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Auto Blog
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Auto Blog
See the Radical 2026 Audi S3 Interior Before You're Supposed To
By signing up I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . You may unsubscribe from email communication at anytime. View post: Walmart is selling a $130 jump starter box for just $39, and shoppers say it's 'outstanding and powerful' The 8Y generation of the Audi A3 and S3 was introduced in 2020, and last year, it was given an update, with the latter performance-minded model getting more power and the RS3's so-called Torque Splitter, which prioritizes the rear end when apportioning output. Several other handling improvements were made, along wth a revised exterior and a cabin with new air vents, an updated shifter design, more ambient lighting, and a few extra places to charge phones from. In a word, the facelift was substantial. Previous Pause Next Unmute 0:00 / 0:10 Full screen 2025 Audi S3: 4 reasons to love it, 2 reasons to think twice Watch More But now that Audi has begun rolling out 2026 variants of numerous vehicles with completely different looks inside and out, the 8Y's interior is beginning to look and feel a little dated in the company of its siblings, and our spies have seen how Ingolstadt intends to remedy that. New Cabin Abandons Traditional Audi Interior Tropes This writer is a lifelong BMW fan, but ever since the 8V generation, even I haven't been able to argue with the sentiment that Audi made the best interiors in the business – elegant, rattle-free, ergonomic, and practically timeless in their balance of tech and tactility. The circular air vents with their stunning knobs to adjust airflow and intensity were a particular highlight. But recently, Audi, like my beloved BMW and others, has jumped head-first into the big-screen game – it's what younger buyers seem to want – and the 8Y is losing texture as a result. Using a long lens, our spies can't get all the angles they'd like, but we do expect a volume knob to live on as it does in the Q6 e-tron, alongside the engine start button and controls for the transmission and hazard warning lights, in that 2025 center console. The rest, however, is completely different. Say goodbye to a textured badge on the reshaped steering wheel and hello to a flat plastic plaque, a one-dimensional representation of the revised Audi logo introduced when the company was leaning into an all-electric future with near-certainty. Bid farewell to what felt like a driver-focused cluster shroud and welcome a singular display merging the central infotainment screen. Forget about feeling your way around the steering wheel as easily as with physical buttons and a scroll wheel; embrace touch-capacitive pads for your thumbs, albeit with recesses to at least minimize the time spent looking down when adjusting controls. A3/S3 May Not Be As Screen-Infested As Others As malicious to driver concentration as big touchscreens have been proven to be time and time again, the risk should be minimized when a passenger is onboard. Spy photos show that this side of the dashboard is also covered up, and comparing how it's covered up to images of the latest A5 and S5 interior, it looks like this test mule doesn't have a screen on the right-hand side of the cabin. It may yet prove to be a costly optional extra, but for now, Audi's entry-level sedan is staying as simple as possible. Autoblog Newsletter Autoblog brings you car news; expert reviews and exciting pictures and video. Research and compare vehicles, too. Sign up or sign in with Google Facebook Microsoft Apple By signing up I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy . You may unsubscribe from email communication at anytime. With the negative tone in which I've described the above updates as they appear to me, it's only fair to note that the interior door panel looks great, with double-stitching, a mix of materials, and a similar perforation to the steering wheel grips. There may be a lot of dull plastic, as in most rivals in the segment, but the design is sharp and what we can see of the cabin is still well structured. We'll see more as this edges closer to a reveal, which, considering the exterior is unchanged, shouldn't be long now. About the Author Sebastian Cenizo View Profile
The Drive
09-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Drive
Forget the Ferrari 812—The Best Car in GT7's Next Update Is the Honda CR-V
Say what you will about Gran Turismo 7 's monthly drip-feed of new cars, but no one can say the game is lacking in variety. Leaked about a week early is GT7 Update 1.59, consisting of four very different vehicles that are all wholly interesting in their own right: the Ferrari 812 Superfast, a C5 Corvette Z06, a Suzuki kei truck, and a last-generation Honda CR-V—an EX Black Edition hybrid, to be precise. The Ferrari and the 'Vette are common racing game fodder, while the Suzuki Carry will surely be a hit with players whose personalities start and end with 'quirky' and 'Japan,' but the car that stands out to me the most has gotta be that dang CR-V. It may seem like an odd choice for racing game developer Polyphony to spend resources digitally recreating a car this pedestrian, but it isn't out of character. GT7 has recently made a habit of amassing slightly dated compact Japanese crossovers (see the recently added Mazda CX-30 and Toyota CH-R). But if you think about it, being able to drive (and modify) the normie car you actually own has always been a core appeal of the Gran Turismo series. And considering the default normie cars of today are indeed compact crossovers like the CR-V, we start to see the rationale behind it and its peers' inclusion. I happened to review this very hybrid CR-V when it first came on the scene in 2020 and found it to be a very well-conceived commuter vehicle but, at the time, a bit lagging compared to its chief Toyota rival, the RAV4. The current, subsequent generation CR-V Hybrid, however, leapfrogged it as a basically perfect affordable everyday SUV. — mzs (@emzs832szme) May 9, 2025 In any case, the latest GT7 update is scheduled to arrive May 15 and update contents are typically only revealed a day before it drops, but it appears somebody at Sony slipped up and posted materials the game's PS news feed early. This has since been taken down but not before the internet got ahold of basically everything. Got a tip or question for the author about GT7 ? You can reach him here: Chris Tsui is The Drive's Reviews Editor. He oversees the site's car reviews operation in addition to pitching in on industry news and writing his own evaluations of the latest rides. He lives in Toronto.
