CT custom order - group wisdom requested

[UKPerson]

I love the VLC, on chilly winter days it allows sun and warmth in and on hot summer days you can black it out. Or you can can go partial which provides a nice ambiance.

The offroad package was a must for me for various reasons but I was surprised at how good it looks and it provides a lot of protection to the fenders. I was side swiped in a parking lot and the front fender/cladding took the brunt of the impact, saving the paint and the frame. It cost $100 to replace the cladding.
The offroad package also provides a 'gravel' button that allows you to raise to the max height without going through the pcm. This is nice when approaching a bottom busting speed bump.

Positivity on VLC! ? I just love the sound of it.

Interesting on ORDP and helping protect against damage. But I think you can raise the ride height even without it to the same level as with? (Is it not as convenient to do so without?). Speed bumps a prime reason for considering inclusion.

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[UKPerson]

my 2 cents…
I wanted light but practical interior. So chalk beige (I guess thats the right name - darker from two beiges available, dirty beige?) and black was a choice. Rex Tec on the roof. But for final order I ask my wife to help with colours And she then we changed the final build.

She decided for me cancelling the RexTec - claiming it’s different black than black leather on dash. She pushed for standard black roof. My concern was a b pillar covered with plastic - Rex Tec was a solution only partially, lower part afair can be covered with leather together with doorstep. So I went for it., pricey option but it looks great imo. But … more luxury than sporty, but I highly recommend it.

I have purchased ACC and then bought Line Keep Assist (part of Innodrive package) only. As function on demand. buing LKA and Inno is more expensive then Innodrive package in my country, so I recommend to check the prices.

22kW charger in my case is very good option. I drive to my home town where are no DC chargers. I have never used 22kW from EVSE (mobile charger) but use it often for city charging where 22 kW

What I did not order and I miss is a 4 zone aircon. i think it can save some energy for switching off heating in the back of the car. Also inteligent range assistant - it moves max speed limit in Range mode from 140 to 150km/h. In my country max speed allowed on highways is 140, sometimes I have to switch to Normal for overtaking. It’s available as a subscription or FOD, I will turn it on for next long trips,

i ordered roof rails and next time I would avoid that. I think I can hear it, also it affects a range.

Thank you. I'm leaning toward the 2-tone leather you're describing. In the UK it's 'Smooth-finish leather, black/chalk beige' (limestone in US?). I'll look into RT colour compared to dashboard. My thoughts are the same as yours for covering the B pillar. I want luxury as well as sporty.

I'm also thinking ACC and LKA will probably be the way I'll go.

Starting to think that 22kW is worth the investment.

Interesting thoughts on saving energy by switching off heating to rear with 4-zone aircon. I'll ask about that at dealership.

I think Intelligent Range Assistant is a standard feature. At least, I've not seen an option to spec it. Sadly in the UK I can't see me ever getting the chance to do 140/150 km/h!

Interesting on roof rails. I kept them on the spec but I'm not sure about them. I read that they didn't effect range (and the configurator doesn't show a drop in range with/without). But as I'm highly unlikely to add roof storage I would be open to dropping these if wind noise and/or range was an issue.

 

[anonymouse]

tried Porsche's ACC - it was rubbish compared to the Audi. It cancelled every time you pressed the accelerator rather than just when you pressed the brake.

Not my experience. It just stays active until I hit the brake I think. Unlike Tesla Autopilot it stays active when you change lanes too. Anyway it’s only a flip of the lever to re-engage. I have it on most of the time.

I don't think I would want the sports sound. If I bought a car with it that would be fine but I suspect I'd keep it off for the vast majority of the time.

I thought the same - but in practice I do really like it. I have it on a button on the steering wheel and flip it on when either (a) I am roaring off on a country road and want a bit more “feel”; (b) I drive into an area congested with people and/or cycles.

Personally I'm not too bothered about Sports Chrono

I was advised by my dealer that this option is regarded as essential by many buyers so get it even if I don’t need it (also 2+1 rear seats, same thing). In practice the little knob is handy as I do put the car in “normal” on motorways and “sport” on B roads.

 

[UKPerson]

I can chime in on a few being a recent Turbo non-CT owner but in the US:

1. Leather Package vs. Olea: Leather Package is standard on a Turbo and you can go 2-tone, which I did. I looked at Olea leather cars and the leather was very soft, not very durable, looked worn out everywhere, so eliminated that right away.

2. HUD: OP correctly noted that it adds a gob of plastic on top of the instrument cluster that most dislike. I agree that info is too redundant to be useful, but I optioned it as part of a Tech Package because it is such a deal in the US. The benefit is that you can have additional information displayed there vs. what you see in the instrument cluster and it is more comfortable at night to just look at the HUD display.

3. VLC: I originally thought that this would be a must since there is no electric shade but when I saw one in person, it did not block the sun, the owner of that GTS did not like the milky look of it, and attempted to tint over it, then the roof malfunctioned (one panel would not turn off), that turned into a nightmare to replace it. That was a big NO for me so I am glad I caught it in time. I discovered Groovey removable shade and it is just perfect.

4. Pillar Plastic vs. Race-tex vs. Leather: I did not want the standard plastic as it is a really bad kind having driven loaners for multiple days. Race-tex pillar is a sensible option, but I went for leather B-Pillar and Door Sill and could not be happier with that choice. There is so much leather that removes all 4 door sills, 2 pillars, and contrast stitching especially with 2-tone is no additional cost. My most enjoyable everyday option I could have selected as it deals with ugly plastic head on.

5. InnoDrive: This would be my first driver assistance tech so cannot compare to anything, but it works as expected on well-marked and mapped roads with speed limits and I can see it useful in stop/go and long journeys. My bet is that they will release some updates to it to make it more useful. Currently, the only issue with it, is that it speeds up way too fast when it sees open road.

5. 22kW charging would be something region specific and I have not known of a public charger that would provide it, home charger setup with that much output is also uncommon and expensive on top of this option to be very expensive, so I can only see this being useful for a very specific and limited case and return on investment. 11kW standard AC charging overnight is the intended charging procedure then anything faster should be DC charging.

Please share your updated build code to see what changes you ended up making.

Thank you - much appreciate your thoughts on these points.

Definitely looking to drop Olea in favour of 2-tone.

I'm going to look at HUD in the dealership and take a decision there.

VLC - interesting. I'll see if I can look at a car with it in the dealership.

Leather on B-pillar / door sill. That's really good info - thank you. I think I'll go for this approach.

Innodrive - that's an interesting point re future upgrades. Will try to test drive with it and decide then.

22kW. I think for me it's the EU options and just generally covering my charging options that makes me want to retain it.

 

[Tighlines]

Positivity on VLC! ? I just love the sound of it.

Interesting on ORDP and helping protect against damage. But I think you can raise the ride height even without it to the same level as with? (Is it not as convenient to do so without?). Speed bumps a prime reason for considering inclusion.

Detailed illustration of the ride height differences:

 

[violuma]

If you can, it's probably best to see the various interiors in the flesh. I will do my best to represent for Team Race-Tex here, even though it's sounding like you're leaning towards leather. Here are a few photos of my two-tone black/slate gray RaceTex interior, including roof lining and B-pillar, if it helps:

 

[WuffvonTrips]

I'll look into RT colour compared to dashboard. My thoughts are the same as yours for covering the B pillar.

Don't forget that the Turbo has RaceTex as standard for the roof lining, which extends down the front pillars to meet the dashboard, so a RT/leather junction will be very visible regardless of lower B-pillar material. Also, even an all-black interior comprises multiple "black" materials- leather, plastic of different grades and textures, carpet, either unnamed fabric or RaceTex headliner, seatbelts, piano black trim if optioned,- which have different textures, sheen and finish, so will look like different "blacks", as well as varying according to lighting conditions. Personally, I think that the variety and contrast that creates is important to avoid a monotonous blackness (though I still wouldn't choose a single-colour interior).

 

[Jonathan S.]

Re HUD demo, try it while navigating, since the map display on the windshield is super neat-o!

 

[whitex]

Thank you!

HUD will check out at dealership.

Don't want Night Vision - have it on the A8 and never use it. I could see a use case in heavy fog but that's about it for me.

Starting to think ODRP not worth having.

Will look further into Innodrive at dealership. Erring on the side of dropping it.

One of the night vision benefits I like is warnings and auto braking if it sees an animal or human on a potential collision path. With matrix headlights, you also get the flashing highlight of the object being warned about. It does nothing in heavy snowstorms by the way, just as blinded as the human driver. Seeing in the dark and recognizing human/animal shapes is its main advantage (also displayed on IC).

 

[UKPerson]

You are paying for plastic bits and default ride height setting. You aren't getting a different suspension tune
Now, around here in New England, the roads are terrible. I still drive the car in Sport Plus suspension mode (I like to sit low), and I like it. Any time I get close to a speed bump, I do a suspension lift, save the location, and by now I have every local road I take mapped with those pre-sets. Such a useful feature!

Thank you! I'm dropping ORDP. Great to hear that the local mapping of points where you need to lift works so well. There are *A LOT* of them if I drive to my son's school.

 

[agurkas]

Thank you! I'm dropping ORDP. Great to hear that the local mapping of points where you need to lift works so well. There are *A LOT* of them if I drive to my son's school.

When you get the car, it is a good excuse to put some miles on it Just say you need to map the speedbumps as a service to missus

 

[UKPerson]

Re: ORDP: the standard car is fairly well protected underneath, I can share a pic of mine if interested. As I understand, the package does add a bit more plastic underneath, but that would be more relevant on a proper offroad(ish); speed bumps would not be a problem in the standard CT. It’s really mostly a design package - with protection added around the wheel arches, and zero impact on comfort. There are several threads around here that analyze it in depth.

Re: B pillars: similarly, I can share pictures of mine to exemplify. The gist is that the plastic parts that wrap the pillar do not seem to join neatly, leaving a slight gap and feeling somewhat flimsy. They do scratch easily - my (tall) ski buddy made contact with the covering on the passenger side entering and exiting the car, and the panel got scratched from the rivets on the pants. It’s a hard, thin cover - I suspect chosen for its low weight. On the plus side, it’s not really visible unless one knows it’s there (which, of course, by now would be _the_ first thing you’d look at upon entering the car.

These are minor issues, though; I have obsessed over configuration for months, and then promptly forgot about it all after (even during) the first drive. It only comes up on threads such as this.

Thanks for your feedback and hugely appreciate you taking time out to send the pictures!

Definitely dropping ODRP as from everyone's feedback it will do nothing to improve ride comfort and/or protect from speed bumps / potholes. I'm not planning on taking the car off-road. The occasional muddy track or unpaved road would likely be its most extreme environment.

Interesting re B pillars. I'm going to update the configuration to include the leather on B pillars and door sills (recommended by SergeyIndy above). However, I will try to understand what the meshing together of the leather and RT will look like.

I get what you say about obsessing over these things in the build phase then promptly forgetting about them once you drive the car. However, now is definitely the time for obsessing. And it's part of the fun! ?

 

[UKPerson]

Not my experience. It just stays active until I hit the brake I think. Unlike Tesla Autopilot it stays active when you change lanes too. Anyway it’s only a flip of the lever to re-engage. I have it on most of the time.


I thought the same - but in practice I do really like it. I have it on a button on the steering wheel and flip it on when either (a) I am roaring off on a country road and want a bit more “feel”; (b) I drive into an area congested with people and/or cycles.


I was advised by my dealer that this option is regarded as essential by many buyers so get it even if I don’t need it (also 2+1 rear seats, same thing). In practice the little knob is handy as I do put the car in “normal” on motorways and “sport” on B roads.

Great news if they've improved the ACC system. Audi's implementation (on a 2011 A8) is excellent and definitely outclassed the Panamera I test drove maybe 3-4 years ago.

I think I'll need to test drive with/without sports sound to assess. But than you - good to hear positive feedback from someone who wasn't expecting to appreciate it. In particular, it might be a good thing for congested areas.

The Sports Chrono appears to be a no-cost option for the UK CT Turbo so I've no problem in adding it. And completely understand it will likely aid resale in the future. Also, agree about value of adding 2+1 seating. I'm adding this option as well. I'm open to buying an in-stock new car if I can find one close enough and lack of this would be a deal breaker for me. There will be plenty of times when I'll want to put people in the back seat and it's a surprise how often we need to accommodate 5 rather than 4 people.

 

[UKPerson]

Detailed illustration of the ride height differences:

Thanks for adding this. This is the chart I was poring over and which leads me to believe that there is no real benefit (for me at least) in adding ORDP.

 

[UKPerson]

If you can, it's probably best to see the various interiors in the flesh. I will do my best to represent for Team Race-Tex here, even though it's sounding like you're leaning towards leather. Here are a few photos of my two-tone black/slate gray RaceTex interior, including roof lining and B-pillar, if it helps:

Thanks so much - especially for making the effort to send the pictures. Hugely appreciate all of the support I've had with this thread.

Although I've added the leather to the door sills and B pillar, I'm not sure how the leather will mesh with the RT. Definitely one to try to puzzle out in the dealership.

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