Current Audi styling

AugustusMinimus

Personally, I think the current styling phase started with the A5. One of the nicest cars on our roads IMO. Well balanced. Audi brought back the coke bottle design with this one. I don't think there is a better looking car in terms of a head on angle.

It's after this though that it goes wrong.

The new A4 is an A5 with 4 doors. But it just doesn't work. The boot of the car is far too short. The car is just not balanced looking. I also think the rear light cluster which does work on the A5, doesn't work on the A4. In terms of styling, I'd take the B7 over it.

The touchup to the A6 I consider as being very lazy. They've done nothing more than change the rear light cluster to that seen on the A4 and A5. I personally prefered the old square cluster which differentiated the A6 from other models in the Audi range.

The worst of all though is the new A8. The D3 A8 was a fantastic looking car.



In terms of styling, it destroyed both the S-Class and 7 series.

However, the new one is plain awful. Gone are the clean lines. Gone is the balance. The new A8 now has a stumpy rear in line with the new A4. The same stupid rear light cluster as the A4. Worst of all though the new A8 has the most stupid set of Led fairylights I've ever seen. Just appauling. Still though, I guess its still better than the new 7 series which is just about the ugliest car BMW has ever produced.



My personal hope now is that Audi don't decide that the R8 needs a slight redesign. Could really wreck its look.

Mc Love

The new one looks alot leaner rather than the bold one of the previous model. On looks alone, the older model wins it

mickdw

I would agree with all of the above although the new A8 might grow on us over time. Also the current A6 is only a facelift so the 2011 model might be great.

AugustusMinimus

mickdw wrote: »

I would agree with all of the above although the new A8 might grow on us over time. Also the current A6 is only a facelift so the 2011 model might be great.

I'll be honest. I like the current A6, except for the facelift to the rear light cluster.

The A6 is usually a more bulbous design in comparison to the A4 and A8 which are usually a lot sleeker.

Will be interesting to see what the A7 will be like also.

whiterebel

Someone else on here hates the A4 too, can't remember who......but I love it. Side-on, when it came out first, I thought it had gone very BMW, but I don't see that as much any more. I love my A6, the facelift definitely helped. God, when I see the old 99 A6s with the bulbous ass, Ireally wonder who let it out of a design studio, it was awful. Haven't seen an A8 properly yet to comment.

AugustusMinimus

whiterebel wrote: »

Someone else on here hates the A4 too, can't remember who......but I love it. Side-on, when it came out first, I thought it had gone very BMW, but I don't see that as much any more. I love my A6, the facelift definitely helped. God, when I see the old 99 A6s with the bulbous ass, Ireally wonder who let it out of a design studio, it was awful. Haven't seen an A8 properly yet to comment.

The 99 model is completely different to the current model.

This is the old rear on the current model.



This is the facelifted rear
<SNIP> Mod edit: The site the image was taken from doesn't allow hotlinking.

whiterebel

AugustusMinimus wrote: »

The 99 model is completely different to the current model.

Really? Glad I bought an 09 then.....I was actually just commenting on how badly designers can get it wrong.

VolvoMan

I'd generally be in agreement with the above. One thing Audi's use to have was understated elegance in every design. Now all of their new saloon's just look saggy arsed and lack the clean lines of their predecessor's.

The interior's have also become a mess, with clutter everywhere and less quality in them than before. Places in them that used to be rubber lined, such as the door pockets, are no longer and you will find other places they have skimped on in the construction of the cars. Things like the parallelogram boot hinges are now gone and replaced and replaced with inexpensive curved bent tubes.

It's a shame really. When Merc's became bad quality and BMW's plain ugly, Audi used to be a brand you could rely on to produce inoffensively styled cars with beautifully constructed interiors.

mickdw

My audi drivers seat back looks like a taxi drivers with the steel frame coming out through the foam on both sides and Ive only 33k miles on it from new in 08. Dealer is now ordering new foam for it. The quality in Audis is gone gone gone and I think it will be my last one having had 3 audis now out of 4 cars owned total. This being my first new one also, it is a major letdown.

daveharnett

Hadn't realised there was a new 7 series. Bloody hell, it looks like an aircraft carrier!

AugustusMinimus

The new 7 series takes the biscuit in terms of sheer ugliness.



Its as if the headlights were an afterthought.

But those gaping grilles :eek: BMW spent the last 10 years sloping the double grilles backwards. The new designer thought, what the hell, we'll triple the size of them and stick them up at a right angle.

Zonda999

I think the new 7 series looks a bit better in the flesh though, probably just because of its sheer presence, not a good looking car but i wouldnt say very ugly

Hoping the A8 will grow on me when i see it for real too, although i wouldnt say that looks ugly in the pictures i've seen. It'll take years though, before i see one that is. The A8 sells in this country in literally tiny numbers, although one of the models next year will have co2 emissions of just 159g/km so that will road tax of just 630€. Maybe someone will actually buy one so!