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robg · 04-30-2018, 07:47 PM

Rented a new a4 via Silvercar this past weekend in LA. Atleast at LAX, they now pick you up/ drop you off via Lyft. That's nice, although I had the bad luck of getting newbie Lyft drivers (in both directions) who took a long time to arrive since they got lost. Other than that dealing w/ Silvercar themselves was pretty seamless.

As for the car, it definitely feels very solid, and the interior is definitely a cut above the 3 series or even C class. The DSG shifted seamlessly even in stop and go traffic, so no issues there. Steering wheel felt nice and was wrapped the type of smooth leather BMW only offers when you get their "M sport" wheel. Seats were also very comfortable- just the right blend of comfort and support. And these were the base seats-- I think they're a big improvement over the last gen ones. All the buttons/ knobs felt great (the climate control knobs in particular feel like something off of a high end stereo). Even the key fob feels high-end!

As for performance, the handling and brakes seemed good. The steering seemed way too light in regular mode. Dynamic mode was a bit better. On a positive note, the car remembers the last mode selected when you start it (unlike BMWs), although you have to manually cancel start/stop each time.

My main complaint was that the drivetrain seems to take too long to respond if you quickly need power. Also seems geared very high (will loaf along at around 1K RPMs on the highway) which might be part of the issue. Dynamic mode was a bit better in that respect, but there still seemed to be noticeable lag. For better or worse (depending on your perspective) there's no attempt at engine sound augmentation, and it doesn't sound very inspiring.

I think BMW is a bit ahead in terms of ergonomics and functionality especially when it comes to MMI vs i-drive. (That being said, the Audi UI definitely looks nicer). Some examples:
1. The voice recognition in the Audi was pretty clunky and failed to recognize the first time on most occasions. It was more akin to the experience in the last gen BMW idrive. I couldn't just say "Navigate to xxxx" and have it work. First had to say "online search" (or something similar). And even then, it didn't work.
2. It did have CarPlay, but it was very glitchy (started flipping back and forth randomly between the Audi media player and carplay a few times). Also controlling it via the MMI wheel was clunky. It was clunky and glitchy enough that I gave up using it after a few attempts.
3. The cluster has a built-in map which looks cool at first. But there didn't appear to be any way to configure it to just show simple arrows and the next turn you're making. Instead, buried on the map it shows the current street name which changes to the next street you'll be turning onto when you get close (and a little dot appears). Kind of hard to parse when you're driving. Maybe if you get the HUD there's a more glance-able view of the next turn.
4. The driving mode selector is on a bank of switches that are recessed under the climate control area. Not as easy to change modes as w/ BMW's rocker switch next to the gear shift.
5. Though it looks and feels much nicer than BMW's, I found it harder to reliably engage Reverse. And, I know most VAG products are like this, but I'm not sure why they insist on having you tip the shifter away from you to go into manual mode (and why you bump it forward instead of back to shift up).

One thing I think they did well in terms of ergonomics was placing the volume knob and MMI presets right next to the knob itself.

Overall, my wife really liked the car (primarily for the seats and the really nice interior). She'd definitely get one over a 3 series. I'm not so sure--think i'd probably get a 330 over an A4 despite the inferior interior quality. That being said, I'm intrigued enough to want to test drive the new S4 at some point.

04-30-2018, 07:47 PM	#39
robg Carmudgeon Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 3,241	Rented a new a4 via Silvercar this past weekend in LA. Atleast at LAX, they now pick you up/ drop you off via Lyft. That's nice, although I had the bad luck of getting newbie Lyft drivers (in both directions) who took a long time to arrive since they got lost. Other than that dealing w/ Silvercar themselves was pretty seamless. As for the car, it definitely feels very solid, and the interior is definitely a cut above the 3 series or even C class. The DSG shifted seamlessly even in stop and go traffic, so no issues there. Steering wheel felt nice and was wrapped the type of smooth leather BMW only offers when you get their "M sport" wheel. Seats were also very comfortable- just the right blend of comfort and support. And these were the base seats-- I think they're a big improvement over the last gen ones. All the buttons/ knobs felt great (the climate control knobs in particular feel like something off of a high end stereo). Even the key fob feels high-end! As for performance, the handling and brakes seemed good. The steering seemed way too light in regular mode. Dynamic mode was a bit better. On a positive note, the car remembers the last mode selected when you start it (unlike BMWs), although you have to manually cancel start/stop each time. My main complaint was that the drivetrain seems to take too long to respond if you quickly need power. Also seems geared very high (will loaf along at around 1K RPMs on the highway) which might be part of the issue. Dynamic mode was a bit better in that respect, but there still seemed to be noticeable lag. For better or worse (depending on your perspective) there's no attempt at engine sound augmentation, and it doesn't sound very inspiring. I think BMW is a bit ahead in terms of ergonomics and functionality especially when it comes to MMI vs i-drive. (That being said, the Audi UI definitely looks nicer). Some examples: 1. The voice recognition in the Audi was pretty clunky and failed to recognize the first time on most occasions. It was more akin to the experience in the last gen BMW idrive. I couldn't just say "Navigate to xxxx" and have it work. First had to say "online search" (or something similar). And even then, it didn't work. 2. It did have CarPlay, but it was very glitchy (started flipping back and forth randomly between the Audi media player and carplay a few times). Also controlling it via the MMI wheel was clunky. It was clunky and glitchy enough that I gave up using it after a few attempts. 3. The cluster has a built-in map which looks cool at first. But there didn't appear to be any way to configure it to just show simple arrows and the next turn you're making. Instead, buried on the map it shows the current street name which changes to the next street you'll be turning onto when you get close (and a little dot appears). Kind of hard to parse when you're driving. Maybe if you get the HUD there's a more glance-able view of the next turn. 4. The driving mode selector is on a bank of switches that are recessed under the climate control area. Not as easy to change modes as w/ BMW's rocker switch next to the gear shift. 5. Though it looks and feels much nicer than BMW's, I found it harder to reliably engage Reverse. And, I know most VAG products are like this, but I'm not sure why they insist on having you tip the shifter away from you to go into manual mode (and why you bump it forward instead of back to shift up). One thing I think they did well in terms of ergonomics was placing the volume knob and MMI presets right next to the knob itself. Overall, my wife really liked the car (primarily for the seats and the really nice interior). She'd definitely get one over a 3 series. I'm not so sure--think i'd probably get a 330 over an A4 despite the inferior interior quality. That being said, I'm intrigued enough to want to test drive the new S4 at some point.