Hobbes

I've had my '97 A4 for 12+ years now and I still think it looks great. The design has aged well IMO. I think that German car designs tend to age well, and even older Audis, BMWs and Mercedes tend towards a classic old look instead of the horribly dated look that so many Japanese and American cars get.

However, the A5/S5 is a very distinctive design, and Audi has strayed a bit from it's conservative sedan styling. I think the A5 is beautiful and I'm thinking of getting one. But I like to drive my cars for a long time (10+ years), so I'm wondering if the A5 is going to hold up as well as previous designs. I want a car I still think looks great after a decade of driving it, like I do with my current A4.

So what do you think?

mgd99

I had my 98 A4 for 11 years and sold it to a friend when I bought the A5 S-line.

I have no doubt the 98 will still look great in 5 years and that my A5 will still look great in 10 years.

To me, this car has the perfect blend of a German cars masculine nature, refined with the subtle lines of an Italian car.

The nose of the car is pure German and the back end Italian. The lines running from front to back tie it all together.

It is Yin AND Yang.

BMWBig6

It won't be the overall design or shape that will date the vehicle in 10 years, it will be the little details and trim. Things like tire profile, headlight design, even the door handles. Who knows, the LEDs are really avant garde now but could be passe in 5 years. I already like BMW's light-pipe technology better than plain LED, since it lends itself to more design creativity than the standard LED dot-dot-dot patterns.

The A5/S5's design has classic proportions and lines, so it should look "fresh" and "relevant" for quite some time to come. Or at least as long as owning a large luxury coupe is politically acceptable.

HoustonA5

What does being "politically acceptable" having anything to do with it?

BMWBig6

For some, product designs (for automobiles, or anything for that matter) become symbols and take on meaning in a social context that won't necessarily detract from its design merit, but will affect human reactions to that particular design in the future. Same reason you don't see many exquisitely designed torture machines in the MoMA. The OP's question was about how well the design will age. If it's negatively associated with a period or lifestyle of over-indulgence, materialism, and waste (not saying the A5 is, just playing devil's advocate here), then whatever new era supersedes the current one will thus make the A5's design "age" faster. Design has a lot to do with taste, and sometimes designs that are successful today don't survive changes in taste tomorrow. The S5 may represent the epitome of good car design in 2007, but that doesn't necessarily guarantee it's appeal in 2017. That's all I'm suggesting.

Speedy

Like other who have posted here, I owned a '98 A4 for a bit over 10 years before I sold it to a (carefully chosen) friend and bought my Cayman. I'm still amazed at how good those cars look on the road today and to me the original A4 is a classic design which will look good for many more years to come.

IMHO, the A5 will become a similar "classic" of Audi design and will continue to look current for many years to come. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, of course, but that's my take.

When Walter da'Silva stated the A5 was the most beautiful car he ever designed, there are those who would argue the point - and they may be right. It occurs to me, however, when someone of that stature makes such a statement he may have been hinting at the potential staying power he felt the design has.

BMWBig6

...until he designs something else and makes the same claim.

Can something be beautiful today, and be considered ugly tomorrow? Not all beauty is timeless (or ageless).

Hobbes

I think the answer is yes, and that was the crux of my question. Often when something is so distinctively attractive it quickly ages and loses it's appeal, where a more subdued but still appealing design will age much better. I'm just wondering if the A5 might have that issue down the road.

Speedy

[QUOTE=BMWBig6;23801539Can something be beautiful today, and be considered ugly tomorrow? Not all beauty is timeless (or ageless).[/QUOTE]

I abolutetly think so and agree not all beauty is timeless. For what it's worth - and it's only my opinion - the A5 has not dimmed (and in fact increased) in its beauty to me over the two years or so I've seen it. That's a good sign to me it will continue to look good (to me) over the years.

Often, if I find a car attractive the instant I first see it, my opinion wanes pretty quickly over time. The Cayman being an exception, of course :-)! In the case of the A5, though, two years later I think it looks better than when I first saw it.

BMWBig6

Just to add more fuel to the fire, I think exclusivity plays an important role in design appeal over a period of time too. We're talking about relatively low production vehicles, so spotting another A5/S5 is relatively rare. This favors the design retaining its appeal longer, since the novelty won't wear off as soon as something you see everyday. If the S5 was produced in the same numbers as a Toyota Camry, would everyone still feel the same way about it? (What if it was a Toyota and not an Audi, would its design appeal somehow diminish?) Only a few high-production vehicles are regarded as pinnacles of excellent design regardless of time period, such as the VW Beetle. It's a good thing the A5/S5 won't have to overcome that kind of ubiquity.

Just in case someone suspects otherwise, I really do like the A5/S5 design. A lot. I agree with Mike and Hobbes, a lot of German cars age more gracefully than their domestic or Japanese counterparts. I think much of this has to do with German manufacturers' adherance to generally conservative, evolutionary design progression, while one could argue that the Japanese abandon one design gimmick for another (details that easily date their generation) and pay less homage to tradition, heritage, and a model or marque's lineage. But some of these companies are still young and have yet to define themselves in the way Benz or Porsche has done over 60+ years.

I think the A5 design is going to hold up very well over time. Much better than the A4, but maybe not as timeless as the TT.