markcincinnati

As the owner of a 2018 S4 and a 2019 Q8 -- and after having recently test driven an RS5 -- it has come to my attention that the "emperor has no clothes" (the emperor, in this case, is the S4.)

What I mean by that is time and technology have moved forward so quickly that the S4 (which is still a blast to drive) feels "old and tired" when I get in it. Remember I said it is still a blast to drive it -- but it's interior design (which, for my tastes. was always a "bit off" due to the tacked on vertical iPad screen on the dash) looks tired, almost as if Audi ran out of ideas and just imitated the equally lazy design started by Mercedes.

I had a 2005 A6, followed by a 2009 A4 (Prestige and sport package) followed by a 2014 S4. The interior of the 2014 S4 was, as the saying goes, a bit long in the tooth, but in many ways, the 2018 S4's interior seemed a step backward.

My 2018 S4 Prestige is Daytona Gray with the Magma Red leather interior and I think it is a very attractive car. The virtual cockpit is great, but the interior looks somewhat cobbled together, to me it looks a bit less premium than the 2014 S4 analog and integrated (screen) interior look.

Then, we bought a Q8, and I've sat in the new A8, A7. and A6 with the new Starship Enterprise interior that effectively makes the 2018's interior seem almost quaint.

I'm ready to ditch the '18 S4 -- but the 2019 S4 is the same ol' same ol' -- but there's hope: Rumor has it the 2020 S4 will adopt the Q8's look, thus unifying the entire Audi lineup and putting Audi's interiors, once again, in the lead.

Better than BMW's, Mercedes, and even Volvo (which has become quite the up and comer in the interior department, besting, I think, the Germans until the new design language Audi has created in their A8, Q8, A7, and A6.)

But I'm impatient -- the A4/S4, A5/S5, and Q5/SQ5 need the Starship Enterprise look (badly, very badly) NOW!

I'm at almost 23,000 miles on my S4 and, for the third time (at least) it is a blast to drive. But when I get behind the wheel of the Q8 I feel like it's something so special it makes me feel special. One last thing, the Q8 has an attribute the S4 needs to adopt: The Sounds of Silence.

Sure the S4 needs to have a "sound setting" called "dynamic" that will make the S4 at full cry have the same sonorous and powerful sound that the Q8's sound tuners were able to get out of essentially the same engine, but, overall the sound of an "S" car needs to include what would be a stealth mode. The Q8 feels so special because it is damn near silent inside at almost any speed over almost any surface. The outside world is kept at a distance. The car feels like, one more time, a spaceship, the Starship Enterprise. Sportiness and luxury can (and do) go hand-in-hand. The S4 needs to be one of the sportiest and most luxurious weapons in Audi's arsenal.

I can't wait to lose my current S4 and find a new one -- hopefully a 2020.

Often wrong and never uncertain I remain.

NoMoreSwede

nicotino15

I just imagine that each car line is almost like an independent business with certain directives such as adopting the latest design language. It must take a heck of a lot of design and engineering to adopt a new design language or engine since these types of items require unique ways to implement them into each of the car lines.

I'm sure the benefit to this is that each car line is somewhat staggered so that they aren't re-inventing the wheel for every car line at the same time, but the downfall is inevitably that the target market for a particular car line doesn't get something another car line already has until much later.

I'm sure most lessees are just like you, I guess I'm more of a buy and hold type owner and so the delay doesn't affect me nearly as much. My latest S4 is the first new car I've owned so financially speaking I should own it for at least 5 but ideally 7 years to take advantage of purchasing over leasing it.

markcincinnati

Both of our Audis (this time) were purchased. The previous 32 Audis, except one, were leased. We kept our 2014 SQ5 to over 93,000 miles and my 2014 S4 was kept to 54,000+ miles. I'm still enjoying driving my "feels like a new car" S4, it is just that the interiors of the new Audis have, again, taken the lead in design and my 2018 feels, well, dated. I'm not planning on doing anything, what can I do anyway? Get an A6? Nope, not interested, also not interested in the RS5, although it was a great test drive. What I want is another S4 with the Q8's interior design motif.

The 2020's ought to be here in a year or so, I may be impatient, but I can wait that long.

jlarke

When the A6 "everything is a touchscreen" layout makes it to the S4 and SQ5 level, I will be jumping ship and finding a new car company. I think a good click wheel kicks the hell out of a touchscreen.

rccoleman

I feel similarly. I like that BMW offers both options (touch and wheel) and is continuing to do so with iDrive 7.0.

markcincinnati

I thought I would feel the same way, but now that I've experienced it, I find I like the touch screens -- I thought they would have to pry my Blackberry out of my cold dead hands. I thought they would have to pry my iPhone 6S out of my cold dead hands, now I have an iPhone XS and I got the Apple watch V4 for Christmas with its own phone built in. Now I'm hooked on all of the new tech and actually find it improves both efficiency and effectivity.

My wife has all the tech, too -- but refuses to use the driver assistance features (other than the automatic headlights/high/low beam, etc.).

Everyone has their own technology threshold -- and everyone can be, from time to time a Luddite. Takes one to know one.

So, I completely empathize with those who are currently not in favor of tech advances. I fought and fought going to an automatic transmission, but tech marches on and when 98% of the market wants "smartphones, smart-watches, and smart-cars," you may have to jump ship and find a new car company.

The wheel in my 2018 S4 feels familiar, I do understand that, but it is rapidly becoming an anachronism. I saw a video the other day of two obviously young men who, when confronted with a rotary dial telephone, couldn't figure out how to operate it. "Dialing" with their finger by moving the dial confounded them -- they kept pushing the number by inserting their finger in the hole and wondering why the number wasn't registering.

For the first couple of days, the Q8 was a mystery to me too -- now the S4 seems out of synch. I held onto that Blackberry while everyone I knew had an iPhone 4. I kept saying these things don't need a camera, they need to make calls and send and receive emails. Stop. Stop.

Well, how did that work out? Not at all -- I'm afraid.

It is my belief that "everyone" even the late adopters comes around eventually.

I hope you stay with the brand.

rccoleman

JD15

I agree as well. I recently sampled the controls in the A6, A7, and Q8 and do not believe that the dual-touchscreen works well in practice. Frankly, I cannot think of a reason that I would want the HVAC controls implemented via touchscreen rather than physical ***** and buttons. Performing basic tasks, such as changing the temperature, is a slower, more unwieldy task. I am glad that the 2019 S5 I have on order has a more traditional interface.

Audi's dual-touchscreen system reminds me too much of a prettier version of the justifiably maligned dual-touchscreen system used in the 2013-2017 Accord. Thankfully, Honda learned from its mistakes, removed one screen, added several more ***** and buttons, and HVAC controls that are similar to those of the B9 A4.

I am not a technophobe; I am actually 30 years away from retirement and work in a technical field, but I also appreciate good design, which is certainly not implementing touchscreens for every interface in an effort to appear "high-tech".

markcincinnati

The Q8 has a traditional Audi MMI volume ****, it just falls naturally to the hand.
Most of the functions on the touchscreen are completely disabled when the car is moving. The functions of the MMI that have nothing to do with driving can be adjusted either when stopped or before you take off.
Changing the temperature is as easy as saying "set the temperature to 72" -- or you can press the "+" or +-+ on the screen (this one works while the car is moving). Even your heated seat can be turned on/off/set via voice.
Many switches, dials, etc. are on the steering wheel and have a certain "feel" so that you don't actually have to look at them to make something happen.
The garage door opener can be set to a button on the steering wheel or by GPS location.
The high/low beams are automated as is the on/off function of the lights themselves, ditto the wipers (even though they retain stalk control)
The voice response for some of the functions that used to be buttons or ***** is improved.
The lights, wipers, turn signals, and cruise controls are still either buttons or steering wheel stalks.
Navigation by voice is similar, perhaps a bit better, than the 2018 S4.
The touchscreen, when used (mostly) while the car is not moving does something different -- when you touch the screen you feel a "click" (and there is an adjustment allowing you to adjust this feedback), it does provide the feel of a key in addition to the visual cue.

Since I clearly had no idea how much time you've spent with this Starship Enterprise dashboard, I must assume you've not spent more than a few hours -- I'd say MY particular learning curve (and the Q8 is not my primary vehicle, the S4 is) was perhaps two sessions, by the third session (of over an hour or so), I got into synch with the interface and now I'm very comfortable with it. But, I had the same problem, initially, when I got my iPhone XS -- I missed the home button and wondered how losing that button was an improvement. I think I'm able to easily use a 6S, but overall I've completely acclimated to the XS and I don't want to "go back" to the previous generation of machine/human interface.

I do not equate anyone's resistance to something (new, different, or just unfamiliar) with age. If I said something to that effect I would be wrong and I apologize.

All people don't have to embrace "the next" thing automakers put forth. Having said that: It does seem that automakers will continue to adopt "the touch" interface. No one asked me, but my primary complaint about the new SE dash is that I actually wish the three garage door opener buttons on the ceiling console had been retained. Otherwise, the direction that Audi has taken is, I believe, previews of coming attractions for the industry as a whole.