jayhawkmd

Wow, I wonder if there is any plan to update MY 2018 vehicles to support the HERE maps? Crazy to think it will be unsupported while I will only be two years into a three year lease on the car...

rlove

Worth noting that Google doesn't provide the navigation (unfortunately) in the car, just the satellite imagery if you put the map in Google Earth mode.

HERE is the remnants of Navteq, bought by Nokia, and sold to a consortium of Audi, BMW, and Mercedes.

Presumably the Google Earth imagery will stop working in 2020, but not the rest of the navigation or maps functionality.

Spartan-S4

These car nav systems are just locked eco-systems that get so outdated and unsupported...hence I'm all for the move to just using our smart phones for the navigation. Always updated & can even use offline mode and still work.

ghostrider990

Pretty sure this is implied.

however, I have learned with Audi - the truth is subject to change.

markcincinnati

Can you get the Audi center caps to fit on these wheels?

dbuxton13

I didn't try, but they are the same size and the fasteners on the back look like they should hold. Next time I have a wheel off I can give it a go.

markcincinnati

Since I'll "never convince" you that the VC is a huge step forward, it is almost certainly not likely that anyone -- other than you -- could convince you. I have to assume, however, that you do not have any experience, perhaps beyond test drives, with this technology. If I understand your "You'll never convince me . . ." sentence, it seems you have asked many ("a bunch") of reviewers for their opinions, and they have said the virtual cockpits (or digital dashboards) are not a step forward.

Personally, I don't know any professional reviewers, so I will have to rely on your recollection of the conversations you have had with "a bunch" of reviewers.

Here is what I did, after reading your comments that "a bunch" of reviewers (presumably not owners and, I assume, individuals who review cars as their vocation) are, not fans of the VC tech: I googled every combination I could think of about the virtual cockpit, virtual cockpit vs. analog gauges, advantages and disadvantages of the digital dashboards (and also I used the term virtual cockpit in a separate google search). Of course, these searches returned links that included both "owners" (not professional reviewers) and "reviewers" (and, admittedly, I don't know if all of the numerous reviewers were literally professional reviewers or if the many reviews I came across were written by people who, as their vocations, reviewed cars).

Regardless of the source of the incomes of the "reviewers," one conclusion quickly emerged: Even four pages in on my google searches, the overwhelming majority of the reviewers wrote positive -- perhaps "glowing" -- prose (reviews) on the subject of virtual dashboards contrasted with/to analog gauge based dashboards (cockpits).

I know you'll "never" be convinced of the merits of Audi's (or others') virtual cockpit, but the "jury" (reviewers) is, overwhelmingly, convinced that digital dashboards, generally -- and Audi's VC, specifically -- are a step forward. Some reviewers used words (modifiers) that suggested "huge" or "transformative" steps especially when they were reviewing Audi's VC in particular.

A BMW-centric site had this to say (and this is representative of many authors' analyses): Audi’s optional Virtual Cockpit is a masterclass in digital instrument panels . . . and: The graphics are incredibly slick and the screens are completely customizable. There’s even a feature that turns the entire screen into a gigantic Google Maps navigation screen, which looks brilliant.

Business Insider (magazine) said this: How good is Audi's MMI-Virtual Cockpit infotainment system? So good that it's our first repeat winner for Infotainment System of the Year in 2017.

I assume these words are NOT from Audi owners (who, as you say, are likely to be biased).

My last google search, "Why are car manufacturers switching to virtual cockpits vs analog gauges?" returned about 1,140,000 results.

On the first page was this link -- clearly NOT from an owner: Feature Focus: A Look at Audi?s Beautiful and Functional Digital Dashboard » AutoGuide.com News -- the review is titled:A Look at Audi’s Beautiful and Functional Digital Dashboard

I'm continuing to assume you will "never be convinced" that the VC is a huge step forward. I also support, vigorously, your right to your opinion, and hope you support my right to disagree. I actually thank you for challenging my initial declaration that Audi's VC is a huge improvement or upgrade or step forward, etc. Frankly, I initially thought -- before I saw it in person and before I lived with it -- that the VC couldn't possibly be "appropriate" in a Premium Car, like Audi. Now, however, I don't think I could go back to the "old" (and I now think, "tired") analog gauges. I see them -- now -- as a bit of automotive nostalgia. Once you use Audi's VC on a 2018 Prestige S4, it will be "virtually" impossible to go back.

I look at it like this: We (well, a lot of us) had "flip phones," or perhaps Blackberries and for some of us we went kicking and screaming into the iPhone (or Android) platform. And, who (besides Steve Jobs) among us would have ever thought we needed a phone with not one, but two, cameras? In my case, I wanted the phone and a computer to marry and produce smart-phone offspring, but a camera? Now, if there are camera-less phones, I certainly wouldn't want one.

We're at a time when we do have a choice of analog or virtual "cockpits" (or dashboards if you prefer) -- however, like the manual transmissions, we're fast approaching the end of analog gauges and the switchover (entirely) to virtual technologies.

Get your new S4 with the analog gauges if you want -- it is, however, very likely it will be your last. Enjoy it while you can, and, respectfully I suggest you consider to "never say never."

frankrockford

Really love those wheels on this car which is the same color combo as mine. And as for the VC, I absolutely love mine after 2.5 months of ownership, I am now getting to the point where I love the sport view with Nav on the left, and Apple CarPlay on the MMI. I left my car at O'Hare and drove the almost one hour drive home last night. Once the car warmed up I turned it to Dynamic mode and drove home with a big smile on my face. Definitely the best car I have ever owned/driven.

Spartan-S4

Mark I've had my new S4 with analog gauges for 2 months and have driven loaners a few times with the VC. I'm sure down the road everything prob will go digital but till then I'm perfectly happy with my decision to not get it and having more cockpit time with it it was reinforced. To each their own.