A3 Sportback s-line with SE suspension!

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Paulm16

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Hi All,


I am considering placing an order for a new A3 Sportback 1.4 (140 ps) S-LINE with an SE suspension. Can anyone tell me about the ride of an S LINE WITH SE suspension as the dealership does not have one like this? Is this a suitable set up. I am very much much of a novice with cars, is there going to be a big difference between 17 and 18 inch wheels??


I really appreciate your help
thanks
Paul
 
I have an A3 Sportback 2.0TDI-184 stronic quattro which was purchased as a Sport but with SE suspension and 17" wheels.

A lot depends what you want from your car. Personally comfort is high on my list and having had several A3s on SE suspension and also had test drives of A3s with both sport and s-line suspension there was no way I wanted any harder than the SE suspension. I've had cars with stiffer suspensions in the past but now comfort is much more important. Being a quattro handling is much better than any of my other front-wheel drive A3s.

Dealers tend to have demonstrators of the most popular models and trying to find a S-line with SE suspension will be almost impossible. I don't know where you are located but if you fancy a trip to Cambridgeshire you are more than welcome to have a ride in my A3. You can tell almost as much, if not more, about the suspension setup as a passenger as actually driving one.
 
Our dealer wasn't much help either. Told us the A3 'sport' suspension was fine. After we test drove 2 cars with 'sport' suspension we started looking at other cars - thinking that the A3 was just too firm.

Strangely I think the Golf SE we tested was softer and more comfortable than my wife's A3 SE. Her car has much, much better comfort than my Mk6 GTD.

I suggest you read a few reviews. All but one recommend deleting the sport suspension. And it was comparing the A3 with a GTI. Which from my experience is not going to be a comfortable car.

At the end of the day it is personal choice. Some people like firm cars.
 
... isn't MY15 supposed to be 150ps? Are you getting the old 140ps?

Sorry I'm not at my laptop to check.

As for the tyres - yes it will make a difference. When I change from 16 inch premium touring winter tyres to 17 inch summer sports tyres my car becomes firmer and noisier. I even have to turn the radio up.
 
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S-Line with Sports suspension and it's a great ride.

Can't understand those who say its hard

Each to their own though
 
thanks guys.
I've read reviews that say to go SE suspension. Comfort is my main priority really, I suppose it's the tyres(18inch) that worry me. I think the sport with SE would be better, purely cause of the wheels being 17inch. Yes it would be the 150 ps. I live in leeds, thanks for the offer but Cambridgeshire abit too far!!!
 
Paulm16 said:
thanks guys.
I've read reviews that say to go SE suspension. Comfort is my main priority really, I suppose it's the tyres(18inch) that worry me. I think the sport with SE would be better, purely cause of the wheels being 17inch. Yes it would be the 150 ps. I live in leeds, thanks for the offer but Cambridgeshire abit too far!!!
Click to expand...

Certainly having tried various Sport and S-Line models the Sport with SE suspension and 17" wheels was definitely the most comfortable. I had that combination of my previous A3 which was a 2.0TDI-170 and found no problems with the handling. The main reason why I went for the 184 quattro was it was the closest in power to my 170 and because I definitely wanted the s-tronic I also had to have quattro. Not that I'm complaining, it's fantastic :)
 
I'm going to ask to take out a sport with SE for a test drive, in your experience how much is the gap between 17 or 18 in terms of going over bumps etc in roads??
 
My sline saloon has the standard sports suspension and 18" wheels, I have had no issues with the comfort of the car neither the ride quality on different road surface. Yes the ride is firm but it isn't crashy and bumps are quite well absorbed, the plus point is that the car stays nice and flat through the corners. I'm comparing mine to my previous Mk3 Focus with 18" wheels and I would say that the A3 has a slightly better ride quality, when I then get into my partners' Fiesta that feels all loose and wallowy....
 
What Car advocate SE Suspension, like most owners on here, my S-Line has the standard sports suspension and i'm glad i didn't listen to them

Personally i don't think you can class the ride as being firm, my last car was a bog standard 2.0 TDCI Focus and this is so much smoother especially the way it handles corners.

The best judge is yourself via a test drive.
 
Hi. This is my very first post and I'm in the same boat!

I'm about to place an order for an A3 Sportback S Line 2.0 Diesel (150ps) but I am also struggling to decide which suspension setting to go for. Every review I read on the net says to go for the SE suspension as the S Line suspension is just too firm. The guy in the dealership thinks it would be a mistake to remove the S Line suspension in favour of the SE has he says it will roll in the corners more.

Comfort is important to me but I also what decent handling in the corners too. I've been reading what people have said here with interest. Some people have mentioned going for the S Line with "standard sport suspension" - but do they mean the standard S Line suspension or going halfway and selecting the "Sport" suspension over the SE?

Any guidance much appreciated!
 
On the S-Line you can have one of three suspension set-ups. S-Line, Sport or SE. S-line will be the firmest and SE the softest and Sport somewhere in between. To me comfort when driving is a very important factor so when I ordered my 2.0TDI-184 quattro I went for the the SE suspension on a Sport spec model. I have had nine A3s over the last 16 years and all have been on SE suspension and even the front-wheel drive ones have had more than enough grip in the corners a very little noticeable body-roll for normal brisk driving. Obviously with my current quattro on SE suspension I have the best of both worlds.

You should be able to find a dealer with an S-Line on sport suspension as quite a number order this set-up for their own demonstrators. Find an S-Line on SE suspension I found to be almost impossible.
 
Thanks. I've got a test drive coming up in a couple of days - not sure what I'll be testing though yet.

I'm sort of swinging towards a compromise at the moment by going for a S-Line with the Sport suspension....
 
I'd say you've got to try the different set ups before making your mind up because it's such a personal thing... My 184 quattro S line is on standard sport suspension and I think it is the best compromise and much better than my Golf V6 4motion which was too soft. The handling of the SE I tried wasn't tight enough for me and the S line suspension (although still not as harsh as my 8P S line...) was too low riding for our terrible local country roads.
 
DonnyDriver said:
Thanks. I've got a test drive coming up in a couple of days - not sure what I'll be testing though yet.

I'm sort of swinging towards a compromise at the moment by going for a S-Line with the Sport suspension....
Click to expand...

The S-line model comes as standard on Sport suspension and you can change it to either S-line suspension or SE suspension at no extra cost. The main thing will be to make sure that the salesman is sure which suspension it is on the car that you drive. If he is not sure get him to check and make sure.
 
PembsA3 said:
I'd say you've got to try the different set ups before making your mind up because it's such a personal thing... My 184 quattro S line is on standard sport suspension and I think it is the best compromise and much better than my Golf V6 4motion which was too soft. The handling of the SE I tried wasn't tight enough for me and the S line suspension (although still not as harsh as my 8P S line...) was too low riding for our terrible local country roads.
Click to expand...

As you say it's as very personal thing and you can only compare the suspension setups on the same model of car. The setups on the Golf can be quite different to the A3 and the SE suspension on my previous 8P A3s is quite different to the 8V's on SE suspension.
So you must compare the three versions on the current A3 although you will be hard pushed to find any dealer with SE suspension on anything other than an SE model and almost every dealer has an S-Line model and nothing else. Even trying to find a Sport model to drive was hard enough.
 
Paulm16 said:
Hi All,


I am considering placing an order for a new A3 Sportback 1.4 (140 ps) S-LINE with an SE suspension. Can anyone tell me about the ride of an S LINE WITH SE suspension as the dealership does not have one like this? Is this a suitable set up. I am very much much of a novice with cars, is there going to be a big difference between 17 and 18 inch wheels??


I really appreciate your help
thanks
Paul
Click to expand...

I have 18" alloys on an SE suspension and find the ride comfort is very relaxing. The looks aren't affected much as the 18" alloys fill the wheel arches nicely and you also get the softer suspension so it's win win.
 
DonnyDriver said:
Hi. This is my very first post and I'm in the same boat!

I'm about to place an order for an A3 Sportback S Line 2.0 Diesel (150ps) but I am also struggling to decide which suspension setting to go for. Every review I read on the net says to go for the SE suspension as the S Line suspension is just too firm. The guy in the dealership thinks it would be a mistake to remove the S Line suspension in favour of the SE has he says it will roll in the corners more.

Comfort is important to me but I also what decent handling in the corners too. I've been reading what people have said here with interest. Some people have mentioned going for the S Line with "standard sport suspension" - but do they mean the standard S Line suspension or going halfway and selecting the "Sport" suspension over the SE?

Any guidance much appreciated!
Click to expand...

If you want to pelt it in corners and feel the road more I'd go for the halfway 'Sport' suspension. If however you prefer comfort then go for SE, S-Line neither looks nor feels great IMO.
 
DonnyDriver said:
The guy in the dealership thinks it would be a mistake to remove the S Line suspension in favour of the SE has he says it will roll in the corners more.

Any guidance much appreciated!
Click to expand...

Can't advise you as an owner but just as someone who deliberated long and hard about what suspension to go for. Eventually I decided on SE suspension on the standard 18" S-Line wheels after test drives. Interestingly my dealer then told me that this is what they advise to most customers and almost all customers (in Exeter) go for that combination. Perhaps it's just Devon roads that influences us!
 
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Ive come from 2 A4 s one a sport ,the other an s line.
There is no way i would return to sport suspension.I find the SE suspension still firm and controlled,but offers superior comfort.Really its the best of both worlds.Personally i think sod the lower ride height and big wheels,its worth it as soon as you hit a rougher part of the road.
Its close to perfect for the UK,and i can see why its recommended by the motoring world.Im over lower suspension and big wheels.
 
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Ive come from 2 A4 s one a sport ,the other an s line.
There is no way i would return to sport suspension.I find the SE suspension still firm and controlled,but offers superior comfort.Really its the best of both worlds.Personally i think sod the lower ride height and big wheels,its worth it as soon as you hit a rougher part of the road.
Its close to perfect for the UK,and i can see why its recommended by the motoring world.Im over lower suspension and big wheels.
 
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I went sline suspension and 18 wheels for 90% of the time its fine only on a couple of rough roads have I thought it was a little crashy so would say you would be fine with sport depending on the roads near you.
 
Many thanks fo reveryone's replies. I went for a test drive in an A3 Sportback S Line yesterday with the 'sport' suspension. I found it was absolutely fine for me. Took it over plenty of speedbumps and potholes and didn't find it hard at all.

So, I've ordered one ! :)
 
glospete said:
Can't advise you as an owner but just as someone who deliberated long and hard about what suspension to go for. Eventually I decided on SE suspension on the standard 18" S-Line wheels after test drives. Interestingly my dealer then told me that this is what they advise to most customers and almost all customers (in Exeter) go for that combination. Perhaps it's just Devon roads that influences us!
Click to expand...

It is kinda funny what a dealer will say when they want to sell a car, because mine stated that if I demoted my saloon from its standard sports suspension to SE it would lose some residual value...
 
DonnyDriver said:
Many thanks fo reveryone's replies. I went for a test drive in an A3 Sportback S Line yesterday with the 'sport' suspension. I found it was absolutely fine for me. Took it over plenty of speedbumps and potholes and didn't find it hard at all.

So, I've ordered one ! :)
Click to expand...

Great. As long as it feels right to you that is all that matters.
 
cuke2u said:
It is kinda funny what a dealer will say when they want to sell a car, because mine stated that if I demoted my saloon from its standard sports suspension to SE it would lose some residual value...
Click to expand...

Did you do as the dealer said?
 
I stayed with the standard sport suspension because it was as good as the mk3 focus that I was used too...
 
I ordered my A3 SB s line with the standard sport suspension. After a few phones I found a dealer who had 2 of the same models in both SE and Sport suspension. After a few test drives I found the sport to be an excellent balance of comfort, ride and control. I used the same route to test drive both types and the Sport was very comfortable so went with that.
A friend of mine has an A3 SB 8P with sport and after driving and the 8V, they both felt very different. The 8P was firmer and not as comfortable as 8V. Mt friend did mention that he does not have the kids in the back as they seem to get a lot travel sickness and reckons its due to the firm suspension. His neighbour has an 8V with Sport and he has taken that out a few times and says the kids are much better in that than.
My nearest Audi dealer is the one on the A4 west London near Chiswick/Brentford, they had a few of the same models with SE, Sport and S-Line suspension but that was back in May so not sure if they still have them or if they have been sold if folks are looking for a test drive.
 
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