Can't Decide Between Two Specs - Help! Se Or Sport?

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James Jones

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I'm struggling to decide between getting the SE or Sport...

Difference is with the SE I can also afford to get ACC and the Connect version of the Tech pack. With the Sport I'd just have the standard Tech Pack and no ACC.

With the SE I'd still be able to add the aluminium interior trims and climate control, so main things I'd be losing is the sport seats, 17" alloys and aluminium window trims. Are they worth losing the ACC and Connect over?

This is for a company car and the budget is strictly limited. I have a good few other options which would remain the same on both but are essential for me (comfort pack, lumbar support etc).
 
I had same dilemma and went for the Sport as I found the seats were much better and not something that could be added to the SE as an option - only thing I can really recommend is try and go and sit in both types of seats, if you're happy with the seats in the SE then it's a no brainer for you.
 
I'd go for the SE, but it's your choice.
 
I had the same dilemma although, being a private purchase, I was not limited in price. I had four previous 8P A3s and they were all SE spec but with the option of 17" wheels and automatic climate control. But when I tried the new 8V I found the seats in the SE not very comfortable. So in the end I went for a Sport. The other thing that influenced my decision was I liked the 184 engine and this was not available in the SE.

To me good comfortable seats are much more important than almost any of the options.
 
I'd go for the sport, add ACC and drop down to SD nav. Tech pack looks great, but I don't think it adds that much more functionality. You'd probably have about £700 left to spend on other options.

Personally non-sport seats on any car are just not supportive enough for me, although I do have a collapsed L5/S1 disc!
 
be very very sure if you want ACC, about 80% of the Dutch users (who know it can be turned off) turned the A option off and use it as a regular CC

edit:
Uhm, not sure if you mean adaptive cruise control or automatic climat control o_O
 
Go for the sport, the seats are much nicer and the bigger wheels set the car off more
 
I had the same dilemma over SE and Sport.

I went for the Sport purely for the seats which differ from the SE in that you can tilt the base and extend the base cushion. For someone with my long legs, I needed that, the SE seats were too flat and offered me little support.

I wasn't bothered about 17" wheels or Climate Control, but that's what you get with the sport.
 
MatthijsR said:
be very very sure if you want ACC, about 80% of the Dutch users (who know it can be turned off) turned the A option off and use it as a regular CC

edit:
Uhm, not sure if you mean adaptive cruise control or automatic climat control o_O
Click to expand...

Why would they do that?
 
audi upgrades
Probably because they don't like it:)

I only use mine in traffic queues. It will interesting to see what it's like on the much quieter French autoroutes on my way to Germany in a few weeks.
 
cemerson said:
Why would they do that?
Click to expand...

Because they dont like it :p

Problems they are having:
Shortest distance too large
problems when overtaking trucks. It often sees the cab as a new car while overtaking (next to trailer) and the car holds of the power.
 
squiretolley said:
I'd go for the sport, add ACC and drop down to SD nav. Tech pack looks great, but I don't think it adds that much more functionality. You'd probably have about £700 left to spend on other options.

Personally non-sport seats on any car are just not supportive enough for me, although I do have a collapsed L5/S1 disc!
Click to expand...


Unless the offer has been discontinued, tech pack also entitles you to free map updates. Personally I think tech pack is great and a major step up over SD nav, but then I always have nav activated and am always using the screen for something or rather so I get full value from it. I'd suggest to James that, if some flavour of tech pack has always been on your list, don't drop it.
 
snakehips said:
Unless the offer has been discontinued, tech pack also entitles you to free map updates. Personally I think tech pack is great and a major step up over SD nav, but then I always have nav activated and am always using the screen for something or rather so I get full value from it. I'd suggest to James that, if some flavour of tech pack has always been on your list, don't drop it.
Click to expand...

The updates come every 6 months and there are 5 free. So there are 2.5 years of free updates. After that we pay!

And I agree with your comments re the Tech Pack!
 
Use ACC all the time here. I wouldn't be without it and think it works brilliantly when you know how it works. Personally (and I say this as someone who programs for a living and has over a dozen computers at home and is about as geeky as you can get) I think the tech pack is a gimmick. I'd drop the tech pack, go Sport with SD nav., ACC and whatever other options the tech pack price difference allows.
 
I agree that ACC is brilliant but I am also geeky (!) and do not regard the Tech Pack as a gimmick. For the better resolution of the screen alone it's worth it, and especially when you add in:
  • being able to set destinations at home and then upload them to the car
  • picture destinations
  • Google Earth map view (much more detail than ordinary maps)
  • being able to add in your own POIs
  • MMI Touch handwriting recognition so you can "write" the letters or figures
  • Speed limit display showing actual speed limit signs not just those taken from the maps
 
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MatthijsR said:
Because they dont like it :p

Problems they are having:
Shortest distance too large
problems when overtaking trucks. It often sees the cab as a new car while overtaking (next to trailer) and the car holds of the power.
Click to expand...

People need to adjust their idea of a safe driving distance if they think the shortest distance is too large! Never had the issue with the trucks myself.
 
arad85 said:
Use ACC all the time here. I wouldn't be without it and think it works brilliantly when you know how it works. Personally (and I say this as someone who programs for a living and has over a dozen computers at home and is about as geeky as you can get) I think the tech pack is a gimmick. I'd drop the tech pack, go Sport with SD nav., ACC and whatever other options the tech pack price difference allows.
Click to expand...

Yes, but you also say it with someone who doesn't have, and therefore has little experience with, the tech pack. It's well worth it in my view - not just because the SD Nav screen looks so dated with its horrible resolution!
 
glospete said:
I agree that ACC is brilliant but I am also geeky (!) and do not regard the Tech Pack as a gimmick. For the better resolution of the screen alone it's worth it, and especially when you add in:
  • being able to set destinations at home and then upload them to the car
  • picture destinations
  • Google Earth map view (much more detail than ordinary maps)
  • being able to add in your own POIs
  • MMI Touch handwriting recognition so you can "write" the letters or figures
  • Speed limit display showing actual speed limit signs not just those taken from the maps
Click to expand...
Some of these are Connect only features though, not tech pack.

But I agree - it does actually add in loads of little but useful bits, and the software is different as well - I seem to remember something about the shuffle feature working differently on the non-tech pack?
 
glospete said:
I agree that ACC is brilliant but I am also geeky (!) and do not regard the Tech Pack as a gimmick. For the better resolution of the screen alone it's worth it, and especially when you add in:
  • being able to set destinations at home and then upload them to the car
  • picture destinations
  • Google Earth map view (much more detail than ordinary maps)
  • being able to add in your own POIs
  • MMI Touch handwriting recognition so you can "write" the letters or figures
  • Speed limit display showing actual speed limit signs not just those taken from the maps
Click to expand...


Plus the Jukebox hard disk and the ability to auto-sort your music by track, artist or album without messing around with setting up folders etc.
And the free updates do provide some offset to the up-front cost, though for a company car that obviously doesn't reduce the list price.
 
If it was £50 or so for the extras (OK - perhaps £100 including the larger screen too), I'd have bought it but £1000+ is just taking the....

I can see connect might be useful if you do a lot of travelling and want to upload lots of waypoints, but otherwise it's an overpriced gimmick. And the numerous justifications of fluff which cost next to nothing such as 1.5" larger higher res screen, outdated looking map and the iphone brigades need to haphazardly manage their music so the system sorts it just goes to prove it :p. Most of the changes are only effectively minor software mods. It's about the only option that is overpriced on the A3 IMHO (OK, I think active dampers and LED lights are too but most others are OK...).

Personally, I'd only spec. it on an S3 where I'd be hoping to recoup most of the cost at sale.

But it's your money and you're entitled to spend it as you want :icon thumright:
 
A lot of options are just software that don't cost Audi much, but the customer still pays lots for them. Haven't you noticed? It's the Audi way... I'd also argue that you get a bit of it back at resale time as well. Whether it's overpriced is a different argument to whether it is a gimmick anyway - and you are claiming both!
 
arad85 said:
If it was £50 or so for the extras (OK - perhaps £100 including the larger screen too), I'd have bought it but £1000+ is just taking the....

I can see connect might be useful if you do a lot of travelling and want to upload lots of waypoints, but otherwise it's an overpriced gimmick. And the numerous justifications of fluff which cost next to nothing such as 1.5" larger higher res screen, outdated looking map and the iphone brigades need to haphazardly manage their music so the system sorts it just goes to prove it :p. Most of the changes are only effectively minor software mods. It's about the only option that is overpriced on the A3 IMHO (OK, I think active dampers and LED lights are too but most others are OK...).

Personally, I'd only spec. it on an S3 where I'd be hoping to recoup most of the cost at sale.

But it's your money and you're entitled to spend it as you want :icon thumright:
Click to expand...


I'd make a small correction to your comments and it's that actually nobody has to manage their music in any way. You just throw it at the tech pack and it does the sorting for you. But I do totally agree that it's each to his own.

It's also a difference in philosophy (for any options): I have no need or expectation that I recoup any of the option costs at resale time. I get them purely for the pleasure of using them while I myself have the car. Their value will depreciate heavily but that doesn't reduce their value to me right now.
 
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Personally if it was a choice between SE and sport and the tech pack was a deciding factor I'd drop it without a seconds thought.

The SD nav and standard MMI is more than adequate, despite what some people think.

Obviously in an ideal world and without budgetary restrictions, we'd have every option going.
 
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squiretolley said:
Personally if it was a choice between SE and sport and the tech pack was a deciding factor I'd drop it without a seconds thought.

The SD nav and standard MMI is more than adequate, despite what some people think.

Obviously in an ideal world and without budgetary restrictions, we'd have every option going.
Click to expand...

I would have to agree because of my own circumstances and likes. I am retired and do not even own a smartphone and don't want to and I'm not a luddite either having worked in computer and network support for many years. I rarely listen to music when I'm in the car, preferring to just enjoy the driving experience. My A3 is a Sport with SE suspension and has ACC but I would not spend any money on a Tech pack. The Xenon lights are more than adequate for me and I don't like the Audi Sat/Nav.

Obviously others will think these options are 'necessary' or wanted and will be happy to spend money on them, but personally I just want a nice A3 with plenty of power and torque and quattro grip and handling.
 
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Are you opting for the Xenon light pack? That makes the biggest difference to the appearance of the car. Makes the car stand out as the NEW A3. Also has some nice options included in the pack. That would be the first thing I would tick. Also cuts the price of the comfort pack in half.
 
Yeh, the halogen lights look very disappointing compared to the other options
 
I am on my 4th smartphone, work in IT Development and am quite a geek but I also decided against the tech pack. I still ended up spending £4,000 on options so that shows how low down it was on my priority list. Xenons were top of the list and the ACC was a close second...I just had to get that!

I did get the SD sat nav which does a great job of guiding me to my destination.

Of course, a larger higher resolution screen and the other extra features of the tech pack would have been nice, but it's certainly not worth an extra £1,000 to me. For a few hundred more I would have considered it.
 
Is there a way we can be notified when new updates are released, or is there a specific time we should log on to check?
 
leosayer1 said:
I am on my 4th smartphone, work in IT Development and am quite a geek but I also decided against the tech pack. I still ended up spending £4,000 on options so that shows how low down it was on my priority list. Xenons were top of the list and the ACC was a close second...I just had to get that!

I did get the SD sat nav which does a great job of guiding me to my destination.

Of course, a larger higher resolution screen and the other extra features of the tech pack would have been nice, but it's certainly not worth an extra £1,000 to me. For a few hundred more I would have considered it.
Click to expand...
+1

For me... cars are for driving. Not so much for looking at and fiddling with the tech.

Seems to be lots of IT pros here. My job title is ICT engineer. I'm no IT expert, but I know how to read the manual ;)
 
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