2.0Tdi (A4 or A5) Quattro - SE Tech versus S Line

[Andy Grob]

Morning guys,

I'm currently running a 2010 plate A4 2.0 Tdie. It's been a great car to me, no issues....no niggles nothing. The time has now come around again for me to choose another company car, however for a 4 year stretch this time.

Initially I was considering a 2.0 Tdie 163 version of the A4 to keep the emissions down and of course the BIK. But now I'm think what the hell....and within my budget I can get either an A4 or A5 in the 177 Quattro SE Tech or S Line spec. From your experiences what do you think of the A4 and A5 in these two specs? Some reports are saying that the S Line is a bit on the firm side and perhaps a bit on the jittery side over bumpy roads at low speed. Yes....being in the UK, we do have plenty of patch work quilts for roads with pot hole galore.

I have a 60 mile daily commute....40 miles of which is on the M62 (Leeds to J22) and then 10 mile either way over the tops on the country roads.

The other factor that I have in the back of my mind is that I do have a set of winter tyres to suit 17" rims that I use on my current A4. These will of course go one either the A4 or 5 in the SE Tech spec....but not on the larger rims of the S Line spec. I may be able to talk the company into getting me some more, but they may just say 'No' due to the Quattro spec of the car.

So, guys....please give me your advice and talk me into one or the other...A4 or A5 (Sportback)........and which spec Se Tech or S Line.

Cheers!!

[dts439]

Tricky. In your budget can you add many options to either model ? i.e add the tech pack to the S-Line, or Xenons to the SE Technik? Or is it straigt tech/leather versus styling/handling

On the ride issue its been done to death on here SE vs S-line. I think you need to try some options out for yourself on roads you know. Assume you would get teh standard 18" wheels on teh S-line, and 17" SE Tech ? You can add Damper Control and Drive Select which may or may not make the S-line more compliant in its softest mode, but I've yet to see this for myself.

I have S-line on 19s with standard sports spension (you can have 10mm lower with S-line) and it copes ok for me. Looks great too IMHO.

[SattyA4]

Hi, I currently have a Audi A4 B8 2008 1.8t S line 120bhp. Over the last two days my car has been in for its service, where I got a 2012 A5 Se 1.8t 160bhp. Now comparing them both I do love the power of the A5 but thats due to my car only being a 120bhp due to my age. I live in a village, where the roads are full of pot holes and really bad! My A4 with its rock solid suspension is terrible! The ride is way to hard for the road surface and the area which I live. When its compared to the A5 which hasn't got the s line suspension is much better! The ride is so much smoother, however once out of my pot holed village, and on to a A Road the A4 is a much better drive, feels amazing so much more fun to drive even with the lack of power. The A5 just feels to be a bit wobbly, and the steering being electric assisted rather than the normal type, its very strange and takes a bit of getting used to. Overall I do prefer my A4 over the A5, maybe if I was a older the A5 would be better with its soft suspension. But im a 19 year old lad with a very heavy right foot! Also the A4 being a s line looks sooooo much better than the A5 which is se model in white looks tragic!

Maybe you could have the S line A5, but just get rid of the hard suspension! Im sure when you buy a new A5 s line you can have the standard suspension instead

[Andy Grob]

Thanks guys, two great replies so far. In hind sight one thing that I should perhaps have mentioned is that our company has a policy of 'no extras' can be added to a model. To be very honest this is one of the things that rules the BMW320 M-Sport (Professional) out. I didn't want the Touring, but would not be allowed to add the split folding rear seats...as it is an option.

This could come down to a couple of flips of the coin to decide which way to go. A test drive seems to be the only way to decide, but I'm leaning away from the S Line and leaning towards the A4 2.0 TDi Quattro SE Tech....just not sure whether to go A4 or A5 now??. My theory being, the quattro system should improve handling via grip, I can still use my existing 17 winter tyres and SE Tech would be just a touch more forgiving over the bumps etc.

[Soot1e]

Are you looking at an A4 saloon or avant? The A5 Sportback is not as versatile as the A4 Avant due to the rake of the rear screen, I went for An A5 Sportback after an avant and found it to be impractical for my use and ended up going back to the avant. Conversely, the A5 is more practical than the A4 saloon. If your company will not allow any extras then no doubt the SE Technik is the way ahead as the "must have" extras (MMI, AMI, Cruise and Parking plus {A5}, Leather, MMI, AMI and Parking plus [A4]) are standard on these variants.