The 2027 Audi Q9 is making headlines this week for all the best causes. It’s the corporate’s greatest SUV and serves as a belated reply to the Mercedes-Benz GLS and BMW X7. There’s now a correct third row in comparison with the Q7, making it essentially the most spacious Audi thus far.
The total-size luxobarge definitely has massive sneakers to fill, because it’s not directly and briefly changing the A8 because the flagship mannequin. However one thing else caught our consideration. Audi seems to be scaling again its use of piano black trim. Though not fully gone, shiny surfaces have been visibly lowered all through the big six-seat cabin. Of their place, the new Q9 makes use of matte and textured supplies, which must be far much less vulnerable to smudges and fingerprints.
Whereas it’s definitely a step in the best route, we are able to all agree the fabric must be eliminated totally from all areas, or a minimum of from the surfaces you contact most frequently. Within the Q9, the buttons on the steering wheel and heart console are nonetheless bathed within the dreaded shiny plastic. Moreover, the shiny trim surrounding the air vents exhibits that Audi nonetheless isn’t totally prepared to surrender on this design development.
Piano Black Trim: Disadvantages
We’ll admit piano black seems to be nice in pictures, however that’s about it. In actual life, it doesn’t take lengthy earlier than the primary scratches seem. The mirrored floor collects mud, and relying on the place it’s used, daylight reflecting off the shiny trim can create distracting glare whereas driving. It additionally ages poorly and turns into noticeably sizzling on a scorching summer time day.
Having owned a Volkswagen Group automobile for the previous decade, I hope the Q9 is an indication of issues to return and that every one manufacturers throughout the German automotive conglomerate will swap to different supplies. That stated, it’s unrealistic to anticipate piano black trim to vanish in a single day, however it has been round for therefore lengthy that it’s excessive time for automobile firms to maneuver on to one thing else.
If shiny black surfaces are the bane of your existence, Audi seems to have listened. Logic suggests the next-generation Q7, debuting later this 12 months, also needs to maintain piano black to a minimal. However very like the Q9, the previous largest SUV to put on the fabled 4 Rings will seemingly characteristic a screen-heavy dashboard. The excellent news is that Ingolstadt has already previewed an inside design that not solely eliminates piano black virtually totally but additionally considerably reduces total display screen actual property.
There Is Hope For Higher Audi Interiors
Arriving close to the tip of 2027, the manufacturing model of final 12 months’s Idea C will usher in a brand new period of inside design at Audi. In an interview with Motor1 in 2025, the corporate admitted quality had slipped in recent times and promised a return to type with the electrical targa-topped sports activities automobile. Anticipate not solely higher supplies, but additionally smaller screens and extra bodily controls.
As for why the Q9 isn’t following the Concept C’s rulebook, it’s essential to do not forget that a car’s growth is signed off lengthy earlier than it formally debuts. Though it nonetheless hasn’t been totally revealed, the three-row SUV is a part of the previous guard of Audis, alongside the upcoming third-generation Q7. The sporty EV must be the primary mannequin to obtain a noticeable high quality enhance earlier than the philosophy ideally spreads throughout the lineup.
Delaying the Q9, or the Q7, for that matter, to align with Audi’s new route wouldn’t have made sense. The corporate is already late to the full-size SUV occasion, so the Q9 can’t arrive quickly sufficient. In the meantime, the present Q7 has been round for greater than a decade, which means a alternative is lengthy overdue. The Q7 could have undergone two facelifts, however it’s getting lengthy within the tooth.
Taking a look at Audi’s essential rivals, Mercedes not too long ago facelifted the GLE and GLS, whereas BMW is making ready to unveil the next-gen X5 this summer time, with a brand new X7 launching in 2027.
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Supply: Audi
Previous Annoyances Meet New Ones
With the Q9, Audi seems to be taking child steps towards addressing a number of the criticism surrounding trendy luxurious automobile interiors. On the identical time, the overreliance on screens creates a brand new drawback, particularly now that the local weather controls have totally migrated into the primary show. At the very least the outgoing Q7 had a separate decrease touchscreen for fast entry to continuously used settings.
As with all the things in life, we’ve got to take the nice with the unhealthy. The Idea C offers us hope for a greater future, however it’s greatest to attend and see how that imaginative and prescient materializes in an Audi that folks can really purchase.
