Pick one: Premium Sound OR Smart Air Suspension

[chriSharek]

I'm doing my best to stay within my wife's budget and also get into the 85D (instead of a loaded 70D).

These two options (premium sound & smart air suspension) are $2,500 each.

My current thinking is to get the SAS now and I can always upgrade the audio down the road.

This will be my final poll (at least for a while) and I would really appreciate your input!

 

[lolgas]

I'm doing my best to stay within my wife's budget and also get into the 85D (instead of a loaded 70D).

These two options (premium sound & smart air suspension) are $2,500 each.

My current thinking is to get the SAS now and I can always upgrade the audio down the road.

This will be my final poll (at least for a while) and I would really appreciate your input!

FWIW, the upgraded sound is pretty damn good! You can however opt for the suspension and get aftermarket sound installed later down the line so keep that in mind.

 

[roblab]

I'm doing my best to stay within my wife's budget and also get into the 85D (instead of a loaded 70D).

These two options (premium sound & smart air suspension) are $2,500 each.

My current thinking is to get the SAS now and I can always upgrade the audio down the road.

This will be my final poll (at least for a while) and I would really appreciate your input!

Also for what it's worth,

The Air is pretty nice on long trips. Coils don't lower for better aerodynamics or raise for dips or rough washed out roads, AND air is geofenced, so every time you pull into the parking lot with the 8 inch parking curbs, the ones that everyone else sscrraaapes over and then rips their nose off when backing out, every time, the car raises for you unless you tell it not to. Those dips through the intersection or into the business parking lot, you don't worry about. The other cars that have to angle across them, and still leave parts of the underside on the street, well, your car raises.

More sound can be added later, and my personal experience is that the standard sound is pretty good, if not "pretty damn good". What most people seem to be listening to these days mostly is for playing loud enough to share with others on the interstate, even with the windows up. I don't think my ears have ever been good enough to be that discerning. I got premium sound as part of the signature package, and I can't tell that it's any better.

But that's just me.

 

[efusco]

I have and like both...I think this depends upon your personal priorities. Do you love XM radio and really want to have full access to that? Or are you more a local talk radio guy that the nuances of the sound don't matter quite so much?
Do you plan to travel long distances in areas with little supercharger infrastructure and need to be able to squeak every little bit of range out of the car? Then maybe the SAS is what you need.

For me, I have both, but I've driven enough Teslas without the SAS to say that it really doesn't matter in day to day driving. But when I have those loaners, I really miss having XM radio which I depend upon when traveling and for Sports and such that I can't get on public radio channels.

 

[chriSharek]

FWIW, the upgraded sound is pretty damn good! You can however opt for the suspension and get aftermarket sound installed later down the line so keep that in mind.

That is exactly what I was thinking. You can add the audio later - you can't (easily or cheaply) add the suspension . . .

Plus, how much aftermarket audio can I get for $2,500!? I would think a lot!

 

[cgiGuy]

Wow, man.. 5 polls with questions regarding "this vs that" or "is it worth it"? Couldn't all of this have been discussed in one thread?

 

[chriSharek]

Wow, man.. 5 polls with questions regarding "this vs that" or "is it worth it"? Couldn't all of this have been discussed in one thread?

Sorry cgiGuy, I love getting everyone's input. I thought the polls are easy to respond to - plus I love the data.

Did I really do 5? Yeah, I probably did.

 

[ahurst]

I like the polls. They help me with same decision process.

 

[Efren Bolisay]

I got both. I love the suspension when I pass certain parts of Los Angeles where there are dips and whenever I get into my driveway or out of it. I probably have this thing raising and lowering about 10 times a day. For the premium sound, I thought it was a must have... frankly it's probably the worst part of the car. The speakers vs my old BMW (with the premium package) are crap, and I honestly can't figure out if I even have the premium speakers installed. The price I pay for Howard Stern... also, since I NEEDED the premium sound package, I also NEEDED to get the sunroof for reception. If I did it all over again, I'd get the suspension and and skip the audio/sunroof. The bluetooth works great, and I just use the Sirius iPhone app anyways since I like to control the show...

 

[Miltonian]

I opted for the air on my 70d order and decided against the upgraded sound. Now mind you, I'm coming from a lexus rx450h that had the premium sound package which I absolutely adored. I find myself taking long trips and love to fill the void with music - but is deeper bass really worth the extra $2.5k? Not in my books. I use to install sound systems when I was younger and I'll tell you 2.5k will buy you quite a system! At the end of the day, is the stock system on a 90k+ car really going to be lacking?

Put the money towards the air and if you should so please, aftermarket systems will always be at your disposal.

 

[JohnQ]

Neither. I have SAS, have driven coils on a loaner, and would be quite happy with coils. And one less thing to worry about going wrong. Having said that, I did raise my suspension after a 7" snow fall to get out of my driveway easily. I have no idea whether that would have been an issue with coils. But that was once in over two years.

As mentioned, you can get a lot of sound for $2,500 aftermarket. The standard system is lacking but a simple sub does wonders.

 

[Longhorn92]

I have both options and feel that neither is a must-have. If I was to purchase right now, I would likely not get either and spend the money elsewhere. Air suspension is nice if you regularly need to raise car for steep driveways or will be driving in deep, unplowed snow, but I have found that there are very few driveways/places/circumstances that it is needed, and most are easily bypassed. The audio is good, but not worth the price.

 

[chriSharek]

I got both. I love the suspension when I pass certain parts of Los Angeles where there are dips and whenever I get into my driveway or out of it. I probably have this thing raising and lowering about 10 times a day. For the premium sound, I thought it was a must have... frankly it's probably the worst part of the car. The speakers vs my old BMW (with the premium package) are crap, and I honestly can't figure out if I even have the premium speakers installed. The price I pay for Howard Stern... also, since I NEEDED the premium sound package, I also NEEDED to get the sunroof for reception. If I did it all over again, I'd get the suspension and and skip the audio/sunroof. The bluetooth works great, and I just use the Sirius iPhone app anyways since I like to control the show...

Thanks for this. I think you're right. I can always upgrade the audio later if needed! Thanks!

- - - Updated - - -

I have both options and feel that neither is a must-have. If I was to purchase right now, I would likely not get either and spend the money elsewhere. Air suspension is nice if you regularly need to raise car for steep driveways or will be driving in deep, unplowed snow, but I have found that there are very few driveways/places/circumstances that it is needed, and most are easily bypassed. The audio is good, but not worth the price.

JohnQ and Longhorn92, I'm in Florida! The only thing I might need to raise it for would be a deep rain puddle! No snow here!

 

[MorrisonHiker]

Couldn't all of this have been discussed in one thread?

Sounds like a good poll topic! :wink:

 

[Miltonian]

SAS slowly overtaking premium sound :smile:. The people have spoken!

 

[Brass Guy]

I chose neither also, so I did not vote.

Premium Sound is not worth it, and I keep stuff in that right rear pocket. (Premium fills that with a sub-woofer.)
From posts above (and others), driving on coil and air are similar. Nightmarish long-term repair costs if comparable to other makes. You don't need to raise with coil because it sits higher than Standard air height.

IMO, only if you must have XM get the sound.

 

[tga]

They must have foot-high speedbumps and 45degree driveways in CA. I've driven some very low cars and never had an issue (except pull forward into parking curbs - just don't do that).

If you plan to keep the car long term and get SAS, start saving for repairs now. It will break, and it will cost a ton of money to repair. I've never known of a high mileage car (any brand) with air suspension, that didn't have some costly repair.

 

[Cyclone]

Keep in mind that coil cars are fixed at 6", which is higher than the standard setting of air (that you will do most of your driving in). Air at standard is slightly below coils and air at high is slightly above coils. Most cases were you could experiencing a curb height problem are when you are in standard. High or Very High won't usually run into the problem. As such, coils will usually just be fine. Also, if you are in the habit of backing in, the rear has more clearance than the nose on both suspensions.

Personally, after driving 8 hours yesterday with air and standard audio to get my car home, if I was buying new, I would buy coils + standard and then do an aftermarket upgrade to sound for $1k(-ish). Btw, I also spent 8 hours in 1.0 seats with the spring TSB and there were much more comfortable than I was expecting. As such, while I would probably still get next gen seats if ordering new, they aren't a deal breaker.

Chris, In the end, if you go looking for an inventory car, I would NOT let having/not having air/coil, standard/upgraded sound, 1.5/next gen 2.0 seats be a deal breaker either way.

 

[smsprague]

I am pretty unhappy with the standard sound. I was quoted around $1,500 for a custom enclosure and JL subwoofer and amp, at a place I trust. Not sure how much $2,500 would really buy. If I where to do it again I would order the premium sound. In almost one year of ownership with the coil suspension, I have never scraped the bottom.

 

[Jhall118]

I made this exact same decision with my P85D. I chose the sound.

I rarely used the air suspension in my last car. I used the sound every single day. having a sub is important to me, and I have yet to see someone get a better sound system for significantly less than $2500. This is assuming you will be happy with the upgraded sound and not upgrade it further.

Two things to note:
First, air suspension won't make a noticeable range distance. Don't base your decision based on range. Second, the geolocation is the most frustrating thing to me. Imagine you set it for a grocery store downtown. Every time you pass that grocery store, or even come within a block of it, your suspension is going to raise. Very annoying, and I wish I could turn it off. Also, the coil suspension is slightly higher than the normal mode in air. I'm not worried about bottoming out.

The only thing I will miss about air suspension is raising it all the up when washing the car. Not worth the money though.