Because the alternative is bare plastic which is associated with cheapness from cars in the 90's, so glosscoating it is a cost-effective option to make the plastic look more premium.

 

Or just use metal/wood/carbon......oh wait. That's only for real cars lol!

 

The area around the shifter in my 500 has a matte finish and looks way better than the high gloss part which I never touch.

The plastic in my 04 G35, now that was cheap lol.

 

But that's the thing, to the average consumer both are cheap bare plastic reminiscent of cars they sat in with their parents in the 90's (median age in the US is ~38 years old). That Lexus stayed away from the gloss black trend for such a long time (not so much now lol) is a reflection of the "more advanced" age of its buyers.

 

I'm super glad Lexus didn't opt for gloss-black plastic on the center console in the IS... it would have just been too busy and too dirty. Now, they still put gloss plastic around the HVAC controls, for some reason, but at least that's all there is.

 

i don't think the A5 Avant looks anything like that Kia.....

 

I keep the inside super clean but that part always looks bad.

Sucks about your throttle body issue. I didn't even know it was a thing on earlier build 500's. Hopefully your dealer gets it back to you asap.

I'm having a weird issue on mine. A couple times a week it says "Check rear seat for objects" or something like that. I'll take a pic next time it happens.

 

Other than having liftgates in back I don't think they look alike either.

 

Looks are growing on me (never disliked it), and I love a good hatchback, best of all worlds in my opinion. Plus I'd only consider an RS5 but if the S5 had any shot before, its immediately out now. No thank you!

2025 Audi S5 Drops Traditional Quattro for Front-Biased All-Wheel Drive

https://www.thedrive.com/news/2025-a...ll-wheel-drive

 

Deal killer right there

 

I'm so OCD, I'd learn how to adjust the climate temps using voice control than to touch that shiny plastic

 

Truly kill it with fire. That's not an Audi and that seals it

 

I just clicked on the link to finish reading the story and it was updated.

Update Thursday, July 17, 2024, 6:30 p.m.: Audi has clarified to The Drive that “the B10 S5 employs the same standard quattro with sport diff as today’s B9 S5 with the S sport package,” while Quattro Ultra will remain on the A5, as before. The article has been updated to reflect this.

 

God that's sad. Now you need to buy an "S" version just to get what used to be normal or in options package, at least they include the TVD still.

I hate seeing how much they have dulled down the brand and moved options to Porsche instead, it makes sense but is still annoying to see

 

S5 it is then lol