A3/S3/RS3 Press Drives: 2013 Audi A3

[Mr. Mercedes]

Fair enough but the odds vs the evens

Again, the competition screams premium vs that exposed painted metal. The latter is reserved for NON-premium products only. So I'd rather have a soft-touch "plastic" dash than an unsophisticated - looks as if trim is missing cabin

Human you're once again ignoring my post that shows the BMW suffers exposed door paint on the lower part of the door as well. At least the top half is trimmed in the Bimmer though.

http://www.germancarforum.com/community/threads/official-2013-mercedes-benz-a-class.43509/page-14

Until non press photos of the Audi are available, I wouldn't put this past them either, because a similar situation can be witnessed in the Golf.

 

[Deckhook]

When I went to see the new A3 I can't recall seeing any metal being visible when the door was closed and the gap as always with Audi was super tight.

 

[Levi68]

When I went to see the new A3 I can't recall seeing any metal being visible when the door was closed and the gap as always with Audi was super tight.

But even in the BMW's you'll never see it, though it is there.

 

[Zafiro]

I think the talk about visible metal is overrated. The average driver will never notice it or even care its there. You really have to be thorough and a germancarforum member to notice it.

 

[Human]

Human you're once again ignoring my post that shows the BMW suffers exposed door paint on the lower part of the door as well. At least the top half is trimmed in the Bimmer though.

http://www.germancarforum.com/community/threads/official-2013-mercedes-benz-a-class.43509/page-14

Until non press photos of the Audi are available, I wouldn't put this past them either, because a similar situation can be witnessed in the Golf.

Asked and [BOLD] answered The lower part is out of sight, not the case in the A-class = VW Polo non-premium "as if trim is missing" bold in your face exposed paint of the upper part of the side-glass frame.

I think the talk about visible metal is overrated. The average driver will never notice it or even care its there. You really have to be thorough and a germancarforum member to notice it.

Hardly The US market is particularly sensitive for this, for example non-premium Ford and Chevrolet entry level cars does not have this problem, why should THE holy Mercedes-Benz have it? Apples with apples - if you call yourself premium, act premium.

FORD FOCUS



CHEVY SONIC



Ridiculous then that a Benz has exposed paint, isn't it?

 

[Zafiro]

Hardly The US market is particularly sensitive for this, for example non-premium

If it was such a big problem the cars wouldn't sell. Pretty simple. I bet if you ask 200 people they would say, 'what on earth are you talking about?'.

 

[Human]

If it was such a big problem the cars wouldn't sell. Pretty simple. I bet if you ask 200 people they would say, 'what on earth are you talking about?'.

Ok, that explains Hyundai/KIA's rise to fame. The march will continue for such 'inferior' brands until they eventually take over. Because people simply give a sh!t these days....in future premium will be just a forgotten phrase then I guess. It's all about the money, was and will be even more going forward. Still I can't get to terms that a German icon can't cover exposed paint in what is a beautifully designed car. Needles then, for I am the only dumb-ass to complain

Luckily some have taste and others don't. KUDOS to Chev and Ford for their effort

 

[lukeswiss]

Asked and [BOLD] answered The lower part is out of sight, not the case in the A-class = VW Polo non-premium "as if trim is missing" bold in your face exposed paint of the upper part of the side-glass frame.




Hardly The US market is particularly sensitive for this, for example non-premium Ford and Chevrolet entry level cars does not have this problem, why should THE holy Mercedes-Benz have it? Apples with apples - if you call yourself premium, act premium.


Ridiculous then that a Benz has exposed paint, isn't it?

It is stupid, although, I guess at least their interiors don't look like this.

 

[Mr. Mercedes]

Asked and [BOLD] answered The lower part is out of sight, not the case in the A-class = VW Polo non-premium "as if trim is missing" bold in your face exposed paint of the upper part of the side-glass frame.

Hardly The US market is particularly sensitive for this, for example non-premium Ford and Chevrolet entry level cars does not have this problem, why should THE holy Mercedes-Benz have it? Apples with apples - if you call yourself premium, act premium.

Ridiculous then that a Benz has exposed paint, isn't it?

VW got away with it on the Golf, and that is/was considered the premium benchmark for the class. Probably why Benz thought they'd get away with it. It's a small part of the car, granted that it can detract from the overall ambience. But if the interior has other things going for it, then it could fall by the wayside. I'm eagerly awaiting some time in the A's interior. I've been to the BMW dealership a few times to check out the 125i in the last 3 weeks, and the interior is just not grabbing me. Though I think that's more to do with design than actual interior quality.

 

[Human]

VW got away with it on the Golf, and that is/was considered the premium benchmark for the class. Probably why Benz thought they'd get away with it. It's a small part of the car, granted that it can detract from the overall ambience. But if the interior has other things going for it, then it could fall by the wayside. I'm eagerly awaiting some time in the A's interior. I've been to the BMW dealership a few times to check out the 125i in the last 3 weeks, and the interior is just not grabbing me. Though I think that's more to do with design than actual interior quality.

I agree that (myself trying to get behind the 'why of it' for the A-class) the benchmark is the Golf and the Gen7 still has exposed paint. Also the previous generations of A-class had it also. Doesn't change the fact that the German Premium manufacturers needs to make an effort to distance themselves from what they also view as non-premium products.
Every one of the Premium Three (Audi, Benz and BMW) do make mistakes now and then with perceived quality.
Take the X1 for example, hammered for the use of too much hard plastics. Now it's my fair turn to grind Daimler on the A-class perceived and tactile quality problems (As if, mind you they did not get enough critisizm in the past!?) now one of my favourite brands and certainly the most prestigious brand of all does not keep with: THE BEST OR NOTHING.

We are German Car Fans and in the end our passion for the products from Germany and what they represent has to be, IMO: The Best or Nothing. Hell, I devote my life into being passionate to German engineering and the joys it bring to the enthusiast.

We have to keep them on their toes!

 

[Mr. Mercedes]

Have you had a chance to sit in the A Human? Apart from a few anomalies the reviews of the interior have been very positive. The only region that appeared to have hard plastics is the transmission tunnel and I think the glove box. But then all the cars in this class suffer that. Heck even the new 3series has hard scratchy plastic along it's transmission tunnel. I don't understand why manufacturers are doing this. You never touch the top of the dashboard and are more likely to make contact with the transmission area, yet the dashboards are being finished in nice soft touch materials and cheap plastics around the transmission and cupholders. Go figure.

The proof will be in the pudding though, and I am looking forward to climbing into an A.

 

[Giannis]

The average driver will never notice it or even care its there. You really have to be thorough and a germancarforum member to notice it.

It's not about the average driver. I believe it's more about the average owner.

I am one of those that do hate to see naked metal through their door trims. My car does have bare metal around the window, not on the lower part of the door. Of course, I had to compromise, for financial reasons.

 

[Human]

Have you had a chance to sit in the A Human? Apart from a few anomalies the reviews of the interior have been very positive. The only region that appeared to have hard plastics is the transmission tunnel and I think the glove box. But then all the cars in this class suffer that. Heck even the new 3series has hard scratchy plastic along it's transmission tunnel. I don't understand why manufacturers are doing this. You never touch the top of the dashboard and are more likely to make contact with the transmission area, yet the dashboards are being finished in nice soft touch materials and cheap plastics around the transmission and cupholders. Go figure.

The proof will be in the pudding though, and I am looking forward to climbing into an A.

The new A is not yet available locally. That said I have had the chance to sit in the new B-Class and honestly, the dash does impress with layout and overall quality. So I now I will eventually like the ala SLS-style dash of the baby Benz, also those front seats looks cool. Hard/scratchy plastics along the transmission tunnel is really annoying - that's why I always say for that little bit more $ buy a F10 5er with all soft touch and stitched leather rather that a F30 3er

 

[Betty Swollocks]

The average driver will never notice it or even care its there.

I certainly will now after reading this forum.

 

[Zafiro]

I certainly will now after reading this forum.

Haha. Tell me about it! Im going to see the new Golf this weekend and the new Golf is going to have hard time from me

 

[Levi68]

At least their interiors don't look like this.

 

[klier]

^ That reminds me of the mrk 1 X3

Nice avatar J_M, you really like that car huh

 

[Deckhook]

Haha. Tell me about it! Im going to see the new Golf this weekend and the new Golf is going to have hard time from me

I don't think the new Golf has any bare metal shown either.



Must just be a Merc thing at this caliber of car.

 

[Kowalski]

CHEVY SONIC

Have you actually been in one of these? Well, I have and it feels cheap and the driving position is bloody diabolical. I'm not even that tall and I felt cramped in it. What a ghastly little car!

 

[lukeswiss]

My A1 has bare metal and that car feels extremely premium, I guess it's the sum of all parts that makes a car feel premium.
That said, it is something I wouldn't expect at an A3 level or higher. When you compare that pic of the A3 and the A-Class it just gives the A3 a much more grown up feeling.

Though, as you can see, some people prefer a leather dash. It's good to have product differentiation. If you love a car, you'll justify these small differences to yourself.

Ironically, I think Merc were one of the first companies to have a special fabric coated rubber that covered the door frames, was always a stand out point for me, something that set them apart.