What are the must have spec extras?

Beaner1

I'm putting together my new A6 and I'm torn about how much to put on it. Money thankfully isn't the issue, if something really makes a difference then I will add it. But at the same time I don't want to spend 2K on massaging chairs if I'm not going get 2K of value out of them.

I will rank the main extras in terms of importance. Base spec comes with a fair amount so only the discretionary luxuries


1. Sat Nav
2. Electric memory seats
4. Upgraded sound system
5. Sunroof (only after having my current car with one)

Then theres stuff like
dynamic cruise control (2K to keep your distance with cruise control...useful I suppose but 2K?)
Massaging front seats
HUD
Dynamic suspension

What items are definites in your spec wishlist?

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime

Automatic gearbox.

rocky

Better engine.

ironclaw

SatNav built into a car is becoming the modern day tape deck. It will quickly be out of date and the map updates are criminally expensive. Until Google maps is as standard as the mapping engine in the built in systems, I wouldn't bother paying for one. A phone is cheaper and you'll always have your phone with you.

bladespin

Definitely be inclined to the dynamic suspension.

rocky

ironclaw wrote: »

SatNav built into a car is becoming the modern day tape deck. It will quickly be out of date and the map updates are criminally expensive. Until Google maps is as standard as the mapping engine in the built in systems, I wouldn't bother paying for one. A phone is cheaper and you'll always have your phone with you.

What about resale? Personally I was looking for a car with nav because it has the bigger wide screen and looks better, even if I'm not using nav functionality.

Spark Plug

You will only truly get the benefit of adaptive cruise control with an automatic gearbox. If you do a lot of night time driving high beam assist might be useful.

Eric Cartman

ironclaw wrote: »

SatNav built into a car is becoming the modern day tape deck. It will quickly be out of date and the map updates are criminally expensive. Until Google maps is as standard as the mapping engine in the built in systems, I wouldn't bother paying for one. A phone is cheaper and you'll always have your phone with you.

In car navigation is miles ahead of a phone with google maps on it. What happens when you have no data signal as happens in many parts of the world. Also the built in navigation mutes your radio automatically and can be used without gards going mad about you holding a phone.

I have a mk4 bmw nav system in the e38 and a kenwood dnx navigation unit in the d-max , both are miles better than google maps for driving.

The J Stands for Jay

I'd love the memory seats. Would make sharing the car with the Mrs so much easier.

Bigcheeze

Is auto standard ? If not that's a definite extra in a large luxury car. What size are the std wheels ? I think a car that size needs 18 inch+ wheels.

Metallic paint

Might want to read some reviews to decide if the dynamic suspension was a good idea.

Does anyone under 50 spec a sunroof these days?

I've heard dynamic cruise is terrible on fuel but you say money isn't an issue. Most of my driving is around Dublin so I don't get to use cruise too often anyway.

I have pro sat nav in a 5-series and it looks amazing but is actually crap at navigation and costs about 2.5k I think.

peaceboi

HUD would be nice & useful INMO, have seen them in the new Peugeots,
guess it would be much better in the Audi's.
Also, is dynamic suspension the same as adaptive suspension on the bmw's?

Cienciano

I'd never pay fro sat nav as an extra. On the rare occasions you need it a cheap garmin would do.
Climate control is nice and if you have kids rear electric windows is handy. I wouldn't buy a car without air con.

Bigcheeze

Eric Cartman wrote: »

In car navigation is miles ahead of a phone with google maps on it.

My beef with in-car nav is the search and no one does search like Google. If I want to meet someone at some pub, restaurant or business I just type it in the Google maps search bar and it'll find pretty much anything. With the in-car nav I'm inputting post codes etc and if I don't know the address I'm stuffed. So yeah I love looking at it but don't get a lot of use out of the navigation.

Rowley Birkin QC

A nice big petrol engine!

bladespin

Rowley Birkin QC wrote: »

A nice big petrol engine!

That does 90mpg (just to annoy the TDi fanboys lol) if only :cool:

Eric Cartman

Bigcheeze wrote: »

My beef with in-car nav is the search and no one does search like Google. If I want to meet someone at some pub, restaurant or business I just type it in the Google maps search bar and it'll find pretty much anything. With the in-car nav I'm inputting post codes etc and if I don't know the address I'm stuffed. So yeah I love looking at it but don't get a lot of use out of the navigation.

Both nav systems in my cars enable you to enter partial names of POI's and get results. Never really had an issue with it

Beaner1

OSI wrote: »

If the OP is getting the 2.0 TDI, the only auto option is the multitronic, which sucks.

That's on the pre face-lift. Mulitronic is gone. I'll be getting the 250bhp 2.0 tfsi with dsg.

Phone nav had let me down too often at this stage.

eyescreamcone

Quattro

rocky

If you're not getting quattro, get a 5 series...

Eric Cartman

If money wasnt the issue id have all the options, but thats because I hate blank buttons in cars.

Personally my pick for the A6 would be :

Quattro
S-Line Kit
Adaptive suspension
Heated electric seats with lumbar
Full navigation and any other audio upgrades
DSG box
Reversing camera
Some nice wheels somewhere in the 18-20" region

christy02

Cienciano wrote: »

I'd never pay fro sat nav as an extra. On the rare occasions you need it a cheap garmin would do.
Climate control is nice and if you have kids rear electric windows is handy. I wouldn't buy a car without air con.

Very much doubt you can buy a brand new a6 without climate control, or any half decent car for that matter.

Electric heated seats are nice and if you do a lot of motorway driving I would say go for the dynamic cruise. Especially if you get auto box.

christy02

Cienciano wrote: »

I'd never pay fro sat nav as an extra. On the rare occasions you need it a cheap garmin would do.
Climate control is nice and if you have kids rear electric windows is handy. I wouldn't buy a car without air con.

Very much doubt you can buy a brand new a6 without climate control, or any half decent car for that matter.

Electric heated seats are nice and if you do a lot of motorway driving I would say go for the dynamic cruise. Especially if you get auto box.

Voodoomelon

The best headlight option the manufacturer offers. Worth every penny.

carsfan

OP, are you bothered about resale value or is it irrelevant?
Stuff like adaptive suspension, dynamic cruise etc. will add nothing to the value of the car in a few years time and should only be added if you feel you will get the benefit from them.
The fact you are buying the 2 litre petrol not diesel would make me think you either are not in Ireland or are treating yourself to what you want as I imagine most dealers would steer you straight to a diesel model as the petrol will not be worth as much in years to come unfortunately.
We have adaptive cruise on one of our cars as we bought a high spec demo and it is a great feature but I would not pay two thousand euro for it.
If it was me I would go with the features you have listed initially and make sure you get the s line model.
I also find a reversing camera is great even though there will be parking sensors. The camera helps you get into those last few centimetres, but again will add nothing come resale.

Henry Ford III

Heated windscreen. Not too expensive and priceless in the winter.

bladespin

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Heated windscreen. Not too expensive and priceless in the winter.

Oh god yes, best feature on my old mondy by a mile.

ironclaw

rocky wrote: »

What about resale? Personally I was looking for a car with nav because it has the bigger wide screen and looks better, even if I'm not using nav functionality.

By the time resale rolls around it will be effectively worthless as depreciation will have well and truly set in. In addition, 3 to 5 years down the road is going to see a massive change in in-car systems and operating systems. iOS and Android are on the cusp and its going to develop rapidly once they do.

As has been said, Google search is a must for any Sat Nav worth its salt. How often do people search a full address versus say the name of a restaurant or street? Even against a TomTom or Garmin, the speed you can get an address is far quick on Google and the routing algorithm exceptional (Especially with Live Traffic which will only increase in usage as smart phones take hold)

As regards the data argument, there are few places in Ireland where its impossible to get a data connection, and Google Maps in addition to NavFree etc all support offline maps.

Personally I see in-car data in the form of wifi becoming very popular soon. In-car is going to need data for maps, traffic, entertainment etc so it makes sense to offer this to the passengers as well. On all the major rallies high-gain 4G / Wifi dongles are a must for navigation.

You can see them on the roof of the Cayman here for example:

bazz26

On a mid size executive saloon, things like led xenon headlights with adaptive cornering, a decent auto box with steering wheel flappy paddles, heated and ventilated seats, electric driver's seat with memory settings, adaptive cruise control and lane departure detection.

I have factory Sat Nav in my current car and had it in my previous car, it's not worth the extra money imo, unless you opt for the very expensive high end version then it's very limited and as said updating maps can be a money racket. I'd rather spend that money on another option.

Looking myself at used F10s at the moment and finding it hard to find anything with decent spec here.

rocky

ironclaw wrote: »

By the time resale rolls around it will be effectively worthless as depreciation will have well and truly set in. In addition, 3 to 5 years down the road is going to see a massive change in in-car systems and operating systems. iOS and Android are on the cusp and its going to develop rapidly once they do.

Though the 3 year old car does not compete with new cars and technology when the time comes to sell it. I don't know how it looks in Audis, but in BMW you get an ugly small screen with no nav, and a nice widescreen with Prof Nav.

PS. I used my nav a handful of times when going to Dublin, although it's 2005 version of the software with 2013 maps, it was grand.

Summer wind

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime wrote: »

Automatic gearbox.

I agree with this 100%. When I was ordering my f10 two years ago I went with a manual box because I'm driving 16 years with one and also because the auto was an extra 2,500. In hindsight this was a mistake because I had an operation on my left knee and driving in the city is literally a pain when I have to use the clutch so often.

I would also go for metallic paint and led xenon lights. I could not recommend the xenons enough. The only thing I have in my car that I wouldn't spec again would be the sunroof as half the time I don't even use it.

mickdw

Eric Cartman wrote: »

In car navigation is miles ahead of a phone with google maps on it. What happens when you have no data signal as happens in many parts of the world. Also the built in navigation mutes your radio automatically and can be used without gards going mad about you holding a phone.

I have a mk4 bmw nav system in the e38 and a kenwood dnx navigation unit in the d-max , both are miles better than google maps for driving.

But you can mirror your phone screen to the in car display in a number of ways. Giving you up to date mapping, youtube, sky go etc. It would take a very good manufacturer system to beat that seeing that the phone can be updated regularly to keep the whole system up to date.
I agree that the nav function will be a bit more reliable with an inbuilt system but that is the only advantage really.
I think the car makers should be offering big high quality screens and smart connectivity.

kirving

How much does the surround-view system cost? Made in Ireland and cool as hell!

mickdw

Kevin Irving wrote: »

How much does the surround-view system cost? Made in Ireland and cool as hell!

Valeo system i take it.
They get up to some cool stuff.

pippip

Do Audi happen to offer the phone mirroring system where the screen of the phone appears on the cars screen with full control. I know it's and option on some modern lower range cars.

Would be the best option for the satnav problem.

Edit: googling there I see it can easily be done anyway with other kits.

Beaner1

mickdw wrote: »

But you can mirror your phone screen to the in car display in a number of ways. Giving you up to date mapping, youtube, sky go etc. It would take a very good manufacturer system to beat that seeing that the phone can be updated regularly to keep the whole system up to date.
I agree that the nav function will be a bit more reliable with an inbuilt system but that is the only advantage really.
I think the car makers should be offering big high quality screens and smart connectivity.

It's a really messy solution that let me down numerous times this year.
Having stupid charger wires lying around. Data dropouts at the worst possible times driving around Europe. Google nav algorithms make some really strange decisions and don't tend to reroute too well.

pm.

ironclaw wrote: »

SatNav built into a car is becoming the modern day tape deck. It will quickly be out of date and the map updates are criminally expensive. Until Google maps is as standard as the mapping engine in the built in systems, I wouldn't bother paying for one. A phone is cheaper and you'll always have your phone with you.

yes but no.... the roaming charges are silly I drive in the North a lot and your phone uses data for fun.. For me I love the xenon headlights with adaptive cornering on my superb

Gumbo

Auto.
DAB radio.
Bose radio upgrade or whatever is he current Audi upgrade.
LED/Xenon.
SLine.
Upgraded wheels.
Whatever multifaceted that allows Bluetooth connectivit and music streaming (similar to the F10 5 Series).
Heated seats.
Sunroof.
Leather.
Front and rear camera/PDC a.

That's all I can think of now. Had a lot of them on my 535d, makes the cabin so much more pleasant.

Stella Virgo

Beaner1 wrote: »

I'm putting together my new A6 and I'm torn about how much to put on it. Money thankfully isn't the issue, if something really makes a difference then I will add it. But at the same time I don't want to spend 2K on massaging chairs if I'm not going get 2K of value out of them.

I will rank the main extras in terms of importance. Base spec comes with a fair amount so only the discretionary luxuries


1. Sat Nav
2. Electric memory seats
4. Upgraded sound system
5. Sunroof (only after having my current car with one)

Then theres stuff like
dynamic cruise control (2K to keep your distance with cruise control...useful I suppose but 2K?)
Massaging front seats
HUD
Dynamic suspension

What items are definites in your spec wishlist?

if money is not a problem,why on earth are you buying the most boring, nondescript ,trailer towing farmers car on the market. an audi for fecks sake???can you not do better than that?

Beaner1

Stella Virgo wrote: »

if money is not a problem,why on earth are you buying the most boring, nondescript ,trailer towing farmers car on the market. an audi for fecks sake???can you not do better than that?

Suggest a better one.

pm.

Beaner1 wrote: »

Suggest a better one.

f
Good point... but if money is no object the M5 would be for me or the 535D instead of the A6 but thorn between

pm.

pm. wrote: »

f
Good point... but if money is no object the M5 would be for me or the 535D instead of the A6 but thorn between

No people with money is no object ever buys the bmw. When you have the money so many are better options than bmw. Even the Audi is better options.

Beaner1

pm. wrote: »

f
Good point... but if money is no object the M5 would be for me or the 535D instead of the A6 but thorn between

535d was one possibility. Owned both last gen 5 and 6 and preferred the Audi by a good margin. Not as sharp a driver but such a nice car to drive in for the city or motorway.

Money is not really the issue with spec for this segment but I'm not really in the market for the top spec panamera.

mickdw

Beaner1 wrote: »

It's a really messy solution that let me down numerous times this year.
Having stupid charger wires lying around. Data dropouts at the worst possible times driving around Europe. Google nav algorithms make some really strange decisions and don't tend to reroute too well.

It can be a very tidy solution. With the right equipment, you can wireless mirror to the screen. You can also hide an NFC tag in the car and just place the phone near it for a second when you get in and use it to instantly configure the phone for the car like locking on landscape and the required mirroring settings.
You will need charging but that's almost a given anyway with current smart phones.

R.O.R

Good luck pricing an A6 at the moment.

Going to be a couple of weeks before the new price list and specifications are available.

If money is NO object, don't go for FWD. Rumour is that there will be a 2.0tdi quattro option. With S-Tonic, that's the one to Go for. I'd expect nav and xenons to become standard to compete against the 5 Series.

Blazer

Eric Cartman wrote: »

In car navigation is miles ahead of a phone with google maps on it. What happens when you have no data signal as happens in many parts of the world. Also the built in navigation mutes your radio automatically and can be used without gards going mad about you holding a phone.

I have a mk4 bmw nav system in the e38 and a kenwood dnx navigation unit in the d-max , both are miles better than google maps for driving.

I use Tom Tom on my iphone and since the phone is paired with my car it automatically mutes when a call comes through.Same for radio and music.
It's also in a dash holder so no chance of being seen holding a phone in my hands.

Leonard Hofstadter

If the funds permit, then there's one thing above all else that I'd definitely be adding:

- quattro, because not only does the car now drive the rear wheels (as well as the front, of course), but it also guarantees a V6 engine, and no matter how much the manufacturers say otherwise, six pot engines are a lot nicer to drive than four cylinder units
- an automatic gearbox if you want a diesel

As for extras, well adaptive cruise control, memory seats, leather upgrade, headlight upgrade and S Line are what I'd be spending my money on.

galwaytt

Automatic, Leather, adaptive cruise, heated seats. In car nav if it's free. Upgraded sound system. Non sport suspension - too hard for this country.
Oh, and Quattro.

bazz26

R.O.R wrote: »

Good luck pricing an A6 at the moment.

Going to be a couple of weeks before the new price list and specifications are available.

If money is NO object, don't go for FWD. Rumour is that there will be a 2.0tdi quattro option. With S-Tonic, that's the one to Go for. I'd expect nav and xenons to become standard to compete against the 5 Series.

Isn't there a facelifted A6 due very soon?

whizbang

Adaptive cruise control is useless unless you plan on sleeping while driving on motorways at 4am.

Its far too sensitive, resets the distance to max everytime you fart.

R.O.R

bazz26 wrote: »

Isn't there a facelifted A6 due very soon?

Yes, that's what I was saying.

Full info on the P I model isn't available yet.

Red Kev

Invest in a second set of alloys, stick a set of good winter tyres on them and keep them in the garage on a good tyre holder. Stick summer tyres on the originals. It's worth the small bit of time it takes to swop them over twice a year.

Deffo Quattro and auto.

Personally I'd pick the Avant over the saloon, but that's just me.