I'm going to place an order this weekend for a silver '00 A4 1.8T QMS ($1K over invoice). I am looking for some opinions on the Onyx vs. Opal(gray) interior? I like the Onyx more than the gray but am worried that it might be too hot....I live in the Wash. DC area. I am getting the Cold Weather Package but don't expect the heated seats to be a problem when they're not on. BTW...the dealer says if I order the 1st of Oct. the car will be here by mid Nov. I say...anytime before Christmas and I'll be Merry!

Joe,

I have spent half of a very hot, rainless summer with my 99.5 Avant with an onyx cloth interior in the DC area. My car was usually parked in the same spot in the lot (I am obsessive about this kind of stuff) facing the north. The car, especially the driver's seat, got direct sun for about half of the day, from noon till drive-home time, and the seats were NEVER unbearably hot, unless the ambient temp was 108F, when EVERYTHING was unbearably hot.

On a few occasions during the summer, I noticed that the seats would get real warm if the car was parked facing the sun, but the cloth would dissipate the heat fairly rapidly once I got the car moving. I don't think that letherette in onyx would be as easy to get along with here in the DC area.

Steve W. (in MD)
99.5 Avant 1.8TQM, sports package, sports seats (Santorin/Onyx)

The seats never got too hot this past summer. I am sure the onxz leatherette seats would be considerably worse (I had black leather seats in a previous car). I also had a car with black cloth seats. They were very comfortable.

Not a problem with cloth seats.

There's no question that the onyx absorbs more heat than opal or cloth, but if you do some basic things it's fine.

I park facing the sun and use a UVS100 Sunshield. Coming from the pool or beach in my trunks I sometimes put a towel on the seat.

These few measures don't amount to much at all IMO. And I have the interior that I think looks the best with silver.

My $.02


John
99.5 1.8tqms