SE/Sline comparison

[The Polisher]

Couple of times people have asked on here should they have an SE or an Sline...........

Not wanting to offend anyone elses choice, but I thought I would throw my thoughts in on both.

My car is a 143TDi manual Sline Exec Avant, and its back at the dealer having the towbar rewired as it was supplied wrong.

As a loan car they have given me a 143Tdi manual SE Exec Avant, same age and mileage (give or take a couple of hundred at 3500 miles) as mine, so my thoughts on comparing the 2 might be useful to someone trying to decide.

(hope not offend anyone who has an SE........ 'cos I don't like it!!!!!) :Blush2:

So,

1) Seats
The Sline seats (okay I have leather, but trying to ignore that!) are wonderfully supportive. Adjustable for height and inclince and I love the adjustable knee support. Yes, the o/s bolster does dig into your thigh for the first couple of days, but now its ok. The SE seats feel flat and unsupportive, plus you can't adjust the rake of the seat squab like you can on mine.......! Just driven 60 miles in the SE and my back hurts..... can do 300 in the Sline with no effects at all. Like sitting on a deck chair... flat and uncomfortable.

2) Steering Wheel
Horrible!!! The Sline has two tone leather, and the 3 and 9 o'clock positions have a nice piece of aerated leather, whereas the SE is shiney leather all round..... makes the SE wheel feel narrow in the grip and too slippey.

3) Suspension
Depends what you want. The Sline is firm, and the SE is soft. SE rides bumps better, but it flops around the handles like a barge......... I don't like it, but I know some people find the Sline sports suspension too hard.

4) Headlining
Yes I know, but this is what I think!!! Sline has black headling and the rear view mirror surround is black too........ looks nice. SE is all white, inclulding the rear view mirror plastic.. WHITE!!!! Feels very bright in there, and I just don't like looking at the white plastic round the mirror!!

5) Lights
Xenons on the Sline, standards on the SE...... no comparison there, but I do miss looking at the swooshing DRLs on my Sline in the reflection of other cars!!!

That's about it really.

Like I said, hope not offend any SE owners....... its still an Audi A4 and is therefore a stunning car, but comparing the 2 together, I have to say I much prefer mine.

Hope this has been useful to someone!

[ScottyUK]

If the S-line didn't come over as an upgrade over the SE then we'd all be wondering why not. After all it does add nearly 10% to the price.

;)

[kodkod.84]

Coming from a B7 SE to a B7 S-Line I fully agree with the comments on the steering wheel and seats.

I think you have to look at it in two ways:

1. SE- comfortable non flashy version aimed at the 'retired' generation and a company fleet staple like my old B7 was

2. S-Line- more sporty looking and flash I.E. LED DRLs aimed at high flying yuppies :D

But remember this quote from Wikipedia:

Cars with "S line" trim should not be confused with high performance "S" and "RS" models. Audi cars with S line trim bear identical performance figures to their counterparts with SE or base trim levels.

So the badge doesn't make the car faster :biglaugh:

[Jop]

So the badge doesn't make the car faster :biglaugh:....... Just better. :biglaugh: is that what you're saying?

[ScottyUK]

In theory an S-line would be slower due to the extra weight of the goodies and the drag of the spoilers etc.....but we all know the average speed of an S-line will be faster than the average speed of an SE just because of the type of person each model attracts :biglaugh:

[troc]

I don't have an S-line :(

[Jop]

I don't have an S-line :(
lol :biglaugh:

POS S4. Rubbish

Smart
Looking
Interior
Neat
Exterior

[ScottyUK]

I don't have an S-line :(


Don't worry. You can console yourself by knowing that it looks like one ;)

[Hippogriff]

5) Lights
Xenons on the Sline, standards on the SE...... no comparison there, but I do miss looking at the swooshing DRLs on my Sline in the reflection of other cars!!!

Please help with research project.

[Dtom]

I like my SE :D

If you could have a 2.0tdi Sline or a 3.0tdi SE what would you have?

David

[rd1]

Not going to bite on this one, imo SE has the edge and I'm not bothered about the badges, dragging suspension or the xmas tree lights on the front of the S lines nor the dark cave look of the inside due to the colour of the headlining.

It is better though for you youngsters to get all the lary skirts, spoilers,seats and 'aerated two tone steering wheel covers' fitted to the Slines from new rather than having to nip down to Halfords to get them and put them on later as we old uns used to do! :D

[juniperz]

Not going to bite on this one, imo SE has the edge and I'm not bothered about the badges, dragging suspension or the xmas tree lights on the front of the S lines nor the dark cave look of the inside due to the colour of the headlining.

It is better though for you youngsters to get all the lary skirts, spoilers,seats and 'aerated two tone steering wheel covers' fitted to the Slines from new rather than having to nip down to Halfords to get them and put them on later as we old uns used to do! :D
Badges? No, it looks as though they have to buy old B7 S-line badges from eBay ;)

[Hippogriff]

S line is very "shouty"... LED DRLs, S line on wing badges, S line on scuff plates, S line on steering wheel, S line on front seats... all shout "look at me, I'm just a tad more 'exclusive'". I wonder if I think that means the SE becomes "refined".

So, in the end, it simply had to be S line... adding a B7 front grille badge is taking it too far tho'... mucho shouto... false impressions too. ;) If I could swing an S, I would, but I simply can't justify it... maybe when I'm richer, or when money (or value) means less to me.

It would be brilliant if the equivalent S line had a couple more ps than an SE - or the S line weighed significantly less than an SE, due to advanced build techniques and materials... however, we really know an S line is all bluster - all fur coat and no knickers. Shame, really... but I live with it.

[The Polisher]

Well, after a short motorway blast I can confirm on long motorway trips the suspension is more forgiving (dare I say more comfortable?) BUT, the flat unsupportive seats are killing me!

Plus, when you get off the motorway, it flops around the B roads like a dead fish!

Horses for courses, if everyone wanted the same, they would'nt make the 2 models!!!

Like you say, the Sline is perhaps aimed at the "younger" market?

Anyway, 2.0 Sline or 3.0Se............. I'd take the Sline everytime (they both do 70mph anyway!)

[juniperz]

S line is very "shouty"... LED DRLs, S line on wing badges, S line on scuff plates, S line on steering wheel, S line on front seats... all shout "look at me, I'm just a tad more 'exclusive'". I wonder if I think that means the SE becomes "refined".
That's interesting too - anyone got access to UK sales stats?
I wonder which of the 2 trims is the more exclusive according to sales...
If the signatures at the bottom of posts in this forum are anything to go by, I wonder whether S lines are maybe a little bit more, er, common?
Just kidding - the LED DRLs look fantastic :biglaugh:

[ScottyUK]

I've just been through the brochure and worked out that if I bought an SE instead of an S-line and had put on leather and Xenons (which were both a prerequisite for us) and the dynamic suspension then the SE would have only saved me £270.


Therefore the S-line with all it's extras such as sports seats, body kit etc actually makes it much better value in my configuration :biglaugh:

[Bratty]

I can actually understand the need for an SE model in the range after all if it were not available it would be discriminitive to all those people who "HAVE" to drive about sitting on a whoopee cushion because of prolapsing piles or find difficulty in retaining there dentures due to an adverse reaction to available market glues and fixing agents;).

Incoming! Dunk

[Sportwag]

Just kidding - the LED DRLs look fantastic :biglaugh:

Not forgetting the rear LED's too!

[Hippogriff]

The front LED DRLs would be infinitely more impressive if they were RGB LEDs that you could set to your favourite colour (except, probably, red or orange) or even set to subtley colour-cycle through the spectrum. If their reason for existing is safety (not coolness) then them changing colour would be even more noticeable.

I think large companies are never brave enough to think like this. I wonder if there is a law that says front-facing lights have to be white, or yellowy. Maybe the S line would be like some Ghostbusters car in the end, but I still think it is cool.

RGB LEDs and PWM colour-fades are totally cool.

[ScottyUK]

I don't think Plod would take too kinding to RGB's particularly the B's :D

Yes there is a law - some people have even been pulled up on it for having a multicoloured miniature Christmas tree on their dash .... or perhaps that was the style Police! :confused:

[dandy27]

Im waiting for an SE, and quite frankly I am so happy to be having a car which costs me nothing, im not really bothered weather its a sline or SE.

As long as the tax man does something practibal with my £843 worth of tax i give him every year, Im a happy man,!!

some things in life were born to be Freeeee!!!!:p:p:p