S-Line seats, and other questions

[fat controller]

Is there a standard spec for S-Line seats? As in, are they manually adjusted or electrical, and do they all have the adjustable leg bolster (how does that work by the way?); if seat heating is not fitted, is it a huge job to retrofit?

Also, what is the standard audio like in the S-Line? I am quite happy with the standard audio in my A4, so if it is at least as good as that I will be happy.

Sat-Nav - does it need a SIM for it to work, or is that for a higher version?

Folding mirrors - seem to have fallen out of favour (or at least seem to appear infrequently at the moment), is there a reason?

Suspension variations between SE and S-Line -- apart from being lower, what is the difference? Do all cars have Drive Select, and if so what impact does it have

And finally, the climate control without the digital display - it seems the majority of cars I am looking at just now only have the rotary 'analogue' style controls - - do these still show the temp on the MMI screen as the A4 does, and are they as effective as the digital display ones?

Oh, and anything else you can tell me :biglaugh:

[nevbadger99]

Wow there's a list :D Here goes....

Mine is not the latest latest version so the post FL cars might be different, but my experience is:

Standard S Line seats are leather, mildly sportified (you can go sportier), manual everything except lumbar adjustment. Heating not standard.

The bolster pulls out to support underneath your legs if you are a tall type. Never used it as I am not the tall type, all it does for me is make a crumb catcher in the small gap it leaves when pushed in.

Standard audio is oretty good to my ears - lots of speakers including a subwoofer. SD card reader, 1 MP3 CD and radio - mine has DAB but not sure if that is standard. You can also stream music by Bluetooth.

Basic sat nav runs off an SD card, no data connection required.

I like the foldy mirrors but they're not standard.

All cars have Drive Select I believe, but if you don't have air suspension all you can change is the steering weighting and the throttle responsiveness. And the Eco mode turns down the heater to save power as well.

Basic climate control does the job fine, it doesn't look as techy as the digital version, no display on the MMI screen, it just works away in the background.

HTH! All in all it's a great car.

[fat controller]

That answers everything in one post :) thank you.

In reality then, the change from my A4 to a standard A6 S-Line is going to see me lose:
foldy mirrors and digital climate display (mine is apparently three zone, but I am not convinced that the third zone is all that variable anyway)

and I would gain:
electric lumbar support, pull-out leg support, I think the one I am looking at (2012) just now has DAB, sat-nav (currently none) and remote tailgate release, with the addition of drive select that I suspect is a play with for a week and then leave set kinda thing?

I must admit, I hesitated a bit when I read of clutch problems on the A6 because that is really the only issue I have had with my A4 - however, it appears that it is very much luck of the draw I think. Mother in law's boyfriend bought an A4 saloon from the same place I bought mine, and his is fine - I have driven his and his clutch/gearbox feels totally different.... mine is a 2009 and his is a 2011/2012

[Whippy53]

Like Nev says, but be aware that dab wasn't standard till 2014 model year, so around about mid July in 2014. Seats are more supportive in s line spec. Also the leather is a better spec.

[johnsimcox]

Pre-facelift cars came with non-digital display Climate, unless the buyer specced the 4 zone system. 4 Zone was made standard as part of the facelift. Whilst the 4 zone display looks better in reality I have set mine to a temp, left in on "Auto" and can't remeber when I last touched it so not really an issue to be honest.

[Hellodave.]

Is there a standard spec for S-Line seats? As in, are they manually adjusted or electrical, and do they all have the adjustable leg bolster (how does that work by the way?); if seat heating is not fitted, is it a huge job to retrofit?
I found the S-line seats uncomfortable...until I discovered the adjustable leg bolster; it's great if you've got long legs and just slides out from the front of the seat.

I've never retrofitted heated seats but I'd imagine it's a big job - you'd need a new climate control panel, wiring and heat pads for the seat, then you'd have to take the seats apart to fit it. Luckily it's quite a common option!


Folding mirrors - seem to have fallen out of favour (or at least seem to appear infrequently at the moment), is there a reason?
They weren't that common when I was looking for my car; I assumed it's because they were a £500 option. I was looking at 1-2 year old cars and most of the ones out there had minimal options - heated seats was usually about it.


And finally, the climate control without the digital display - it seems the majority of cars I am looking at just now only have the rotary 'analogue' style controls - - do these still show the temp on the MMI screen as the A4 does, and are they as effective as the digital display ones?
No, no temp on the MMI screen which is very annoying when the 4 zone can do it. Because you look down on the temperature knobs it's hard to tell exactly what temp they're set to - a minor annoyance but I don't change them very much.


Oh, and anything else you can tell me :biglaugh:
DAB was always standard on the Black Edition and on other models from 2014-ish. Fire up the radio and check the wavebands for a DAB option.
If you're buying an Avant, electric tailgate was standard from 2013.
I find the reversing camera extremely useful but good luck finding a pre-facelift car with it fitted - I had to retrofit mine (there's a writeup in the DIY section)

[johnsimcox]

DAB was standard from May 2013 (MY14) build and Audi actually started including it prior to that once they announced that all UK cars would have DAB as standard

[ukgroucho]

DAB was standard from May 2013 (MY14) build and Audi actually started including it prior to that once they announced that all UK cars would have DAB as standard

Same for electric tailgate - it was an MY14 inclusion, I doubt it was included prior to that (the DAB exclusion as a standard feature must have been embarrassing for Audi by the time they eventually decided to include it).

My car was built second week / middle of June and is MY14 so it had DAB and electric tailgate (both of which I would have paid for :) ).

Sports seats (standard S-line fare) are definitely more comfortable than the standards seats... comfort seats are even better.