple times from hitting deer. Hopefully becomes a standard feature on this car in the future.

5. B&O Sound System - Sound quality is fantastic and clear for a system in a car, but it lacks any 'oomph'. I know it's a powerful system but where's the bass?

6. Sounds - Minor, but the chip doesn't sound very good to me when you lock the car. It's more of a squeal. Also, beeping that you hear when you turn on the car doesn't sound pleasant. Both competitors have a slight advantage in this area in both regards.

7. Speaker Covers: The plastic that covers the B&O system looks cheap because it is. It's plastic. A more premium material over the speakers would add to the asthetics of the car. Competitors have silver aluminium covers over speakers when the 'premium' audio option is selected.

This should be an interesting thread.

this list is about as superficial as it could get. the car is meant to be driven. note no suggestions about improving the driving experience. I suppose this is what some have come to when it comes to enjoying a car. superficiality.

Same here.

I would like to see Euro style rear seat headrest instead of the large blobs.

yes the plastic shifters are horrible!

for me,

- close hatchback with key fob
- more aggressive front end styling
- more direct feel in regards to transmission tune
- traditional arm rest console

You can close the hatch from the key, you just need to be standing behind the car while pressing and holding the button on the fob.