A6 Ultra Avant SE vs S Line?

Looking to purchase one of the above with S-tronic.

Up until now I was going for the SE owing to the lower cost, assumed better ride, cheaper replacement tyres, less chance of kerbing the alloys and perhaps a slightly less posey body style? However, I realise you get around £4,000 worth of 'extras' when going for the S-line (for the additional £2,450 over the SE) and I'm also wondering whether the residuals are better on the S-line?

Are the LED headlights a significant improvement on the Xenons?

I was going to opt for the sports seats with the SE and realise these come as standard on the S-line - are they essentially the same seat (other than then S-line logo) and are they more comfortable than the standard ones on the SE? How does the design of the back seats match the front if you have the sports seats - or don't they?

Being a bit of an old f**t, I'm planning on going for the 'fine grain ash' inlay - any views on this with black leather? I think the ash is a little more subtle than the walnut and I've heard the aluminium dents quite easily.

I have test driven an SE, but not yet the S-Line. How much harder is the ride on the S-Line compared to the SE? If you deselect the sports suspension, will this improve the ride or do the bigger 18 inch rims make more of the difference here?

Sorry for all the questions from a definite newbie........

Loz

I too was looking at the SE instead of the S-line but for slightly different reasons than yourself. I have 2 kids and expecting a 3rd so the rear middle seat was quite important in terms of comfort. I assumed that the SE would have flatter softer more comfortable seats than the s-line. I was wrong.

The main difference is the type of leather. The Milano (standard on the SE) is a harder leather than than the Volcona (standard on the S-line). For me this made a massive difference with the subtleness of the leather on the back seat and front. From what I can tell if you specced the sport front seats on the SE the pattern on the leather wouldn't match the rear with out paying the extra £500 on top of the £600 odd for the sport seat to spec the Valcona leather.
Having test driven a stock pre FL SE manual and a FL S-line S-tronic both 2.0 Ultra's I have to say there is no comparison. Taking the transmission out of the equation the S-line is so much more car. The demo I had was on 19" wheels but the ride was spot on, maybe this has something to do with the fancy new composite suspension??. Remember, the s-line comes with sports steering wheel and black headlining which is optional on the SE but more pennies! These are many little differences with the S-line but I think it adds so much more quality to the cabin and exterior appearance. personally I like the sporty feel of the S-line but it's also amazingly comfortable. The stainless steel inserts are slightly different on the S line and look nicer than the SE's.
I can't comment on the LED lights as my S-line hasn't arrived yet (counting the weeks).
From a personal taste point of view I don't like the wood (but then i'm not an old f**t ;))

As for residuals the S-line will be worth more (relatively speaking). A big thing to remember is that if you plan to finance the car on a PCP adding extras like sport seats on the SE will not raise the GFV at all. Therefore if you spec £2000 worth of extras on the SE your car will not be worth any more than a stock SE, yours maybe a little more sellable, this raises the price of your monthly payments considerably

In a nut shell - go for the S-line. I think you'll be surprised how different and better the S-line feels.
On a down side - neither S-line nor SE had the 3 must have options (personally speaking) as standard - these were Heated seats, privacy glass and folding mirrors.

Hope this all makes sense.

Ignoring any ' pose value', go for the s line, much nicer car all round. Stick with 18" rims. Oh, and I really hate the wood trim. The aluminium hasn't dented in mine and it lifts the interior. Also the leather is so much better.

I went through the same decision process recently, having already got an SE. Ended up sticking with getting another SE primarily down to overall cost (I'm buying the car on Audi PCP) and Audi's insistence of only offering the black headlining on the S-Line which with the black leather, carpets etc just makes the interior too dark for my liking. I know you can now go for grey leather for the seats but that still leaves everything else black. The 4k of extras is only worth £4k if they are what you wanted. Currently my SE has halogen headlights so switching to Xenon's will be an upgrade in itself. I am sure the LED headlights are excellent and the sequencing rear indicators fun for those behind (you as the driver will never see them!). Sports Seats and Ash in lay on the SE will cost you on the PCP as it will not affect the MGFV and likely will have little impact on the trade-in price, indeed the Ash could actually reduce it if the dealers feel it is harder to sell the car with that option. Dealer advised me not to bother with Tech Pack for the same reason. In my experience of A6s (I am on my 4th at the moment 2xC5 saloon, 1xC6 Avant & 1xC7 Avant) is that the ride quality is very sensitive to having the right tyre pressures, probably more so that the impact of the suspension

I had the dilemma when I ordered the C7. I went with the S-Line on lease cost being cheaper on the S-Line!! That tells you lots about residuals. At the time the manual was the only way to go as the multitronic was simply the pits. The s-tronic by comparison has brought the car back up to date and really suits the car. A good choice IMHO.

I'd go S-Line for the seats/valcona leather, the 18" wheels, the much nicer steering wheel and the value. Tie up an extra £2.5k now and in 3 years you'll be smiling, even more so if you spec up the SE a bit. You can always go for the SE suspension if it worries you but as Stan says the S-Line is really quite comfortable and much better to drive. Ignore the likes of Clarkson on this, firm suspension isn't always worse.

Concerning the fine grain ash, I'm also an old f**t but the aluminium suits the sort of high tech the car tries to epitomise. It also lifts the drabness other mention. As for dents?? What do you do in the car?:Blush2:

Test the S-Line and I think you'll have little difficulty making the decision. Best of luck

Thanks for all the really useful feedback.

This is certainly steering me towards the S-line, since the interior, in particular the seats, do seem a step above in this and I've got to keep a mind on residuals..... However, although the ride on the S-line does seem to be more forgiving that in was in the past (is that actually the case/have Audi changed this in recent years?), I think opting for the SE suspension on the S-line may be sensible. If I do this, will this impact on residuals or could the suspension be lowered to the S-line set-up at a later date at reasonable cost?

Although I quite like the look of the black headlining in the S-line, I do take the point that this will darken the interior, especially with black seats. However, given that this will be on an avant, will the additional glass help a bit here to lighten things up a bit?

Thanks again,

Loz

Some pretty comprehensive comments above. I've just changed from an A4 B8 S- line to an A6 Black Edition. The LED lights are a big step up from the Bi-xenons, they transform driving at night.

I went with the standard S-line suspension rather than the firmer lower option as running 20" alloys. Really happy with that decision, no grumbles there.

The seats in the S-line are great, the lumbar support makes a big difference for me as I do quite a few miles. You dont get this on the SE. Happy with the leather although I would have gone with alcantara over this if we didn't have kids. Its simply stunning. Make sure you see it before discounting it.

One thing I wish I'd gone for in hindsight: Cheapest lighting pack, non LED, the car is pretty dark inside at night and I miss this from my A4.

All in all loving the car. 3 weeks in and just over 3,000 miles on the clock.

Enjoy choosing then sit back and wait. And wait. And wait a bit more.

Thanks Andy - I'm not very patient so won't be enjoying the wait.......

Regarding the lighting pack you wish you'd gone for - is this the £250 option (QQ1)? This does say LED though?

I'm having difficulty finding a good image of the alcantara - any ideas?

Loz