mplsbrian

Hey guys! Long time lurker first time poster. Very appreciative of all the incredible insight I've gained over these last many months of learning about the new B9 chassis and everything Audi is putting in it.

I'll cut to the chase: after many months of mulling and several test drives I'm ready to join the ranks with a 2018 S4. I've settled on Daytona Grey with sport package, 19" wheels, Nappa, and carbon inlays.

Unfortunately my test drives (and lot cars I've been able to view) have all been the black interior with aluminum inlays, and so the thing I am stuck on and losing sleep over is my interior color choice: Magma Red or Black?

I just saw some great pictures of the red/carbon interior color over on yesterday's Ibis white (black optics) S4 Avant and wow, it looks stunning, but I am having serious troubles finding equally high quality shots of the Black Nappa + Carbon interior on this car.

Would somebody be willing to post some pics highlighting the interior of their Black Nappa + Carbon S4 interior? (Or direct me to a thread I might have missed?) Particularly interested in shots sitting from the rear of the car, showing the seats + dash together, as well as many of the cool angles from the aforementioned thread.

I'd super appreciate it! I know the magma interior is an extremely popular option on this forum but I'd like to see the other perspective. All comments welcome.

carys4

How many cars have you sat in that had magma red interior? How many cars have you sat in had black? Life is short - enjoy the red interior. It will go really well with the daytona and it will definitely be a stunning conversation piece for your other passengers.

antman0505

Another vote for magma red!

This review 2017 Audi S4 review | CarAdvice has some nice pictures of both.

There are also more of the black (on black, on black......) here (unfortunately not high res): Audi S4 v Mercedes-AMG C43 sedan comparison

I think a combination of black with the red contrast stitching would have been nice, but the white (?grey) Audi uses with the black isn't all that special. At least the C43 in the comparison has the red contrast stiching.

markcincinnati

Another vote for Magma Red here. I had black two cars ago: the interior of the car shrinks (psychologically, of course.) Every speck of dust shows on black, and the interior of the car gets very hot.

Red interiors, generally speaking, are relatively rare -- they are always good for a "WOW" from your passengers (and you!)

My wife, always a fan of black -- has a magma red 2014 SQ5, loves the look, and the feng shui.

mplsbrian

Wow, 3 strong votes for magma. I knew it was popular on the forums but here's the real feedback I'm receiving from car friends upon sharing photos of the red.

• "they're loud. if they were saddle orange leather I wouldn't hesitate, but red..."
• "if I were considering this purchase and the red-seated version cost less, I might go ahead with 'em"
• "[black] is so much better. It really is. Sophisticated, but still recognizably sporty"
  ...and my personal favorite,
• "you're going to need a polyester shirt with the top two buttons undone and some serious chest hair poking chest hair through to drive around in those seats."

So it seems the conversation is very split between the internet loving them and my normal friends kind of bashing on them. I don't super much care about opinions--it's my car--but opinions do sometimes yield a perspective I don't necessarily have today and it makes me wonder if 3-5 years from now when I'm scrubbing the jean stains out of the red leather for the hundredth time, I'm going to look on my younger self and say "man, why the hell didn't you go with black."

Do any of you magma owners worry about that? Or do they just continue to grow on you once you've lived with them for a few weeks/months? How's the upkeep on keeping them clean?

Agree completely.

markcincinnati

Being in a car with a black interior is akin to being in a cave -- and, yes, this is an opinion. I can't find anywhere that black is seen by the majority of other opinion holders to be sporty. But, as usual, no less a valid opinion.

Perhaps -- just perhaps -- were I to have a drop-top with a black interior, I might not find it so confining.

I had the "basketball orange/brown" interior in my 2005 A6 -- loved that color, also have had what is now called "rotor" gray and a color that I guess would be leaning more toward silver gray. Never had a blue interior, can't recall having ever seen one.

Had beige (Audi called it Cardamon, I think), it was OK, but seemed to need cleaning a lot to keep the color from being overwhelmed from the clothing of passengers. The dyes in clothes seem to transfer to the beige -- only my white leather S6 seats were worse, but like the red, the white was always good for a WOW.

Had a 1963 Chrysler (well, it was my dad's) with a green interior -- seems to me, green, like blue, might look dated.

My wife had a BMW X3 with "gold" leather -- it was a bit more resistant to "aging" than beige, but not by much.

Of course, Daytona Gray Pearl paint with gray seats would probably not be good -- too mono. Truth be told, Daytona only seems to work with Black or Red -- and life's too short to have a black interior.

However, if you end up with the black because you like it -- you will have made the correct choice.

If I were you, I wouldn't listen to the rest of us mokes -- this is very subjective.

If you're buying the car, and you really care what the person after you thinks, you should probably ask the dealer (or more than one dealer) for their opinion of what they would like to have come back in trade in terms of "probable" ease of re-selling.

On the other hand, I'd ask you to consider NOT buying your car for subsequent owners -- buy/lease whatever YOU want.

Everything here, on this subject at least, is 95% subjective. The 5% objectivity part has to do with possible resale -- and even that requires some speculation as to trends perhaps 3-5 years from now.

Drive it like YOU live.

markcincinnati

My 2014 S4 had the red leather interior, too -- in 55,000 miles I had the interior professionally cleaned one-time. It was about the lowest maintenance interior I have ever had. Black had to be dusted several times per week just to not look like I'd been through a dust storm.

Gray leather has been the easiest to keep clean of all of the cars I've ever had. Although, the orange/brown leather upgrade in my 2005 A6 was also pretty maintenance free too.

Talbot

There's one listed at a nearby (to me) dealership that has a shizz-ton of interior pictures. Granted, these are not NEARLY as good as the pictures taken by people who post here, but maybe it will help you some.

https://www.audiofbirmingham.com/new...79e405b9ea.htm

Glisse

There are two or three B9 S5 owners with Daytona / black S sport seats / carbon Atlas interior. Look/ask in that section - photo taken from the rear seat forward will look identical to an S4

See this thread, and ask the OP if he has any wider interior shots he can post?

https://www.audiworld.com/forums/aud...black-2921233/

Tough choice, but only in that both black or red will work well with Daytona. So no wrong choice. Pretty subjective as to which you would prefer. I think they both look good - some will find the black with carbon too dark / monotone, but I don't. I find the brushed aluminium a touch busy, whereas others like the contrast. No right or wrong here. I've bought B9 S5's with both interiors , but black/carbon not arriving for some time.

dbuxton13

Another for magma. Doing mythos black paint with carbon atlas. The shade of red is perfection, not too bright or dark, and the red contrast stitching elsewhere adds some nice character. Considering we buy these cars for their timeless understated looks, adding some interesting color features spices things up.