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!!!!!)

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

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

[Jop]

So the badge doesn't make the car faster

....... Just better. 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

[troc]

I don't have an S-line

[Jop]

I don't have an S-line

lol

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

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

David