Yes, I drove this lovely coupe all weekend and I'll have to talk about are the floormats. Well, after getting in and out of the thing for two days with that nasty tear staring me in the face that's all I remembered.
Upon closer inspection I realized that the tear was positioned right where your heel rests when working the clutch. Stands to reason this area would get a little extra wear which is why good mats have a little extra material there to compensate. Clearly these didn't and they just tore right through. Kind of disappointing for a $62K luxury coupe even if it does have over 20,000 miles on it.
To its credit, the rest of the car is rock solid. There's not a single rattle in it and everything in the driveline feels as sharp as it did the day we got it. A great overall piece that could use a minor upgrade in the textile department.
Ed Hellwig, Senior Editor, Inside Line @ 20.189 miles
eville_stu says:
09:40 AM, 04/12/10
Wow, that is pathetic.
brn says:
09:43 AM, 04/12/10
My 10 year old mats are worn, but they're not coming apart like that.
Make sure you replace them with Audi mats, so you can avoid the unintended acceleration that Audi is (used to be) famous for. :)
phennighausen says:
09:49 AM, 04/12/10
My A4 with 80,000 miles on it has no such hole in the floor mat, it's worn for sure but no holes. (it is a stick too)
My father's Mercedes CL550 on the other hand with only 23,000 miles has a floormat that's come unraveled and completely apart.
mercedesfan says:
10:04 AM, 04/12/10
There are a lot of factors that contribute to this, and it often varies within a company. My wife's previous car was an SL600 and it's floor mat had to replaced after 30K miles because it just started coming apart. Her E63 is just fine with similar mileage and those in my 80K mile S550 hardly look worn. I feel like these things tend to be the luck of the draw. I've never seen one with a whole in it before, but I've known many that kind of unraveled, including the ones in my old A6. The rest of the interior held up beautifully, but the floor mats fell apart. All things considered, I'd rather have it that way.
toxic_science says:
10:05 AM, 04/12/10
@brn All VW/Audi products have a brake override system in them so that would never happen...again ;-)
mercedesfan says:
10:06 AM, 04/12/10
*hole. grrrr
yellowbal says:
10:16 AM, 04/12/10
Looks like the work of some high heels or stilettos.
old_volvo says:
10:24 AM, 04/12/10
Personally, I think every car should ship with rubber floor mats, They just make so much more sense than carpets.
On a slightly more humorous note, this post inspired me to make a Venn diagram for the S5!
http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc77/casati_1/Venn%20Diagrams/VennS5.jpg
dragonflight says:
10:25 AM, 04/12/10
Pretty sad. Mine look like new after 33k, even in the salt/snow of Chicago. Clean often, clean well and they last!
Even the mats in our other cars look pretty good, even after 80k. Not 'new' but definitely not unraveling. I'm guessing this was just a bad batch, or Audi outsourced these mats on the cheap.
Out of curiosity, do people prefer the rubber or fabric floor mats? I know I usually keep a rubber one for the driver, being in the Midwest, but I know people who insist on using fabric mats even in the deepest parts of winter, where every entry brings in all sorts of gunk.
1487 says:
10:40 AM, 04/12/10
thanks Ed for verifying a $62k car can go a whole 20k miles without significant rattles. I would hope so for that kind of money. Next we the car will get praised for having ample passing power and lots of airbags. The point of a car this expensive is that it should do everything we expect of every new car on the market and then some without breaking a sweat.
benson2175 says:
10:47 AM, 04/12/10
Home Depot Rugs; come in various colours, about $10, easy to measure and cut to fit perfectly, no one knows that it's not OEM, and for $10 if it tears who cares.
benson2175 says:
10:48 AM, 04/12/10
Home Depot Rugs; come in various colours, about $10, easy to measure and cut to fit perfectly, no one knows that it's not OEM, and for $10 if it tears who cares.
benson2175 says:
10:51 AM, 04/12/10
Home Depot Rugs; come in various colours, about $10, easy to measure and cut to fit perfectly, no one knows that it's not OEM, and for $10 if it tears who cares.
ocramidajzj says:
10:51 AM, 04/12/10
1487
Your tone appears to be one of sarchasm. Are you being sarchastic? Or are you truly appreciative of Ed's observations?
I think citing "no rattles" in a 62K car was valuable feedback, especially given that the other 60K+ car (BMW M3) did/does have some annoying interior sounds. Just because they're expensive doesn't mean they are built well. The floor mats is one example of what it isn't accurate to assume perfection at this price.
hybris says:
10:59 AM, 04/12/10
@benson2175
My inner Redneck agrees with what you suggested.
But I do have to say that if you can afford the Audi in the first place then you drop $20-50 bucks on some heavy duty rubber floormats.
benson2175 says:
11:57 AM, 04/12/10
Sorry about the triple post there. Not sure how that happened.
How much was the Traverse? It already appears to be making a groaning noise from the suspension. Is that worthy of note?
blueguydotcom says:
11:59 AM, 04/12/10
Give it time. The dash will peel, the handles will break, trim will simply fall off.
brn says:
12:26 PM, 04/12/10
I don't think old_volvo is going to stop until Magrath figures out Venn Diagrams.
old_volvo says:
01:25 PM, 04/12/10
I am having a blast making Venn diagrams, but I need just a bit of inspiration for each one. Todays inspiration was "torn up carpet"
Tomorrows inspiration? Hopefully something related to German pornography and one of the BMW's
ptcdawg says:
02:47 PM, 04/12/10
I've owned enough Audi's to know this isn't surprising.
mcloffs says:
04:46 PM, 04/12/10
This is one of those areas where Audi has tried to save money over the past few years. My first two Audis (a 1990 100 and a 1995 90 Sport Quattro) had beautiful floor mats; they were very thick with lovely embroidered logos and lasted as long as I had the cars. I believe they were made by Lloyd Mats. On my third Audi (a 1999.5 A4) the mats were crap; I went through three sets, and most of the clips holding them to the floor broke (the older Audis had very strong metal posts the mats hooked over). My current 2002 Passat has mats that seem even worse. The quality just isn't there anymore.
bimmerjay says:
04:56 PM, 04/12/10
"Just because they're expensive doesn't mean they are built well."
Like the CTS apparently. Which during the course of its 20,000 mile test suffered recurring electronic glitches with the audio and nav systems, glitchy turn signals, intermittently-working rear power windows, a creaking driver's seat, random other interior squeaks and rattles, a squealing powered nav screen, the detaching velcro panels on the front of the seats, and a cover attached to the rear view mirror fell off. By comparison the unreliable Audi has had no problems other than this torn floor mat.
Either way, I'd say the reporting of problems or no problems with any of the cars is relevant, at any price point.
bc1960 says:
05:06 PM, 04/12/10
Shoes definitely make a difference here. At my age I don't wear dress shoes much and most of the time have some form of athletic or trail shoe because they're more comfortable. Many of these shoes have a heel protuberance that over time will wear a hole in the mat no matter how well it is made.
drivera1981 says:
05:34 PM, 04/12/10
hmm... someone's been having some unintended acceleration with the S5.
mzbamf says:
06:26 PM, 04/12/10
wait... I was always taught that you should be using your leg to operate the clutch with the ball area of the foot in complete control of it. Why would the heel ever be resting on the carpet? I know the right foot heel rests on the carpet but I was pretty sure the left heel never was supposed to rest on the floor like that
?
billt9 says:
11:25 PM, 04/12/10
it's a removable part. it's disposable.
like an oil filter.
so what if you have to spend $30 to get a new one every 6 months?
pac10 says:
01:02 AM, 04/13/10
@yellowbal - looks like the work of some high heels or stilettos...
or perhaps some 10 inch lucite heels...
hmmm... i know they took the car to vegas a few times...
i wonder who was actually driving the S5 in sin city, eh?
1487 says:
05:46 AM, 04/13/10
"Either way, I'd say the reporting of problems or no problems with any of the cars is relevant, at any price point."
We should expect a $62k car to be rattle free at 20k miles. If its not, than it should be noted.
exnevadan says:
10:04 AM, 04/13/10
my '98 A4 mats cracked like that, but it took a few years; our weather isn't has hot as yours though. helped that I quit wearing heels when my wife caught me.
also, thanks old_volvo, still a few more vehicles to go.
rlyon says:
12:21 PM, 04/14/10
My A4 is on 55k and it's floor mats are fine. There is a little wear where my gas pedal pivoting takes place, but *nothing* like yours. Maybe you shift awkwardly?