A few people have asked for a more in depth review now that two weeks have passed. I'll try to give a more detailed review than my other thread -- where I was just so happy to finally have it! Some duplicate info in here, so I'll just apologize in advance.
What can I compare to? I've owned BMW, Infiniti, and Acura within the past few years (in the luxury segment). My other vehicle is a new Tahoe LTZ. I really enjoy cars. I set out originally looking for a car with solid performance, moderately aggressive/sporty styling, and enough space to stash away a baby seat (for short trips around town). That kinda sets up enough background to five you an idea where i'm coming from.
Ordered the vehicle in September the first day you could "hold a spot". I did so blindly because if I ended up liking it, I knew I'd have one available for me. If I didn't, I knew I could back out. Joined Audi Club NA - got mine at 6% below MSRP, which I felt was a very good deal. My delivery was confirmed as the first in the USA by Audi, so that's a cool feather in my cap that will mean absolutely nothing in the future.
My car build: premium plus, Glacier White on Rotor grey. Sport package, tech package. 18" wheels. Front license plate delete. At the time I ordered, massage seats came standard (not sure if it's still like that). I honestly didn't have a need for driver assistance in my area, I literally would never have used it.
Exterior
You love the new design, or you don't. It seems to be a fairly polarizing car in that aspect, specifically from prior gen owners. I would say its a bit "toned down" for what I would expect to see in an S. The stock 18s do provide a nice ride, particularly if you drive on poorly maintained roads (hello PA!). The red calipers really look sharp. I think carbon fiber accents would have looked nice on Glacier White, but I did pass on them. My only regret in the exterior build is not upgrading to the 19" package for a mere $800. I think that's a great value for the money and it makes the vehicle look significantly better (see above, Tahoe has 22". I've NEVER opted for the smaller OEM option until this car...Whoops).
Holy freaking brake dust. I don't particularly brake hard. I'm almost OCD about easing into a stop. I've never had OEM brake pads that put off volume of dust. It's almost amazing, but not in a good way. Good news is on the brakes -- if that teenager decides to pull out in front of you...this thing can stop. Wax your wheels as soon as you get the car, then wax them again. Car came standard with summer tires, I absolutely should have got all season (no additional charge). I majorly f'ed up the wheel/tire stuff.
The front parking sensors seem to engage a little late for my own liking. Maybe sort of nitpicking, but the last thing I want to do right now is scrape a bumper on a parking block. Ditto for the rear sensors when backing. Sometimes I guess you just have to actually drive the car manually, ha. The lock/unlock sensors on the door handles work great. I had auto folding mirrors for about a day, then decided to just leave them unfolded as I have off street parking at work.
The night time lighting on the vehicle looks fantastic. There are a few lights by each door handle, as well as the interior. I love the lighting. It really looks refined. Lights also blink red when you lock it at night. Perhaps this was on prior gen as well, but I really like the lighting inside and out.
I have no issues with the ride height or wheel gap, but I'm sure some fanatics would prefer to lower the car. Not my cup of tea, but to each his own. I'll give the windows some tint in the next few weeks or so. No other major mods planned other than possibly some 19" BBS wheels.
Interior
Here's where Audi really shines. I've never seen an interior crafted to feel so solid and luxurious. The seats really look sharp. S logo int he head rest. The bolsters do their job very nicely at holding you in place. The diamond stitching is a great finishing touch. Ever button clicks with a very solid feel, no worries about anything snapping off or breaking. The touch pad is spot on. Pending on your writing style, some letters/numbers may be frustrating.
The virtual cockpit is probably the single most "wow" feature people notice when getting in the car. My frustrating point with the cockpit however is the car doesn't start up with the last settings used. I like to have google maps on the left, tach/speedo in the middle, and time/date on the right. When I start the car, the left defaults to "short term MPG". I one of my biggest "wishes" would be the cockpit to just stay set when restarting the car.
Climate control area is the best I've ever seen. I don't want to push 4 different button combinations for temperature (looking at you Acura). I just wanna push buttons and dials. Audi nailed it. The heated seats warm up insanely fast. Like, 3 blocks into your trip, the seats are warm. I've also never had seat warmers heat this fast. It's almost shockingly fast. If the engine is cold, no high revs for you. The car will cut it off as it sees fit.
Steering wheel controls, to be perfectly honest, are a little confusing. Depending on what's up on the virtual cockpit or middle screen, the buttons may do different things. I'd chalk this up to it being a new car and familiarity, or lack there of. The Actual interfaces do tend to be pretty predictable and laid out well. Still getting accustom to where everything is laid out though. Lots of gadgets and layers to the interface. Android auto is present (I have an s7 edge), but I find myself using is very sparingly. I really like using it in the Tahoe, but prefer Audi's interface in the s4. I LOVE THE FLAT BOTTOM STEERING WHEEL. Winter is almost over here, but I wouldn't give it up for a heated steering wheel. Here's a gripe though -- the turn signal blinking green arrows on the dash board sit almost directly the steering wheel in my line of site. Makes it REALLY hard to see if your signals are still on or not if listening to music (and unable to hear the clicks).
I saw another review that said the paddle shifters look "out of place on a $60k car". I couldn't disagree more. The paddle shifters are very subtle. You barely see the "+" and "-". They don't feel cheaply made either when you decide to use them.
The interior lighting is great, specifically at night. Lights under the front seats, so there's ambient lighting in the rear seat foot area. Each door handle has accent lighting.
Rear seating fits adults (so far 6"1") relatively comfortably. I also have a toddler car seat in, which also fits, although with not a ton of foot room to spare for her. Sometimes she kicks the back of my seat, but its a super easy material to clean, and it doesn't scratch. Rear passengers have their own climate control. I do start to worry about the driver side seat bolsters, as exiting the vehicle does put some stress on them.
Cabin noise is surprisingly very well managed. I can hear the engine if i'm driving spiritedly, but when i'm in comfort mode just relaxing -- wow, amazingly quiet. Just a really elegant ride quality in comfort mode. What a great transition for this car to be able to make. It has great range from comfort to sporty. I've never seen a car so polished along the spectrum either. It's not e39 BMW harsh, or as BMW fans say "feeling the road", but it's not riding on a puffy cloud like a lexus. Throw on the seat massage for long road trips or after a workout! Passengers thing i'm kidding when I tell them they can get a massage while I drive. I'm 5'10", I feel a driver up to 5-6 inches taller than me could fit in the driver seat, although at the end of that range, rear seat room would be compromised.
2 SD card slots, I think a USB and CD as well (truth be told i've looked in there once so far) where a traditional glove box would be. The driver side has a small glove box on the left hand side, perfect for manuals - or concealed carry should you so choose. Might be a nice touch for those who like to travel with a firearm.
The garage door opener programming instructions are just plain inaccurate. The final step, it asks you to press the programmed button TWICE to operate your garage door -- I found through trial and error that one, longer press did the trick. I probably tried 4 times with the double press the car will suggest you do. Maybe this is specific to my garage door opener, but it was still a pain.
Phone call quality is quite perfect. No one every asks "are you driving" which I attest to the quiet cabin. The B&O sound system is incredible, best sound system i've had from the factory in a car. I've had rear passengers give feedback that the rear seems to lack "high" ranges though, but I don't ride in the back! Between Android auto, XM/Sirius (baba booey!), and the SD slots, finding what you want to listen to on this sound system will never be an issue.
Yeah, yeah, yeah - but how does it drive?
Normal driving is a delight. Bad roads? No problem (with my stupid, yet practical 18s).
The drive selection will really tell the story here. It'll play nice if you want, or be rough if you want. In dynamic, the car is a rocket. 4.4 0-60 seems like a high estimate to me (no science to that statement yet). Once you're working in high RPM, the boost just flat out launches you. Better yet, it sounds amazing. Car handles well with sport diff, haven't pushed it in corners at 100% yet though. I'm looking forward to the launch control to really see how the car gets the power to the ground. With Acura, and even at times Infiniti, you could feel the car almost "stress", and you'd feel like you were beating it. The Audi seems to handle hard driving with ease. No unexpected noises or strange performance. One poster here insists there is a "dead zone", I just can't seem to find it in this car.
Blind spot indicators are effective. Backup cam is nice and clear, parking guides are accurate. First tank of gas I got about 17-18 MPG, with a bunch of "new car demos" for friends/family ("let's see what this car can do!"). The current tank of gas i'm at almost 23, with "some" hard driving, mostly city/some highway.
No real experience with quattro in snow, but I don't think that will surprise anyone.
Ok, this is getting pretty long/detailed. I'll cut it off here. Hopefully this helps in some regard!
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