i drove a Q7 and noticed it had a lower grade of plastic than in my S4- harder than the nice rubbery stuff. I figured it was because the Q7 is an SUV, and maybe it needs more easy-to-clean surfaces. But from the pics, it looks like the A5 might have the same plastics.

I don't think that they have. The Q7 probably has firmer plastics and other materials that may be made more for ruff treatment, e.g the floor mats etc are a more durable tough material than in other models. This is because the Q7 is made to go off road and to store large capacities of equiptment etc.

I don't think anyone can comment on the plastics found in the A5/S5 until they actually sit in the car and touch them, photos can be deceptive and such fine details as that cannot be obtained from them.

I'm sure though, as Audi always does, the interior materials will be of the highest standard. And Audis standard is amazing, easily comparable to Aston Martin, Bently and Maserati, which I have been in as well.

I can maybe understand an argument like it was expected to have kids that would test the durability of the interior in it a lot, but are they seriously designing luxury SUVs with going off road in mind when most of them will never see anything more strenuous than the grocery store parking lot or 5 muddy kids after a soccer game? I think they missed the mark if off road is the reasoning for it.

driving the new TT, the platics are top notch!!!

The dash on the Q7 is not cheap...

I pretty much will never buy an Audi again until they fix the soft touch paint issue. I have had half the interior in our B6 replace many times due to this stupid plastic paint...

I had an 02 A4 with a serious peeling issue by 20k. Even on switches I rarely used.

My B7 has 30k and not a sign of wear on any of the switches.

I went to the LA Audi event and drove the Q7 and told anyone from Audi I could that the plastics were harder feeling and the "grain" was cheaper looking. I actually haven't been in a recent A6, so I wasn't sure if it was just the Q7. One of the shots of the door on the A5 looks like it might have the same kind of plastic but I hope not.

Most folks don't even notice. BMW decided to cheapen their plastics with the last redesign of their vehicles. I guess Audi is now doing the same. You can't blame them because 99% of the car buying public won't even notice (and the money saved is probably astronomical). How do you think Lexus gets away with it? Lexus is clearly the best at making cheap plastics look expensive. The Lexus IS's interior looks like a darker shaded Camry interior IMO. But read any of the reviews about the Lexus interior you will see words like "high quality".

I can spot a cheap interior a mile away. Most folks can't. So why equip a vehicle with better quality plastics when most people won't even notice. When I first saw the BMW E60's interior the cost cutting was evident. When I mentioned that on a BMW board the folks there said that I was crazy. I must have been correct because the next year (2006) BMW upgraded the plastics on the 5 series (still looks cheap), and in 2008 the interior will be upgraded again (to where it should have been in 2005). I hope Audi can learn a lesson from BMW about this. Germans aren't good at making cheap stuff look expensive.

In sat in an A5 yesterday (at Geneva) and I would say that in general, no; but the steering wheel plastic looks cheap.

i agree 100% with your observations.
nobody is better at hiding
cheapness than lexus and toyota. they have
it down to an absolute science. like you i have been amazed at how car magazines trip over themselves when they comment on lexus interiors. must be all of the advertising bucks fogging their vision!

bmw also blew it with the e60 interior. it was one of the main reasons i became an audi buyer. you could see the penny pinching the moment you sat in the car.

What was the feeling of the car when you were in it? Did it have a strong emotion to it like all other Audis do?(I suppose this is subjective) Also what did the materials in the car feel like? Were they the same as other Audis, i.e. superb?