JanitorMartini

Just got my first Audi, a B9 A5.
It's a tight fit in the garage with my wife's car; not much space to open the driver's door. I literally have to crawl across the console and get out on the passenger side on my hands and knees!
The seat is entirely in the way in these cramped quarters, I need for the driver's seat to roll all the way back when I switch off the car, as the wife's Lexuses have always done. Then I could squeeze out on the correct side of the car.
I can't find this setting. I have seen a youtube video pinpointing where to find the setting, but when I navigate there in my MMI, the only driver's seat option is to save the last used position to the key. No option to pull the seat back when car is switched off.

Am I missing something, do I need an update, or is this feature entirely missing from this otherwise magnificent vehicle?

JohnEnglish

Pretty sure it's not available.

JanitorMartini

If that's true, it is baffling on a spectacular level.

Glisse

No, they have never had this setting. I am afraid your assumption and pre-purchase research was flawed

Perhaps use position 2 on the memory switch as a setting for the seat to be as far rearward as possible, and press it after you are parked. Or just manually set the seat back. Surely easier and not much more time consuming than clambering over the centre console?

But perhaps the easiest solution may be to back your car in given there is room to open your door on the other side of the garage from your wife's car. Baffling indeed!

JohnEnglish

Yeah, I have no idea why Audi doesn't offer it and why it doesn't offer power tilting and telescoping steering wheel. My Infiniti G37xS had it and I'm and it's a nice feature.

Glisse

^^

I think all 3 of the big German luxury makers expend some effort managing their model hierarchies. So that when you go up the model range, it is not just size and price that change, but also levels of refinement and features.

Having the seat retract, or an electric motor for the steering wheel must still be in Audi's "reserved for the higher models" list. I was surprised when they offered massage seats in the B9 model range, particularly in sport seat versions - that was breaking the rules.

Audi, BMW and Mercedes also tend to benchmark each other. When Toyota and Nissan developed their luxury brand offshoots, a big part of the strategy to take on the Germans was to offer more, as standard equipment. Forced the Germans to lift their game. Nowhere more than in the US, so Audi tend to fit US cars with a lot equipment that is optional in markets where Lexus and Infiniti have little presence - such as Germany.

My A7 had the power steering column (cost ~$600 though). Compared to the flat bottom steering wheel on my S5, doesn't make any difference getting in or out. Where it can be annoying is with different drivers in the car.

For the OP, I think only the A8 range has a retracting seat, but am not sure. I would have thought it only a benefit for models with long doors, which creates issues with door opening angles. Parking spaces in Europe are very small, and a few times in public car parks I have had jerks park so close to me in the S5 cabriolet that I have had to get in via the window. Both BMW and Mercedes are now offering systems where you can remotely drive the car in and out of a parking space using the key or a phone app. Sounds handy, but if the people parked on either side don't have a similar app, you can guess what will happen.

Impulse_215

Infiniti had this feature in the G37 sedan and not in the G37 coupe. I think the reason is that, if you have a passenger in the back of the coupe, their legs will get crushed if the seat goes back automatically.

Glisse

^^ Good point, but would have thought there is less benefit in a sedan.

JohnEnglish

The benefit is that they can make the door opening smaller for better crash protection but still allow for easy entry/exit.

19hole

My S7 has a partial version of comfort access. The steering wheel tilts to the fully up position but the seat does not move.