David Bennett

Hey all, I am going to order an A4 in the next few months for a late spring, early summer delivery and am really concerned about the sport package. Does it make the car handle and bounce like a jeep or a civic low rider? Ride comfort is very important to me and I don't want to be bouncing around inside the cabin or feeling like my teeth will fall out when I hit a bump. Also, how comfortable are the seats compared to the regular seats? I need a sofffft cushion for my rear end and do not want to sit on brick hard seats if that is what the sport package offers. I really want the handling and looks of the sport package but am concerned that I will hate it after driving the car. The problem is that none of the dealers near me have any cars with sport package that I could test drive to see before I order. Thanks for any input.

Barrels41

I like the sports package. I am 68 . My brother who is 66 6'2"and weighs 280 drove it and liked it. My wife likes it too. He said it is a go-cart. Drive both suspensions. There is a huge difference. I never heard any complaints on this board. Maybe bellyaching about needing winter tires.

gunsmoker

Dave, if you say where you live, maybe someone will let you try his car. The sport package is nothing like the things you are afraid of. If you have had a chance to try Lexus IS 250 (my wife drives a 2007 AWD one), the A4 sport suspension is less bouncy, the bucket seats are more comfortable and the A4 is quieter. I find the IS seat's side bolsters too tight to be comfortable and I'm an average size guy.
I was afraid the A4 with the sport package would be too low and my wife was giving me hard time for ordering it that way before she saw it. After that, she said she liked it low better, which surprised me a lot. She also likes better how it drives compared to the IS. I haven't had any problems with steep driveways or bumps. Overall, if you ask me, the A4 should come standard with the sport package - I believe that would be more appealing to most people, but I understand that the non-sport package config caters to some other demographics that Audi wants for customers too.
I'm not sure why some dealerships don't carry sport package configs - unless I'm totally wrong about what most people would find appealing! I mean even if I'm wrong and the non-sport vs. sport fans are 80% vs. 20%, you would expect to find some sport-equipped cars in the dealership lots. In my dealership you could see R8s, S5s, but 0 A4s with sport package.

PDong

I really agree with those sentiments. I didn't buy a new A4, but I was shopping for my car (either an A4 or A5) the sports package (or S-Line) was 100% necessary.

For me, the seats were the necessary component in the equation. I like the sport suspension too, but the seats were more important. I came from a 2006 GTI, and the seats were awesome, I felt like the regular buckets wouldn't be supportive enough.

I ended up in an A4 S-Line, and the sport seats are just as comfortable. The overall feel of the car is actually a bit smoother/softer (shocks are beter), even with bigger wheels.

David Bennett

Thanks guys that really helps. I am not so concerned about being tight in the seats as I am about being comfortable with enough padding on my rear. If it's one thing I can't stand is a hard seat. How much cushioning is in the sport seats compared to the standard seats? I found ONE A4 in Richmond, Va. with a sport package and it sold last week. According to multiple dealers there are no cars anywhere on the east coast now with this config. According to them, Audi just doesn't make too many A4 premiums with sport package and when they do they are almost always in the premium plus or prestige configuration. It certainly would be nice to be able to try it before I buy it but that is not going to happen. I just don't want to be bouncing around like a jeep or riding on a hard seat with no padding for my bum!

A4DK

The cushioning is the same I think. The mayor difference is the tuck. If you are a huge guy it can become a bit tight. Im skinny and the sides of the seat keep me in the seat in tight and fast turns.
The sports package is worth the money just for the wheels/tires alone and then dont forget all the extra gadgets that comes with it.

gunsmoker

Audi makes what the dealerships order. I'm not sure the dealers have done enough market research to know what configs to order and they couldn't care less if they are confident in their ability to talk you into getting a more expensive config (S-line, S4) that what you came for.
Yes, I haven't heard of people buying the sport package with the premium trim. People either buy premium plus with sport or prestige with S-line from what I see on the Audi enthusiast sites.

quattrovant

To each to his own. I bought my first Audi as an Avant premium w/quattro equipped with sport package. I did not care for the headlight L.E.D. jewelry in peticular. I am 60yrs young, 6' at 220 came from a MB Sport Seat. Dealers don't have any Sport Packaged vehicles around here because they sell out of them quicker and that is what the general public expects out of a BMW competitor..I waited 6 months for my car, special color interior, etc.
Select Porsche, BMW and MB models are the same way and will get worse before better, China is buying European luxury sport cars faster then the factories can make and ship and therefore taking some of the US unit numbers for overseas sales.
The car is wonderfully pleasant to drive. Seats are far more comfortable and wider in the side bolster area w more adjustments in the seats for your "rear" than my 08 MB. S.Cal highway speeds are norm between 75-90 mph you feel like your doing 60, at 65 is comfort. The difference between a 17" std tire suspension and the 18" SS is a little bit harsher but I figure it will soften with age, too. The 18" wheels/tires/lower 1" suspension/Sport steering wheel all work together with hugging soft sport seats to keep you there. I too, did not want to spend for the sport package, thinking it was unecessary. please get real, and talk to real Audi owners in your local area, see what they say. They are a peticular bunch and is part of the reason of ownership. After owning the car a couple thousand miles,I was pleasantly surprised that this is MORE car than I expected and others will chime in an agree.Other wise go buy a Camry

quality_sound

I drove a non-sport A4 last weekend and it suuuuuuuucked. It was WAY too soft. The seats weren't all that bad considering I'm currently in an M3. The suspension and wheel/tire combination was absolute garbage and the base Q5 I drove had a better suspension but the seats didn't feel as good. Probably an adjustment thing since I think they're the same seats.

The sport seats are not hard, they're supportive, and some people will mistake that for being hard the first time they sit in them. As an example, my 04.5 seats were "soft" and driving to L.A. from Sacramento always left me with a sore lower back. After I moved to an 07 Civic Si, with it much "harder" seats, I learned that difference. I had absolutely no leg fatigue or back pain on that same drive.

Sitting on a bean bag for long drives is not what you want. Good support, especially in the lumbar region, and the thigh extensions I've gotten used to on my M and are on the S-Line and sport seats, is.

UmIsThisThingOn

No on both of those. It took me about a week to get used to the way the car drove after coming from a regular Japanese econobox. My wife has lower back issues and she usually doesn't have any problems after driving around running errands, etc.

I feel that the seats are comfortable for me - 5'10" 170lbs. keep in mind that they will soften up after time as more time is spent in them. I've driven a Q5 as a loaner before and it had normal seats - I'd say they're comparable to one another, cushion wise. You could see if the dealer has any other sport/ SLine equipped models as those seats would be what you'd be getting.