A3 SE trim, is this popular?

[A3sportbackMark]

Many, many moons ago when I was in the process of ordering, I read somewhere that the split of expected sales between SE, sport and s-line was 40/30/30% respectively (may have % split wrong way round between trims). Having been on this site since April, it appears to me that the s-line is by far the most popular, or am I way off the mark?
I wonder if Audi have got their forecast wildly wrong, or that the SE sales have mainly come from people who have not joined this site - which I can understand.

what are people's thoughts on this?

 

[97catalunya]

1 vote for S-Line here

I think like you say most people who come on here are enthusiasts/petrol heads and are likely to go for the S-Line for the sporty looks. Where I live I have only seen 4 8V's driving about and only 1 is an S-Line


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[davejinx]

I think it's like you've both already said; people on the 'audi-sport.net' site tend to buy the more sporty option, and so it's not a representative sample.

 

[Daveotto]

1 vote for S-Line here

I think like you say most people who come on here are enthusiasts/petrol heads and are likely to go for the S-Line for the sporty looks. Where I live I have only seen 4 8V's driving about and only 1 is an S-Line

I have only seen 3 one of which was an s-line

 

[First Ever Audi]

Many, many moons ago when I was in the process of ordering, I read somewhere that the split of expected sales between SE, sport and s-line was 40/30/30% respectively (may have % split wrong way round between trims). Having been on this site since April, it appears to me that the s-line is by far the most popular, or am I way off the mark?
I wonder if Audi have got their forecast wildly wrong, or that the SE sales have mainly come from people who have not joined this site - which I can understand.

what are people's thoughts on this?

Interesting Topic! I would have loved the S-Line and even the Sport but had to plump for the SE due to financial restraints. I tidied it up a bit with interior aluminium elements and 17's and am quite happy with my choice. Next time however will be the S-Line

 

[Daz Auto]

All my wife wants is a red A3.

She asked me what the difference was. I said the Sport on 17" alloys with low profile tyres would be firmer and noisier and the S-Line would be even more so. "Oh, I dont want that!" Saved myself a few pounds.

The SE comes with extra comfort as standard.

 

[h5djr]

I have an 2012 Sportback in SE trim but on 17" alloys and 225/45 tyres. It seems a good compromise between comfort for the long journeys I make to Germany and acceptable handling. I prefer the standard seats and light coloured interior which is not an option of the Sport trim. My current A3 is my fourth with SE trim on 17" alloys and I have never regretted my choice. Before these I had four 1.8T Sport versions. I recently drove a new 8V model in S-line trim and it's not a model I would consider buying.

 

[A3sportbackMark]

Something which has been puzzling me for a long time, and there maybe a simple explanation.
if you have larger alloys (16 to 18"), presumably the circumference of the tyres will be different. 12% difference if my Maths is correct.
does this mean the larger wheels should produce a 12% increase in MPG?

this appears too simplistic, am I missing something?

 

[cemerson]

The outside of the tyres is the same isn't it? You just get lower profile tyres

Also, even if it were true that the tyres change size, the engine has to work harder to give the same performance on bigger tyres, so will probably balance out. For the same torque at the wheels, the force of the tyre on the road would be less for the bigger tyre (divide torque in Nm by the radius of the wheel & tyre in m to get the force in N), which means (because F=ma and m is the same) the acceleration must be less. If you want the same acceleration (a), you have to have the same F (measured in Newtons) which means that as the radius increases, the torque must increase rather than the force decrease.

 

[A3sportbackMark]

Ahhh possibly, I hadn't thought of that. Just looked on the configurator, and switched between the 2, I think you are right

 

[Deleted member 73064]

I believe it was 30/30/40% SE/Sport/S-Line.

We are bothered enough to sign up for an Audi forum and post messages about points of detail that a lot of buyers wouldn't have any interest in, so the mix of cars owned by forum members is probably biased to the higher spec models.

 

[RossR]

A lot of the differences between the trim levels can be ordered separately such as aluminium bits, bigger wheels, Xenons, colour DIS and drive select.

However there are some bits you can't get outside of a certain trim level such as seats, upholstery and the lowered suspension options. Annoyingly these are often things that are down to personal preference. So if you want S Line suspension but don't like a black interior, tough!

Personally I spent a long time figuring out the options I wanted and how best to get them from the trim levels and packages. I suspect many less enthusiastic (obsessed?) buyers would not invest much time looking at options. I dare say they might be fooled by the demo cars which are often SE spec, but with loads of extras that they may assume are standard.

I've gone for S Line but SE isn't sparsely spec'ed and for a whole I was planning on a Sport. Aren't they expected to introduce another trim level below SE at some point?

 

[PhilConran]

If you are more interested in the interior than the outside, I would recommend the Sport as it adds the essentials - good seats, climate control - plus a few niceties - nicer wheels etc - for a good price compromise. I went for the SE suspension as well and have to say, it's a great set up with pothole beating cushioning that still corners very well. But there is no doubt the S-Line looks better from the outside and the Xenons and part-leather make it something a bit more special. If I was ordering again and paying cash, I don't reckon the S-line is worth the extra, but I am leasing and I do regret not going for the S-line for the extra £15/month it would have cost.

 

[Fragup]

I personally prefer the black trim around the windows that come with the SE to the chrome I will have to get with s line, so no option is perfect. It comes down to price normally I'm afraid. An SE A3 will still be a lot better than most cars out there.

 

[Vertigo1]

Of all the A3 8Vs I've seen on the roads, not many have been S-Lines. What the SE/Sport split was of those that weren't, I don't know.

 

[dav63]

The outside of the tyres is the same isn't it? You just get lower profile tyres

Also, even if it were true that the tyres change size, the engine has to work harder to give the same performance on bigger tyres, so will probably balance out. For the same torque at the wheels, the force of the tyre on the road would be less for the bigger tyre (divide torque in Nm by the radius of the wheel & tyre in m to get the force in N), which means (because F=ma and m is the same) the acceleration must be less. If you want the same acceleration (a), you have to have the same F (measured in Newtons) which means that as the radius increases, the torque must increase rather than the force decrease.

What?!!

 

[cemerson]

What?!!

Just saying that the torque at the wheels has a direct effect on your acceleration for the same wheel radius and mass. If you change one of those things, to keep the acceleration the same you have to increase the torque (ie, make the engine work harder) or decrease the mass (not really an option). Divide the torque at the wheels by the mass (in kg) multiplied by the radius of the wheel/tyre combination (in m), and you get the acceleration (in m/s/s). Simple! Just trying to explain why increasing the wheel size doesn't mean you get better economy.

 

[steven04]

Here at work, the current split is:

S line = 2
Sport = 1
SE = 2

I've seen more non-S line spec 8V's than Slines when out on the road.

 

[PhilConran]

Here at work, the current split is:

S line = 2
Sport = 1
SE = 2

I've seen more non-S line spec 8V's than Slines when out on the road.

Very interesting Steve. So what's the vote in terms of best suspension, best engine, best value etc?

 

[markjames]

Many, many moons ago when I was in the process of ordering, I read somewhere that the split of expected sales between SE, sport and s-line was 40/30/30% respectively (may have % split wrong way round between trims). Having been on this site since April, it appears to me that the s-line is by far the most popular, or am I way off the mark?
I wonder if Audi have got their forecast wildly wrong, or that the SE sales have mainly come from people who have not joined this site - which I can understand.

what are people's thoughts on this?

Apparently at the beginning of the year, sales stats were about 30/30/40 - S-Line was definitely the favoured option, certainly for sportback flavours

First Drive: Audi A3 Sportback | Fleet World

 

[steven04]

Very interesting Steve. So what's the vote in terms of best suspension, best engine, best value etc?

Hi Phil

These are all company motors, so we HAVE to choose diesel, no petrol engines allowed....

I personally wanted the extras found in the S Line spec, whereas others probably aren't bothered if they had a 'better spec' such as 18" wheels/Xenons etc.

The Slines are 2.0 TDI / Sport Suspension
The Sport is 1.6 TDI / Non-sport - SE spec suspension
SE x2 are 1.6TDI & std SE suspension.

The above are all Sportback models BTW.

If the S line suspension has been available on the SB, I would gone for that.
I had a demo Sline 3dr 8V with the 25mm drop for 4/5 days & it felt fine to me.

The 2.0 TDI is a smooth unit, I'm loving mine

 

[h5djr]

In the past my dealer has always said there are more Sport and S-Line models sold than SE which is why he can always give me a good price for my SE when I trade-in. A lot of second buyers are looking for SE models and there are less of them around and so command a slightly better price. Supply and demand.

Personally I'm not in the slightest bit bothered what other people buy. I choose the model I want and add the extras to make the car even more what I want. Being a private buyer with no restrictions makes this easier. My current SE Sportback have around £4,600 worth of options.