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Jamie1114
30-07-2008, 07:40 PM
After three test drives (SE / SLine) and lots of research, I'm probably going to order:

A4 Avant 2.0TDI SE 143PS Multitronic
Meteor Grey
Type pressure monitor
SatNav plus
AMI
Voice control
Middle mobile prep
B&O
Leather/alcantara black
Adaptive cruise control
Load securing kit
Interior light pack
Deleted model & other numbers (if I wanted bling, I'd get the BMW)

It seems that I have to take the F & R Parking Sensor as the rear is now only available as a dealer-fit option.

I'm assuming the leather / alcantara price (£1390) includes the price of the sports seats (can anyone confirm?), though the online configurator adds in the extra £475

Economy / comfort more a concern than burning rubber.

How does this config look? Anything essential missing or anything a waste of time / money?

My other option is a BMW 320d SE Touring, but if I threatened to buy one of these, my wife will leave me and my friends will never talk to me again (hmmm.... wait a minute...)

Thanks

kodkod.84
30-07-2008, 08:18 PM
I'd get the BMW, as Jeremy Clarkson says the new ***** on the road are Audi drivers :p

But seriously your configuration is pretty good- if I could afford the lease I would be getting a B8 Avant S-Line.

Your options list looks pretty much complete for an SE spec car, I would get the storage pack too if you are going for the load securing kit, you will get storage nets on the front seats and underseat trays which are pretty useful.

One thing is for sure you won't regret getting the Audi, good luck :beerchug:

JJAvant
30-07-2008, 08:57 PM
I went for the powered tailgate on mine and having had the car for 3 weeks am already thinking it was a good (if expensive) move. I also went for the reversible mat in the boot to protect the carpet and the storage pack.

There are some piccies of the inside of mine in my album including shots of the sports seats in cloth.

awtaylor
30-07-2008, 09:03 PM
Sounds like a very nice spec. I would only suggest going for full leather over the Alcantara/leather mix (more durable and easier to maintain) and 18" 5 spoke alloys (I just think that larger wheels look so much better but don't compromise the ride too much) over the standard rims.

I choose based on the assumption that the Audi Marketing department put a lot of time and effort into selecting the spec of the cars that they select to represent the range in the brochure, probably more so externally than internally as obviously for the latter they are looking to showcase the new technology that they want us to shell out for.

Regardless of what feedback you get I am sure that you will be over the moon with your final choice.

Happy speccing!

Andy

mkc
30-07-2008, 09:59 PM
I think Jeremy Clarkson said the ***** on the road were the M3/M5 drivers that have now purchased a RS4/RS6. However, after having a new White M3 wanting to get into my boot today as I wandered around in my 1 series I think the ***** still drive M3s.

The parking sensors issue is still a bit odd. An early quality issue ment those of us who should get rear parking sensors as standard will not get them (car reduced in price to reflect this) yet you could have Front and Rear fitted by the factory. However, in the car park at work we have a new B8 with rear parking sensors only..... could be an early example I guess. Somebody on here reported that dealer fitted rear sensors would be black/non colour coded which I think would look poor on a new car.

You have made a good choice looking at the Avant. You get plenty more kit than the 3 Series Touring and for awhile at least they will be pretty rare on the roads, plus everyone will think you have a A6 estate as they look pretty much the same to the untrained eye.

I wish I could spec mine to what you have, the suspension of the SE is great, that added with the luxury of leather and the quality sound system you have a great motor there. Only thing I would add if money was not an issue would be the automatic tailgate open/close. How cool would that look as you get up to you car with a handful of groceries.:aargh4:
I would love an Avant but was hooked on the look of the S Line with its fancy lights and wheels, would have even looked at the 1.8T 120bhp version if it was around when I ordered mine

2.7 S-line
30-07-2008, 10:07 PM
it strikes me that the sort of people who would pay any attention to what's written on the boot of your car (ie people interested in cars ) would see no model or engine designation & would think - look somebody with a car from the bottom of the range trying to disguise the fact his cars a bit slow and/or cheap :confused:


ps: having read my post after i posted i think i should point out i wasn't trying to take a dig at your car choice (tiz a mighty fine car you specced up)- just that deleting the model and engine type can come across as a bit.....

B6Andy101
30-07-2008, 10:54 PM
it strikes me that the sort of people who would pay any attention to what's written on the boot of your car (ie people interested in cars ) would see no model or engine designation & would think - look somebody with a car from the bottom of the range trying to disguise the fact his cars a bit slow and/or cheap :confused:


ps: having read my post after i posted i think i should point out i wasn't trying to take a dig at your car choice (tiz a mighty fine car you specced up)- just that deleting the model and engine type can come across as a bit.....

Disagree here. I am not trying to pretend mine is anything that it isn't. It just looks much neater. Its about style. You dont have a badge on the back of your T-Shirt saying 'LARGE' :D

Jamie1114
30-07-2008, 11:06 PM
Thanks for all your replies.

2.7 Line - the real reason for deleting the model number stuff is that a) I think the car looks better without someone having scribbled all over it, and b) it's easier to clean. However, I agree that it looks like one might have something to hide. VW ignored my request to delete V6 4Motion from my Passat, so maybe Audi will do the same.

I played with the electric tailgate in the showroom. I thought it was a bit decadent, and out of keeping with my choice of a green-engined car. Of course if there was a DeLorean front door option, I could forget my green credentials pretty sharpish. The really irritating thing is that the Avant seems to be much better than me at shutting its own tailgate - whenever I tried it on a "manual" model, it took a couple of attempts.

I toyed with the idea of black headlining, but thought that if I went for that I might need to line the inside of the car with white lilies surrounding a large wooden box.

awtaylor - thanks for mentioning wheels, I've never really understood what difference (other than cosmetic) larger wheels make. Presumably the taller tyres on smaller wheels soak up more of the bumps in the road. On the leather front, I've got leather/alcantara on my Passat and I've also found it more supportive than straight leather. I could always stick velcro strips onto the leather seats I guess.

The other thing I liked about the Passat was the rigid loadliner - I don't know if you can get these for the Avant.

Jamie1114
30-07-2008, 11:40 PM
I also meant to explain that the main reason (you're going to love this) that I considered the SLine, was to have the privilege of changing the vile inserts to something a little less Flash Gordon than the standard "Aluminium hologram" - I don't wear sequins (except at weekends) and I don't expect my car to. Would I be the first person on the planet to specify piano black? I'd actually prefer the inserts on the base model to any of the premium options.

The only real reason I'd still consider the 3-series (test drive tomorrow) is the pretty poor aesthetic design of the dash in the A4 - seems to be a big step backwards from the last one, and many other members of the Audi range. But who cares, there are so many knobs and buttons to play with, you'll rarely see the wood for the trees (or the stationary juggernaut in front that I'm hoping the adaptive cruise control will help me avoid).

mkc
31-07-2008, 08:42 AM
Ive gone for Black Piano, yet to see one in the flesh but my colleage has a RS4 with Black Piano, and it looks great combined with black seats and black headlining.

I agree that the deletion of the engine model and model type is a matter of having a smoother boot line. Its just coincidence that Ive got a base engine size :D

Having an array of silver letters and numbers all over the back of my car makes me squirm. It works the other way too, I know plenty of people with 130, 335, 535 BMW who have all removed the badges. I dont think anyone is out to prove anything, just prefer to have a clean boot.

Plus whilst we are on the subject, I think the placement of the exhaust pipes is more of a give away to the engine size!

dorgan
01-08-2008, 08:18 PM
Disagree here. I am not trying to pretend mine is anything that it isn't. It just looks much neater. Its about style. You dont have a badge on the back of your T-Shirt saying 'LARGE' :D

Exactly the same reason why I got mine debadged. Looks much neater. I went further and got the chrome tips on the exhaust as I knew the standard setup would look manky after a while (well, it actually looked a bit naff at the start too :D).