Haven't driven either, but I did sit in the Q4 and I was not impressed. Cheap hard plastic compared to the more textured plastics used in my old A3 and A5. The B pillar is not completely covered and shows the car's color. Can't remember ever having that in an Audi.

 

got to save money somewhere ...

 

At least give us an option. If I want a VW interiour I'll buy a VW.

 

This is what i dont get. Seemed like the only real differentiator between the two was Audi's interiours. If they're going down market what's the difference?

 

I’m seriously considering the Q4 but am slightly put off by the perceived interior quality. Looks great on the outside but from what I’ve seen in reviews the interior looks more like Audi Q2 (and no offence to Q2 owners, my wife owns one) than what you would expect form a model priced at and above the Q3. I will reserve final judgment until I actually see one first hand but hope Audi have not dropped the ball on quality too much.

 

Can someone show what the issue is? I watched several videos and still cannot see what the problem might be. Is it possible it is a model for Europe only and simply cut down in some way? All presentation videos of interior I have seen do not show any kind of problem

 

It shouldn't be a surprise, really. VW group has been cutting costs on all new designs in the last few years. The big e-tron was one of the newest models before the cost cutting started.

Anything Audi MQB has always been closer to the VW equivalent than it has been to the bigger Audi MLB cars. MEB is the same thing, it's the shared VW platform that is mostly VW level with Audi design. The old A3 (8V) was great in build quality, but so was the Golf of the same generation.

Audi's new design language involves more fancy materials and designs that are more sensitive to build quality issues. The old designs were soft plastic all over, which feels premium and doesn't creak. New designs have big touchscreens, sections of gloss black and have less soft plastic to save weight and cut costs. In the MLB cars (A6/Q7/e-tron and up) they made it work but they're expensive to build. The old MLB cars (A4/A5/Q5) are still the classic solid Audi design and build.

The Q4 is in line with the Q3 and new A3 when it comes to interior class, and both the Q3 and A3 are a step down from similarly sized Audi's from the generation before. Less quiet, less refined interiors and a more VW-like feel.

The big e-tron is in a completely different league and you really can't compare the two. Remember that next year the Q6 e-tron will slot in right in the middle between the Q4 e-tron and fat e-tron in class. It'll likely have a new generation of interior (that will probably carry over to the Q5 non-EV sibling).

So TLDR, the interior in the Q4 e-tron is most easily compared to the Q3 or new A3, and is definitely a step down in perceived quality from the old A3 (8V).

 

Maybe this can be summed up with the old expression, ‘You get what you pay for’? 😉

 

Well, in that case it should be as good as my current A5.

 

this guy reckons the q4's noise insulation is "superb" and that it's comparible to Audi's models much higher up on the range. So it seems like a bit of a mixed picture.

 

Press cars are normally the highest trim version. In Europe and the UK, not all their models are specked like what we get in the states. Here they are a luxury brand, over there, they span from your standard car up to luxury. You can get a luxury version, but that cost goes up. I’ve seen videos of the Q4 without power seats and cloth interior, not something we find here, unless special ordered that way.

Let’s hope they don’t bring that here with some ridiculous price.

 

Trim doesn't change the cheap plastic. That's the same for all trim versions. What I did notice from all the review videos is that it matters which tyres are fitted. Bridgestones seem to be the worst when it comes to road noise in the car.

 

Has anyone seen the Santos Brown leather interior?

 

I test drove a Q4 40 Launch Endition yesterday and as someone coming from a full fat E-Tron, I can say that while there is a drop in quality the Q4 is still very much an Audi. It is much better than my Wife's Q2 and I a step up compared to the ID.4 I also test drove. I would be more than happy trading down slightly because the front cabin area is still a very nice place to sit.

Notable differences if you are coming from a big E-Tron are:

• No leather on the upper dash and a fair bit more carbon fibre effect but not in an overly cheap way. It was still solid and quality was overall very good.
• A bit more use of black shiny plastics but the big E-Tron is also only slightly less guilty of this.
• Some harder decorative plastic on the door cards but where it mattered it was soft touch.
• Rear door windows sills are hard plastics if that bothers you (I am OK with this as I don't sit in there).

So is it a step down from the big full fat E-Tron? Yes
Is it a massive step down? No
Is it still worthy of Audi premium branding? Yes IMHO

 

So is it a step down from the big full fat E-Tron? Yes
Is it a massive step down? No

What about the noise level compared to eTron? That is my major concern, honestly. I am torn between ioniq5 and Q4 for my wife. Can't drive either of them for now in US for testing purposes.

 

I have the base model Technik E-Tron 50 without the accoustic glass and noise levels were similar. Or at least nothing that raised any concerns.

I am toying with the idea of speccing with the adaptable dampers suspension as the Q4 felt more "sporty" but not sure if that's a good or bad thing. It wasn't remotely uncomfortable, just different and sometimes different is not bad.