which cars have the best interior and body trim quality?

[davidwort 0]

Was thinking about this yesterday, most new cars seem to be really built down to a price these days and some of the plastics and trim quality is awful, it seems like as long as the steering wheel, gearknob and instruments look nice the rest is a pile of cr@p. VW made big strides with the mk4 golf (in many places) and I'm fairly familiar with older audis, seats and skodas but I've not got a lot of experience of other manufacturers.

I recently bought a Nissan Qashqai and TBH the build quality is pretty dire, to me it smacks of re-badged Renault even though the body and fittings are Nissan specific, ironically the best bit is the little Renault diesel engine.

 

But engines and running gear aside, what does everyone else rate?

A friend used to have a '98 BMW 5 series, that felt very good inside and the latest audis seem pretty good but my dads recently bought 2010 A6 is a bit patchy IMO which makes me wonder how bad other manufacturers (in most cases cheaper) models are.

[delfinis38 1]

I was pondering this when looking round goodwood motorshow.

 

had been tempted to buy a new golf r. but apart from the front seats the interior is rubbish and only the same as a standard golf or even my polo runabout. for quality my 2009 plate audi a4 sline is streets ahead in style / comfort and trim level. I couldn't see putting an extra 15k towards a new car would achieve anything.

 

I came to the conclusion that I would be buying an audi again.

 

even the merc amg's and really anything these days.

[BILLCOR 1]

Another vote for Audi here

[Jim 2]

I like BMW's interiors. Clean, functional, and work nicely. The E38 7 series I had for a very short period of time was superb - everything worked perfectly and felt really solid.

[GlosterOx 0]

I think Audi also make the best interiors these days.

 

Ian.

[Jim Bowen 1]

Pagani do nice interiors :lol:

[fendervg 32]

Lol: - I thought this thread was about the Corrado and Monday morning/Friday afternoon cars. Audi are fairly good build quality though, but it can vary.

[Micky fletch 10]

Just taken delivery of an audi a4 avant s line and the seats are so comfy

[GrahamU 6]

Come on guys, do you really think that Audi's have the best interior and body quality.....

 

I was recently lucky enough to test a Veyron and the interior and exterior on those have absolutely faultless quality

 

Before that I tested an Aston Vanquish and spent some time trying to find faults with it but the only thing I could criticise was the quality of the carbon fibre inside the boot lid

[Jim 2]

Come on guys, do you really think that Audi's have the best interior and body quality.....

 

I was recently lucky enough to test a Veyron and the interior and exterior on those have absolutely faultless quality

 

Before that I tested an Aston Vanquish and spent some time trying to find faults with it but the only thing I could criticise was the quality of the carbon fibre inside the boot lid

 

Bucket list item is to at least get a passenger ride in a Veyron, but ideally drive one. How was it? :) Did you get to put your foot down?

[GrahamU 6]

Bucket list item is to at least get a passenger ride in a Veyron, but ideally drive one. How was it? :) Did you get to put your foot down?

 

As much as I would like to say I drove it, I cant, I had to test some of the electronics on it so was in the passenger seat with a laptop.

 

But, to say it was everything that your expectations are is an understatement. Felt solid, handled incredibly and even though it had the top off, we got it to 196 on the autobahn and there was very little turbulence or noise in the cabin.

 

And the engine sounds awesome, especially as the intake is right above your head so you get all the turbo spooling and dumping noises in your ear.

[clumpy1 11]

As much as I would like to say I drove it, I cant, I had to test some of the electronics on it so was in the passenger seat with a laptop.

 

But, to say it was everything that your expectations are is an understatement. Felt solid, handled incredibly and even though it had the top off, we got it to 196 on the autobahn and there was very little turbulence or noise in the cabin.

 

And the engine sounds awesome, especially as the intake is right above your head so you get all the turbo spooling and dumping noises in your ear.

I am totally jealous of your job you lucky man

[VAG-hag 0]

Another vote for bmw here, I have just taken delivery of an f21 1 series and for the price tag it is a very nice place to be and is finished well. Buttons , dials and handles all feel quality. The plastic trim is a bit pants but I was limited what changes I could make as it's a company wagon.

 

I have worked on bmws and the quality of the "back office" bits is very good too. E36 wiring plugs put the corrado ones to shame.

[Portent 0]

I have found that the late 90s and early 2000s era cars tend to be better built. Before that period things are a bit industrial and after that period the budget counting started. So a high end manufacturer such as BMW from that period would get my vote. My mk4 interior was very well built indeed and I recall being more impressed with my mk1 TT interior than several friends BMWs.

 

Nowadays things look shiny and clean but the quality isn't there.

[Bullfinch 0]

From my experience VW made a massive leap with the Golf Mk IV in terms of interior quality. The Audi Mk1 TT interior was very good and as an everyday manufacturer Audi are still top of the class. When I ran a new Scirocco for a few months I felt many of the plastics were cheap. My Porsche 911 997 gen 2 has to have the best interior in a car I've owned - everything feels really solid and looks great. My 19 year old Corrado is still rattle free so Karmann must have done a good job too.

[seanl82 23]

I think VW made advancements as early as the mk3 tbh. Not in terms of material quality, but fit was world's apart in comparison to other manufacturers in similar marques of that era. I'd go with Audi for quality on mainstream cars, and the worse has to go to the MG6 I had as a courtesy car when my valver was written off. That thing was diabolical, and beggars belief how a modern car manufacturer can churn out such poor quality and let it get past even Chinese QC. For me, BMW have had the same interior for about 20 years. It looks very dated and boring, with the same brushed aluminium effect strip along the passenger side dash. This year has seen an improvement though. With lots of toys as standard, a new design was needed and it's a vast improvement.

Edited July 13, 2014 by seanl82

[iceviolet 0]

Having recently just bought a new car, Interior quality and feel was very important to me. I bought a Mercedes CLS and although slightly biased I think the interior is the best around for that class of car anyway. I hate the feel of plastic/vinyl dash's. In the merc the dash is stitched leather.

BMW'S interiors are far too bland IMO and a lot of plastic. As mentioned before Audi are nice interiors.

 

So I would say Mercedes are one of the best for interiors at the moment.