Be careful, this may have changed. I bought a 2018 A3 specifically for this reason. I loved that the display could retract away on longer trips when not needed. However, there was a small change in production mid-year where the screen could no longer retract into the dash on demand. As soon as you turn on the car, the screen rises up and stays up until the car turns off. It was billed as a safety issue to be able to switch to the backup camera faster.
I ended up getting a slightly older version that had more test-drive miles on it.
Why would you want to buy a car that has a centre console screen so embarrassingly bad that the auto manufacturer feels the need to make hiding it a feature? If they tried harder, they could make the screen so nice that the idea of hiding it would be absurd.
* They could integrate it with the vehicle's aesthetics better so that it looked fundamentally attractive.
* They could use a better backlight, better ambient light sensors and darker graphics so that it wasn't distracting at night.
* They could improve the passive screen state experience so that it was never ugly or distracting.
* They could use separate screens vigilantly so that touch interfaces are near to hand and notifications (e.g. volume changes, navigation, incoming calls, etc) are exclusively shown on a screen near the driver's forward vision.
* And most importantly, they should have physical controls for all common actions. You shouldn't ever have to touch the screen while driving. (Looking at you, Telsa.)
Instead, they attach actuators and mechanisms that are guaranteed to break, probably in the closed position, and you won't be able to use most of the car's functionality until you pay for an expensive repair. Embarrassing.
Audi has done a relatively good job of fighting the touch screen obsession. The 2018 Q5 I rented last year had no touch screen at all; it had a display, and it ran Android Auto, but you interacted through a jog wheel located in the centre console. After a few hours, using the screen was just muscle memory.
Additionally the screen itself is placed above the dash so it doesn't require looking down away from the road.
All Audi's I've seen, except for e-Tron have physical controls and don't require the screen. And being able to hide it seems like a perfectly fine option for the times when you don't need it. When you actually can adjust AC, radio, etc. with real knobs, and aren't using the map, why do you need it? Might as well be abler to hide it.
Not only that, but when you also have the Audi virtual cockpit, you still have an always-on display, which covers many of the functions available from the center screen. I like being able to retract the screen on demand, particularly on longer trips.
Seriously? Giving user an option is a bad thing now?
Granted, on mine it is not motorized, but still, when I was driving at night on I-80 through Nevada, where as long as you do not manage to go off road navigation system just tells you "keep going straight for the next 600 miles" I liked turning the screen off altogether.
Not all of them do that. My 2017 A4 mmi system is fixed to the dash and does not move. No touch controls in the car though. The 2020 model is unfortunately getting touch controls for some things.
