SE/Sport differences

druddle

Member
Hello again

I cant find a brochure or anything that answers my question so i thought I would ask it here. What is the spec differences between a standard SE and Sport ? A dealer told me that the Sport was the best model to go for, but theres alot of good looking SEs about aswell, so I was wondering if the Sport is that much more desirable than the SE. From ads I cant really get a feel for the main differences, they seem to be around the wheels and climate/air con.

Dave
 
ULP - you're spot on (apart from the illuminated vanity mirrors in the sport - they don't have them).

Druddle, I've had an SE - 2001 model with the cassette and no rear speakers and now have a 2005 model year Sport, although I did spec it up to the eyeballs so it has all the features of an SE too.

There was a long running promotion by Audi UK which enabled owners to order climate control and metallic paint for only £250, so there will be a lot of cars from around 2003 onwards that feature this.

Personally, I don't find the hard ride too rough (although the wheels do tend to buckle - see the many posts on this) so the extras of the sport were worth it to me and I do prefer the 3-spoke wheel over the 4-spoke one in the SE.

You normally won't find a 'standard' SE or 'standard' sport - there were normally subtle differences at the time of ordering, so have a look around and see what you can find.

As a general rule of thumb, an A2 with 6 spoke wheels (don't be fooled by mine - they are TT wheels after my originals buckled) will be an SE model - one with 9 spoke wheels will be a Sport. It's not surprising that you are getting a bit confused though!

Cheers,

Mike
 
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Druddle - just been through the same exercise as you. I ended up with a Sport model but that was really just because I wanted Opensky and it was the first decent Opensky model I viewed at a sensible price.

As others have already commented - you rarely find models the same because of Audi's habit of loading the options list to squeeze some extra profit out of the new car buyer. For example, my Sport (June 02) has electric rear windows (most don't). On the other hand - mine does not have foglamps - a lot do.

Just decide what features are important to you - you could find what you are looking for as either an SE or a Sport.

Curiously, I have seen a lot of very well equipped early cars (X,Y reg). I guess these were bought by people who really wanted an A2 with everything. Also, this was before Audi got too upset about all the money they were losing making A2's and decided to penny pinch on the standard specification.


Mike
 
Skipton01 said:
ULP - you're spot on (apart from the illuminated vanity mirrors in the sport - they don't have them).

Ours does... but it doesn't have electric lumbar, just manual knob twiddling.
The biggest reason we got a sport was the climate control - brilliant. ...and I like the wheels.
 
FiveLittleFish said:
Skipton01 said:
ULP - you're spot on (apart from the illuminated vanity mirrors in the sport - they don't have them).

Ours does... but it doesn't have electric lumbar, just manual knob twiddling.
The biggest reason we got a sport was the climate control - brilliant. ...and I like the wheels.
If you don't have electric lumbar support, you don't have a sport model as it was standard on all sports seats, which were standard in all Sport models. Sounds like you've probably got an SE with some Sport parts added on.

Oh and climate wasn't a standard Sport feature either.

Cheers,

Mike
 
Skipton01 said:
FiveLittleFish said:
If you don't have electric lumbar support, you don't have a sport model as it was standard on all sports seats, which were standard in all Sport models. Sounds like you've probably got an SE with some Sport parts added on.

Oh and climate wasn't a standard Sport feature either.

Cheers,

Mike

Sorry to disagree - it's definitely a Sport. We have sports seats, just not electric lumbar. And climate was standard, that's why we went for it.
 
ULP said:
Yeah but (no but!)

The climate was an option from sometime during 2002 onwards although as Mike said, there were quite often offers available to upgrade (mine is one such metallic + climate car). It was only ever standard on early SE models, never on the Sport.
I'm suprised if you have Sports seats but without electric lumbar adjustment - are you able to take a picture of them? All Audi sports seats come with 'leccy lumbar adjustment so I'd be curious to see what yours look like. Did you order the car from new or is it second hand/ from stock? I wouldn't put it past an unscrupulous stealer to sell an SE with the 17" alloys and DIS as a Sport!



We bought as a an ex demo - it says sport on both the logbook and the handbook. It's a diesel if that makes any difference. Maybe the climate was an option, but I'm sure when I was researching it that both Sport and SE models were listed as climate being standard. Could be a failing memory though.
The seats look like the seats on the sport -definitely different from the SE, because we drove one after another. I can take a picture, but after Xmas now.
 
I don't know if the Sport spec changes during its short life but the 2003 price list I have shows electric lumbar support seats as standard and climate control as an option. I've scanned the brochure and sent it to Ben to add to the 2005 version (Sport deleted by then) we have on file in the Forum.

Cheers Spike
 
Sorry everyone - we DO have electric lumbar adjustment. My bad.


We also have illuminated courtesy mirrors and climate control, but I concede these may have been options.
 
ULP said:
...the 'Special Edition' run-out model which is essentially a 'basic' with Climate control and C.d. player...

Thanks to Mike, (a.k.a. Skipton01), and some 17" rims, mine certainly isn't a 'basic' anymore!!:D

Seriously though, the benefit of the 'Special Edition' is that the vehicle offered better than standard spec, but at a lower price than the 'SE' & 'Sport' - fitting in the range nicely.

If I could buy again from scratch and turn the clock back, I would find this excellent forum first (;)), make an educated decision and armed with this entire info buy the car that suits my needs. Unfortunately for me at the time of purchase, I had yet to discover the world of A2OC, so bought blind and uninitiated.

I am still happy with the purchase of my low mileage, 6 month old dealer demo 'Special Edition' at the time, which was immaculate and a good buy with some haggling. I now have the modification bug and the enjoyment of transforming a ‘basic’ car has certainly been as much fun as the daily drive itself.

Think I would have gone for the 90TDI Sport though… that said Mike's 'Tank' is my dream car!!:)

Cheers,

Darren
 
ULP said:
Don't forget your car has the ultra-rare curtain airbags which is something I remember you really wanted because of the safety aspect - I don't think I've ever seen curtain airbags on any other A2.
Shall I let you tell him Darren?!

Cheers,

Mike
 
Yes, I did a scan for the airbag controller part number the last time Darren came up and it was the standard 4-bag controller, so no curtain bags unfortunately!

Cheers,

Mike
 
Skipton01 said:
Shall I let you tell him Darren?!

Cheers,

Mike

ULP said:
It was odd there is no reference to the airbags on the A-pillar, which there usually would be so I take it this was an Audi loose with the 'items fitted to this car' statement then...

Hi Chris & welcome back!!

As you will recall from our discussions, I myself was ‘sceptical’ about the presence of the ‘sideguard’ airbags since there was no reference to ‘airbag’ warnings on the ‘A’ pillar.

When I went to see Mike and take delivery of the S-Line wheel, I asked if he would be able to determine whether or not they were actually fitted once and for all. A quick check of the data sticker and hay presto – no ‘sideguard’ airbags are fitted it turns out. :mad: So the very feature that I wanted to ensure additional safety for my family was not present as advertised. (Not that I am planning to roll the car though, you understand). Having been mis-sold I am not best pleased to say the least and I have still got an electronic copy of the advertisement which clearly states that the vehicle is fitted with them.

If I had discovered earlier, then I may well have had some grounds for complaint. Over a year down the road though, (so to speak), to let sleeping dogs lie is probably for the best. The additional annoyance though is that I specifically quizzed the salesman before signing on the dotted line and I was told that “We get all our vehicle data direct from Audi, so if we advertise as fitted then it is fitted”.

The rest of my car is great, (well apart form the remap issue), and I can only repeat how impressed I am with it.

B****y dodgy advertising from the ‘stealers’ if you ask me!!

Cheers,

Darren

(Posted just after Mike - I am too slow!!)
 
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