DB22

Yes, I figured that it would stir a response and get others to offer opinions and therefore give both sides to the OP to allow an informed perspective from which his own decisions may be based.

MattR82

Thank you both for your ownership experiences, they are truly valued and appreciated. The Prestige we drove did not have noisy ventilated seats. I heard when the air was on, but it wasn't a bothersome sound. The vehicle is primarily for my mother who recently had her car totaled when she was rear ended into another vehicle. She is 67 and did not like the harshness of the 19 inch sports package. She enjoys driving but wants a balance between luxury, comfort and sportiness. She thought the E350 Bluetec (I was leaning her towards the excellent Merc diesel if she wanted to go that route) was heavy with a drab interior by comparison, although the 4 matic would be closer to the 3.0T.

13c7a6

I have 20" sport package. If you experience harshness with 19/20 or/and the sport suspension, chances are the tires are over-inflated to the pressure listed on the door frame (which is for a fully loaded 5 passengers with luggage). Have the dealer set the tire pressure to the recommended one listed inside the owner's manual, you will get a balance of handling and comfort with no harshness.

Maverick61

1. I would forgo any wheel and tire warranty, especially with the 18" option. You will have plenty of protection. Even the 19" which I have has more treadheight than the low profile 18" tires I had on my previous vehicle (which I did have the wheel and tire warranty which paid for itself several times over). But the Audi wheel's and tires sizing are bigger, and as a result I was comfortable going without the wheel and tire warranty (and I have the sport suspension)

2. Not going to comment on most of the other remarks other to say I saw little if any performance difference in the LED lights to justify the cost differential. Sure they look nice, but performance wise, the difference is minimal.

snagitseven

Just curious, did you compare the two headlights by driving at night on unlit rural roads before purchasing the car? I did and noted a significant improvement in throw distance and angle with the LED version, especially when using the high beams.

Maverick61

Yea, I had multiple test drives at different dealers on different type roads (not only the Audi but other cars I was looking at. My wife thought I was crazy but I like to research things well )

I did test drive and compared the Premium Plus and the Prestige at night. As to rural - well, they were unlit and as close to rural as you could get in the area I did the test drive. Now I would not classify them as truly rural - but they were two lane twisty roads, unlit, with open land on either side. I just did not see much difference

snagitseven

Wives don't usually get our serious anality (analness? analism? ****-lysis?) with our cars.

Maverick61

No they don't. I shopped for my wife's last car, did the research, test drove a bunch of things, told her this is what I think you would like, she drove it, liked it, we bought it. She spent all of 30 minutes on it. Me, much more, LOL

snagitseven

My wife believes going into our Audi dealer to buy each of our cars was worse than going to the dentist for a root canal. I just don't understand it even though she likes our Audis. But then, after 38 years of marraige, there's a lot I still don't understand. I just accept it.

MattR82

Thank you all for the further responses. It's interesting you note no change in ride harshness between the stock and sport suspension. I know on my previous BMW 330xi, the sports package merely changed the seats/steering wheel/rims; the AWD suspension remained completely unchanged. The 19's should be a bit firmer ride than the 18's, no? I guess Audi, king of the AWD system, is able to tweak their suspension in a way that it's somewhat sportier. I hate purchasing additional insurance on anything, but having went through $4k in tires/rims on my BMW 135i in 4 years, I am truly hesitant being without a wheel and tire plan. Granted that car had 18 inch tires, staggered setup/RWD+sports package, but it was nonstop aggravation. I had even switched out the runflats for Michelin Supersports. Has anyone else living in the Northeast had significant expenses replacing bent rims on this car?