Audi UK takes chainsaw to available trim grades
Hate overly complicated online configurators? Audi finally gets around to a proper spring clean...
They say choice is the enemy of happiness and that couldn’t be truer when it comes to trim lines. Trying to decipher an overpopulated model range can be infuriating, especially when engine and styling options vary wildly between different grades. Wouldn’t it be easier if there were just two or three variants to choose from? Well, Audi’s (finally) seen the light and decided to scale back the number of trim levels it offers in a bid to streamline the buying process - and, you'd imagine, the manufacturing one, too.
From today, you’ll only need to decide between two variants for S models. A revised Black Edition now serves as the entry-level, presumably because most S buyers immediately go for the black-on-black-on-black option, with the Vorsprung above it as the range-topper. What that entails depends on what model you’re looking for, with Audi updating each trim level to match customer needs. For instance, it says most of its Q7 customers wanted to combine the black styling pack with a panoramic sunroof. The only way to get said combination before was to opt for the Vorsprung, but now, lucky Q7 buyers, with the right ticking you can get them in the Black Edition – saving you £11,000.
No changes have been made to the RS lineup (which itself is still missing the 3 - no update on that), but the standard As and Qs have too been on a crash diet. Out go the Technik, Sport Edition, Edition 1 and Vorsprung on the A1 to Q5, leaving the Sport, S-Line and Black Edition. Q7 and Q8 ditch sport trim for the range-topping Vorsprung grade, while the S6 is an outlier with a standard ‘S6’ trim level sitting below the Black Edition. Keeping up? It may sound complicated on paper, but Audi says it’s cut trim lines down by 45% to make purchasing a bit easier – particularly for those ordering cars online.
Finally, you can kit out your new Audi with two new tech packs. Again, the contents of these depend on the model in question, but Audi most cars fitted with the Technology Pack will benefit from either Bang and Olufsen or Sonos audio, Park Assist and heated front seats. The Technology Pro Pack, meanwhile, adds a head-up display, electric seat adjustment and a suite of driver assistance features. All these changes come into effect today, with further adjustments to product lines expected later on. Now, Audi, how about revisiting those baffling model designation numbers, yeah?
You want one, maybe two certain options, but to get them you have to pay for a pack that then comes with Three things you don't want.
And it sometimes means optioning Two packs to get all the things you want.
Or one picks one thing, and half of one's previous configurations disappear.
I admit I do fiddle with configurators on occasion, but find them infuriating; it's all about what it looks like and there's minimal technical information. I'm a geek, not a poseur...
I fully understand some people want it to protect young kids from direct sunlight or whatever, but it looks a bit crap to my eyes and would not want it myself.
But maybe there's a benefit to it that I've overlooked??
To me, S and RS models should have the brushed aluminium mirrors, roof rails and bumper details as I recall them having when I was a kid. Not stealth mode/black pack like most people who buys a German car seems to want nowadays. Like how you can't get an RS6 anymore with the brushed aluminium mirrors (now it is in performance trim).
I am obviously in the minority!
I fully understand some people want it to protect young kids from direct sunlight or whatever, but it looks a bit crap to my eyes and would not want it myself.
But maybe there's a benefit to it that I've overlooked??
Tinted windows are what people want. They look good and they serve a purpose for heat reduction.
The general public (and most people outside this forum)
) doesn’t want a car with a greenhouse and tiny silver sofa casters for wheels, nor do they want everything in chrome and velour seats. It doesn’t look good at all.
When is the last time you saw a car like that? It isn’t desirable. Everyone must have “chav tints” then?
I for one like the styling of modern cars with tinted windows and big, cool wheel designs.
Look at the new DS 4 Cross for example, I saw one of those earlier and I thought it looked fabulous.
I like the dark privacy glass in my car. I think it looks good
Sometimes I think PH is stuck in the 1980s.
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