MikeS6

So I upgraded from a 2016 S6 Premium plus to one of the last 2018 S6 Prestige built (C7.5)... I ordered the vehicle exactly how I wanted it, which was amazing. When the car finally came in, it looked so good. I ordered a Daytona Gray & Black optic, with the Lunar Silver Interior, black wood & layered aluminum panels and the black Alacantara headliner. It's looks so sick. I don't think that new car look, smell, and feeling will ever get old. When I ordered the vehicle the Audi exclusive program was already discontinued on the S6's, (so no Nardo Gray) and one other thing I noticed is that you could no longer order the Prestige trim with 21" inch Wheels. Which is probably a good thing in the long run anyway, as I had enough issues with the 20's, I'm sure the 21's would only be more painful over those Northeast pot holes.

I checked most of the Options except:
-Comfort seating package (1850)
-Bang & Olufsen (4900)
-Night Vision Assistant (2500)

Differences and Impressions:I have to admit the look of the Darker color, black trim and the red brake calipers is strikingly beautiful. I'm thinking of getting the Emblems satin black. The inside is a little bit more luxurious, and perhaps a little bit "old-man-wish" but I love it. The black Alacantara headliner really makes the car, I don't regret the $3000 I paid for that, it was so worth it.

The cars throttle response seems a bit sluggish to me, but I have not had a chance to fully decide on that yet.... I'm not sure if it's the quality of gas the dealer filled it with, the fact that I usually put Lucas fuel treatments in, the car has a governor of the first 1000 miles or something?, or finally... perhaps it's all just in my head. I always forget how much new tires really help out the handling and feels of the vehicles driving performance, and confidence on the road. For some reason I thought the new 2018's had the dynamic turn signals, they do not, that’s a huge bummer, as I think they look so technologically advanced.

The interior LED lighting is noticeably crisper, brighter, and so much better looking, for some reason I thought you could adjust the color of it? I guess not, Only bright white it is, but you can a least adjust the intensity. The top sunglass/eyewear holder is really small and fiddlely, but it's better than not having one like in the PPlus trim. That center overhead console has better functionality than the PPlus's do, for example you have a button to turn on the interior rear cabin LED lights only, among other controls. One thing that I was pleasantly surprised about, and I can't understand why this is not advertised, or otherwise described/listed... is the Illuminated badged door sills! They look so cool, and it adds that extra touch of class.

The HUD is underwhelming for sure, useful at times, I have not seen the Audi brake guard warning yet that I heard it does have incorporated into the HUD Display, I wonder if its red? The power trunk is nice, but I don't like that I have to hold the key fob button down to fully close down the trunk lid from afar. I wonder if that’s something I can change with VAGCOM?
At some point Audi put the Top View Camera system into the Prestige trim, I had that as a part of the Drivers assistant package in the 2016, which admittedly was $550 more expensive back then. There are several MMI Updates in the Menus but they are minor, I can't recall anything of significance. It's mostly the same. The big change of course is that it now has smartphone integration (Apple CarPlay & Android Auto) I have not set that up quite yet.

One of the accessories I opted for this time was the rear cargo mat, which I'm so glad I got that this time, as my other trunk carpeting got pretty soiled, and tattered with all the stuff I put in and out of it, etc. I always cleaned it, but I wore out some of the fibers on the carpet. This time I can keep it looking new until I trade it. Also anyone know how well the cargo net works with that? I need to go out there and try to strap that on and see if I can even do that? They also eliminated the 5,000 Complimentary Service, well... actually they changed it to 10,000. I'm not sure how comfortable I am letting the first oil change go that long. Is it still not considered best practice to change that factory installed oil at 1500-3000 miles, or at the very least 5000?

DeerHunter

Congrats! Seems like a very nice spec. For my car, I did the first oil change at 1,000 miles. If you plan on keeping the car for a long while, it's cheap preventative maintenance. Even with all the advances in machining and metallurgy, I still believe that there will be some wear particles that will collect during first break-in.

MikeS6

Thanks for the kind comments... Yea, truthfully I've always got an early oil change as in around 1500 miles to hope to pull out any of those small wear particles out before it can metastasize, clog, or otherwise damage the engine parts. I'm curious how much Audi pays the dealer for the 10,000 mile service, oh are they required to do it on the house?

elp_jc

Audi puts something in the oil for break-in, which I confirmed when cleaning the oil cap revealed red staining on a white shop towel. So I decided to listen to the master tech and leave oil for 5K miles. I'm at 4,400 at the moment, and since I'll take a long trip very soon, will probably do it with less than 4,500. I also got a 'free' (more like included) oil change, but as always, will NOT use it. He he. Hey OP, your car should have colored interior lighting. Mine is PP, and has everything you mentioned except the obvious Prestige features, like HUD, power trunk, and rear manual sunshades, which I didn't care for anyway. Hope you never need a new windshield man; with HUD, it'd be even more expensive than the $1,850 I was quoted for my driver's assistance one. Ridiculous. Hopefully you have contrast stitching on your gray interior; it looks amazing on the black one (silver stitching). The ventilated seats look awful by comparison, plus they don't work that well when I tried them, so glad the car I bought didn't have them. I used the car on 2 long trips, and those seats are the most comfortable ones I've ever owned, so very happy with them. Yes, wish they had ventilation too, but no car is perfect. And yes, the sunglass holder is the worst I've owned; you hit the glasses when closing no matter how you position them. Glasses have to be pushed into the cavity to close it, so I decided to just throw the case into the glove box. And yes, the illuminated sills were a very nice surprise. My car came with the Audi beams (only in front), and they're a great touch as well. Another disappoointment was not being able to choose just cruise control, like on all my other cars. It's always adaptive, whether you want it or not. Oh well. It's a great cruiser; don't miss my Porsche much now. Only when I'm in the twisties, but that's a very small fraction of the mileage I put on it, so a happy compromise. Suspension was brutal to my wife, and cabin noise deafening on the roads here. This car is like day and night different, and my wife now travels with me, so that alone was worth changing. Good luck.

DD1546

I was thinking of a Cayman S as second car. The one I tested was relatively smooth and pretty quiet, though not as smooth as my S6. What kind of Porsche did you have?

MikeS6

elp_jc,

Thanks for the reply. About the oil change, are you saying that even though Audi only recommends the first service (and they pay for it), you are going ahead with a 5,000 Mile oil change? Also I'll have to check the colored LED lighting option, I must have missed it. I still have not had time to go in and set everything up they way I want it yet. I was focusing on finishing the deal with the dealer, as there were a few things at pick up that had to be taken are (the mats issue I had, etc.) As far as a windshield replacement, I'm assuming the insurance might take care of that? or you might be saying perhaps not? In Massachusetts Auto glass is like a 0 deductible thing, and as far as I know does not get registered in your claim history (which could raise your rates) But I could be wrong.

elp_jc

It was a fully-optioned 2016 Cayman GTS ordered exactly the way I wanted it, including sport suspension. Unfortunately, Porsche didn't offer SPASM (Sport PASM), and PASM was too bland and with a huge wheel gap, so it had to be X73... but it's way too stiff for the streets most of the time. It didn't bother me, but my wife couldn't stand it, so only used the car by myself. So it mostly sat in the garage, as I couldn't use it for our trips. It was a hard decision, but a $100K car just sitting there didn't make sense, as much as I liked it. Before it depreciated any more, made an even exchange for the new 2018 S6, and couldn't be happier with the change. I'd like to have it as an extra car, but can't afford that. So it's just a jack-of-all-trades for me, and this car couldn't be any better. Miss the handling when in the twisties, but that car was noisy as hell on the rough asphalt prevalent in this area, and nowhere as comfortable, even with the best Porsche seats (adaptive 18 ways). Oh, and my wife couldn't recline her seat either, so not a car for her at all. Oh well. At least I had one. He he. Don't like any other Porsche, so it was my first and last.

I just don't trust dealers with anything (and for good reason), so I'll pass on that. If you want to take advantage of Audi's 'free' oil change, you can claim it at any time, as far as I know. I'd definitely do the first at 5K, not at 10K, but to each his own. It's mostly a personal preference. I typically do them at around 3K, but will do this one at 4K+.