How much does S vs SE vs SEL matter?

Nuje

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 11, 2005
Location
Island near Vancouver
TDI
2015 Sportwagen; Golf GLS 2002 (swap from 2L gas); 2016 A3 e-tron
Well, to be fair, they only said "Leather seating surfaces". :)
I'm not even sure the ones in my car are actually real leather (might be synthetic), but they certainly are a different material than the seats on the Comfortline/SE.



These are the seats you're looking for - and well worth the upgrade.
 
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RIP TDI

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 16, 2000
Location
Santa Barbara, CA
TDI
'15 GSW SE 6MT...... '01 Golf GLS 5MT.... '96 Passat Variant....
U.S. SEL seats are V-Tex leatherette, just like SEs. Canadian Highlines appear to be have leather center sections if that photo is of your seats. The center sections look soft and wrinkly unlike U.S. SELs, whose center sections have the same somewhat rigid texture as the bolsters, sides and back, albeit perforated.
 
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IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
I agree on the seats. I don't love the seats in my S, but I would hate the sunroof in the SE or SEL a lot more. I've considered getting a pair of SEL seats and swapping the cushions onto the manual frames in my car.
 

RIP TDI

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 16, 2000
Location
Santa Barbara, CA
TDI
'15 GSW SE 6MT...... '01 Golf GLS 5MT.... '96 Passat Variant....
I agree on the seats. I don't love the seats in my S, but I would hate the sunroof in the SE or SEL a lot more. I've considered getting a pair of SEL seats and swapping the cushions onto the manual frames in my car.
No need to disassemble the SELs and swap components, just swap them in (unless you have the beige interior). Not sure how much driver's side wiring is in place in your S, but my SE had it all for a plug and play with the SEL replacement seats. I bet the S has at least full connectors with perhaps some missing pins. Passenger side SEL seats have the same configuration as SE (and S?); all manual adjustments except for power recline.
 

IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
Thanks for the tip. I'll see what my S has. I never drive the car so it's hard to get too excited about mods.
 

bmwM5power

Veteran Member
Joined
May 3, 2007
Location
Rochester NY
TDI
15 GSW TDI S 6MT / 02 JETTA TDI GLS 5MT 15 GOLF TDI 6MT
I agree on the seats. I don't love the seats in my S, but I would hate the sunroof in the SE or SEL a lot more. I've considered getting a pair of SEL seats and swapping the cushions onto the manual frames in my car.
the seats in the SEL do look nice, but it is a real PITA to get in and out, i think that bolster is not gonna last long, and I dont have a big @ss and weigh only 155lb
 
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IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
I had GTI Recaros in my Wagon for years, and you have to be careful getting in and out. I'm a small person, however, so it's not so bad. Those are fantastically comfortable seats.
 

RIP TDI

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 16, 2000
Location
Santa Barbara, CA
TDI
'15 GSW SE 6MT...... '01 Golf GLS 5MT.... '96 Passat Variant....
I had GTI Recaros in my Wagon for years, and you have to be careful getting in and out. I'm a small person, however, so it's not so bad. Those are fantastically comfortable seats.
Amen on the Mk.4 Recaros: way more comfortable than the Mk 7 SELs (any VW I've every sat in, for that matter).

I've found that when you are the one who has spent hours rebuilding & reupholstering a drivers seat with a worn-down side bolster, you will never again slide in and will always hop over that bolster before sitting down!
 

Nuje

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Feb 11, 2005
Location
Island near Vancouver
TDI
2015 Sportwagen; Golf GLS 2002 (swap from 2L gas); 2016 A3 e-tron
I've found that when you are the one who has spent hours rebuilding & reupholstering a drivers seat with a worn-down side bolster, you will never again slide in and will always hop over that bolster before sitting down!
Oh man - truer words never spoken.

I cringe every time I watch my wife get in the car, while I'm alway so careful to do a butt-plant and then swing thighs and lower legs up and over the bolsters.

Fighting upholstery on car seats is something you never want to do once; doing it a second time....marriages have dissolved over less, I'm sure. ;)
 
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IndigoBlueWagon

TDIClub Enthusiast, Principal IDParts, Vendor , w/
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Location
South of Boston
TDI
'97 Passat, '99.5 Golf, '02 Jetta Wagon, '15 GSW
I managed to find new seat cushion foam for my Recaros. Ironically my mechanic broke down the bolster sitting sideways on the seat repairing the door lock module. It was probably near the end of its life anyway.
 

DieselDavid

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2005
Location
Maryland
TDI
2015 Passat SE TDI 6M, 2015 Golf SEL TDI DSG

DieselDavid

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2005
Location
Maryland
TDI
2015 Passat SE TDI 6M, 2015 Golf SEL TDI DSG
I never understood why shorter people are reluctant to re-adjust their driver's seats, and prefer to shimmy in and out of the driver's seat rubbing against the side bolster like an itchy cat.



I am over 6 feet tall. I get in/out of my cars with the driver's seat all the way back, and I drive with the driver's seat all the way back. I've never had a problem with the side bolsters getting worn out...

...until I got married to a much shorter person and later had kids also much shorter than me. Then (in my non-VWs) I started seeing the driver's side bolsters getting worn out fairly rapidly.



I had to train my wife (and later my kids) before getting out of the car to first slide the driver's seat all the way back. Then later get in and side the seat forward. After explaining the worn out fabric on the driver's seat side bolsters and a bit of protesting they finally got it - especially now that my kids have their own cars.



Also getting them to slide the driver's seat all the way back makes it easier for me to get into the driver's seat. Otherwise I have to reach in, manually slide the driver's seat backward (or use the power button) and then get into the car!
 

carrisco

New member
Joined
Jun 4, 2020
Location
Portland, OR
TDI
In Process...
Super newbie question but why? Did most of them leak or experience mechanical issues?

-b.


I agree on the seats. I don't love the seats in my S, but I would hate the sunroof in the SE or SEL a lot more. I've considered getting a pair of SEL seats and swapping the cushions onto the manual frames in my car.
 

DieselDavid

Veteran Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2005
Location
Maryland
TDI
2015 Passat SE TDI 6M, 2015 Golf SEL TDI DSG
Super newbie question but why? Did most of them leak or experience mechanical issues?

-b.
I'll take a swing at answering this question.

Sunroofs are generally not worth it. It is not uncommon for the sunroof on any vehicle to leak. There is a probability of leaking; it may be very low but it is there. At least one of the four drain tubes may slowly get clogged with debris. The gasket around the sunroof will slowly age due to weather. The motor may fail. An owner might leave their sunroof open or partially open, then it rains, then they get a wet surprise. Sometimes a sunroof reduces the amount of headroom. Sometimes a sunroof introduces wind noise. On one of my non-VW cars the rails that guided the sunroof open and close were plastic, and over time they slowly warped in the summer heat which lead to issues.

The value of sunroofs would be allowing more light inside the car which could be nice during the times of the year when there is limited daylight, and helping cool off the inside of the car when it is parked in the sun on a hot day.

Now on the other hand a car without a sunroof has no chance for sunroof leaks, no motor to fail, no worries about leaving the sunroof open when it rains, no loss of headroom, no extra wind noise, and the purchase price is lower.

Given the purchase choice between two identical vehicles, one with a sunroof and the other without a sunroof, I would choose the vehicle without the sunroof. Usually the sunroof is part of a trim package so we have to ask ourselves if the benefit of the extra options outweigh the potential negatives of a sunroof.

At the time I am writing this I do have at least VW with a sunroof and at least one VW without a sunroof. One of my VWs with a sunroof is a 2015 Golf SEL - I really wanted the better seats and automatic dual-zone climate control.
 

ApriliaNut

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 4, 2008
Location
SoCal
TDI
06 pkg 1 Jetta 191k w/Malone Stage 2
I've gotten a little offended that my choice in trim was trashed by one member then saying "here here!" when it was supported. LOL

Point is...different strokes for different folks.

Order guides are available on many dealer websites. Here's a link to one I like:

https://www.emichvw.com/vw-order-guides/

You should be able to go back to 2015 and compare options so you can narrow down what you like. Then of course sit in 'em and drive 'em.
e

Thanks for the link to the order gide; Really thoughtful of you!
Been conflicted between the 15 GSW vs 15 Passat SEL and at least it'll ad to my confusement! Guess it's time to go drive both!
 
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