While my 4s was at the dealer... They gave me a 4s rental with very different options. Some observations!

[Barry41561]

So my 4s is above, loaner is below. Some observations... And please do not take any of my comments as negative / snobbery, we all (almost all) have a budget we were working with. So with that...

The black paint looked absolutely sinister. I like my volcano grey, but that black, coupled with the factory tint, and the wheels, looked fantastic. Stunning even.
The 22 inch wheels (Continental all seasons) looked fabulous, but I'm a range lunatic, and losing the range from 20 to 22 would drive me (more) crazy. But they do look super sharp.

The black interior (Base) looked nice, and the 18 way seat was a bit more comfortable than the (lowly) 14 way I have. But the truffle brown interior is (IMHO) on a completely different level.

The rental had no clock in the dash. Looking at the dash location on the rental, you just knew something was missing...

Also missing was the rear wiper. I know there have been discussions on the site about this, I can only comment that with a bit of morning dew this am, it took a bit longer to clear than on my 4s with the wiper.

The rental did not have ALK, which I really missed!

Also missing, but I'll not die on the hill claiming they're necessary, are HUD and rear wheel steering. I like having them both, but... Not a deal breaker.

One final note / question: The loaner had roof rails. I'm curious, is there any purpose to them - can you mount a rack with them? They looked sharp (more black), but I never understood the purpose (if there is one).

Bottom line, the 4s is incredibly enjoyable, regardless of the spec! Wonderful to have so many options....

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[sor]

Yes you can mount things to the roof racks! Practically a necessity if you do something like skiing. If I didn’t want roof racks I may not be looking at an SUV like a Macan.

 

[krissrock]

i really wish i could have gotten the full leather with the Blackberry. The Truffle is nice, especially since its everywhere in that package, but it seems kinda light to be on the dash too.
I would think the blackberry is dark enough to all over/on the dash.

I don't have a rear wiper...and honestly, not once have i looked to or had a need to wipe off the rear glass.

and yes..this car on 22's is totally tits

 

[jsclarke]

Great topic!
We special ordered a Papaya 4S, and then bought a 2nd Oak Green "off the lot" ahead of tariffs. So we've been able to compare options we "got stuck with" vs "ones we wanted".

Now we know we'd want
1. sport steering wheel- a great size! feels sportier
2. the sport chrono lap timer (or compass or ??)- the hump just looks better than the flat dash
3. stock door sills. black gets scuffed and gets dirty too easily
4. full leather interior ($3.8k?)- esp 2 tone- primarily for the cross stitched leather on the upper part of the doors

Now we're sure we wouldn't spend money on
1. the passenger display. OK, that's a $1,500 joke (IMHO)
2. Heads Up Display- maybe at $1k, not at $2.5k. Easy to live without this. It doesn't work well with polarized sunglasses anyway
3. Rear door window shades- they rattle sometimes when down
4. Rear window wiper- really compromises the look and it only takes a couple of minutes to clear the rear window when driving (but, we live in So. Cal)

 

[Barry41561]

Great topic!
We special ordered a Papaya 4S, and then bought a 2nd Oak Green "off the lot" ahead of tariffs. So we've been able to compare options we "got stuck with" vs "ones we wanted".

Now we know we'd want
1. sport steering wheel- a great size! feels sportier
2. the sport chrono lap timer (or compass or ??)- the hump just looks better than the flat dash
3. stock door sills. black gets scuffed and gets dirty too easily
4. full leather interior ($3.8k?)- esp 2 tone- primarily for the cross stitched leather on the upper part of the doors

Now we're sure we wouldn't spend money on
1. the passenger display. OK, that's a $1,500 joke (IMHO)
2. Heads Up Display- maybe at $1k, not at $2.5k. Easy to live without this. It doesn't work well with polarized sunglasses anyway
3. Rear door window shades- they rattle sometimes when down
4. Rear window wiper- really compromises the look and it only takes a couple of minutes to clear the rear window when driving (but, we live in So. Cal)

Very interesting - thanks for sharing! Even though I too am in SoCal - I use the rear wiper most mornings (I don't have a garage) to clear the dew. But - GREAT to have options!

 

[SteveInKirkland]

I've commented before about how I love the HUD and would buy it again, but I wanted to say that I bought 22" wheels (which came with Continental CrossContacts) when I thought I really wanted 20" wheels for efficiency. The efficiency difference did not impact any of my route planning on the trip from Florida to Delaware.

I'm also glad I bought Innodrive. And even the passenger display ... which we use constantly for music editing and route planning.

 

[Tacoman]

I have the same 22's on my 4S ..and I love em.

I could probably do without the HUD and certainly do without Sport Sound if I had an opportunity to reconfigure again.

Live in SoFlo....rear wiper has come in handy a few times already. I am cool w that add on feature

 

[cottony]

My car doesn’t have HUD but I got a chance to try the HUD when I had a loaner for software update. I might be in the minority but I didn’t really like the HUD.

I found the constantly changing speedometer in my peripheral distracting and I felt eye strain bc the projection onto the glass wasn’t as sharp compared to the normal screen. I also didn’t find the different view configurations to be that different nor were the custom panels useful to me. And I believe the HUD hardware reduces windshield visibility but not super sure

 

[Barry41561]

My car doesn’t have HUD but I got a chance to try the HUD when I had a loaner for software update. I might be in the minority but I didn’t really like the HUD.

I found the constantly changing speedometer in my peripheral distracting and I felt eye strain bc the projection onto the glass wasn’t as sharp compared to the normal screen. I also didn’t find the different view configurations to be that different nor were the custom panels useful to me. And I believe the HUD hardware reduces windshield visibility but not super sure

I totally understand your reaction - it DOES take some time to get used to it. Now that I have - I do greatly enjoy having it. Worth the price? Likely not....

 

[jwatte]

2. Heads Up Display- maybe at $1k, not at $2.5k. Easy to live without this. It doesn't work well with polarized sunglasses anyway​

​

I'm a HUD must-haver -- everyone's different though!
My wife is a sunglasses wearer and can't read it.
I think this is a shame, though, because it's possible to make displays with the polarization going 90 degrees the other way. At the volumes VAG are buying, I'd expect there wouldn't even be a price difference.
So, why is this not a solved problem?

 

[PrudentOcean]

I have two different pairs of polarized sunglasses and neither has a problem with the HUD.

 

[alxman]

I have polarized sunglasses and except for minimal dimming the HUD is clearly visible. I really like it and would not order a car without it.

 

[USMA81]

Visibility of the Macan HUD isn’t affected by polarized glasses (or perhaps very minimally). Newer technology. I had a 2023 Audi Etron and the HUD was invisible in that vehicle with polarized lenses.

 

[strwbryfruitcake]

Any ride quality/road noise difference going from 20s on yours to 22s on the loaner?
I am thinking about getting a set of 21s but I dont really wanna sacrifice ride quality on my daily beater.

 

[Barry41561]

Any ride quality/road noise difference going from 20s on yours to 22s on the loaner?
I am thinking about getting a set of 21s but I dont really wanna sacrifice ride quality on my daily beater.

The 22's DID feel a bit more rough riding - but nothing objectionable.

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