# 2018 Tiguan SEL vs SEL Premium



## BCalvert (May 17, 2011)

Can't decide if I want to take the leap for the Premium. I am coming out of a 2009 SEL that has all the bells and whistles. I love this car but time to upgrade My wife just picked up a 2018 Atlas SE that she loves and her model comes with the rain sensing wipers but no climate control. As many of you know, you need to jump to the Tiguan SEL to get the rain sensing wipers, memory seat, folding mirrors, adaptive headlights etc. I would love the heated steering wheel but all the other items such as 360 view, lane assist, park assist etc seem to be so so. Digital cockpit is cool might be overkill. 

Anyone made or not made the decision for the Premium and why? Happy with decision? Thank you.


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## Drin logu (May 19, 2017)

BCalvert said:


> Can't decide if I want to take the leap for the Premium. I am coming out of a 2009 SEL that has all the bells and whistles. I love this car but time to upgrade My wife just picked up a 2018 Atlas SE that she loves and her model comes with the rain sensing wipers but no climate control. As many of you know, you need to jump to the Tiguan SEL to get the rain sensing wipers, memory seat, folding mirrors, adaptive headlights etc. I would love the heated steering wheel but all the other items such as 360 view, lane assist, park assist etc seem to be so so. Digital cockpit is cool might be overkill.
> 
> Anyone made or not made the decision for the Premium and why? Happy with decision? Thank you.


I got the sel. I regret not going with the sel premium. They didnt have it in stock thats why I couldn’t even check it out maybe thats why i didnt get it. I realized i should have get the sel p right after a week i got mine. Sel is fine but sel premium has a lot more to offer. My fav options are the super nice headlights and the digital cockpit but there is a lot more like the heated steering, 360 cameras, leather seats etc


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## BCalvert (May 17, 2011)

Drin logu said:


> I got the sel. I regret not going with the sel premium. They didnt have it in stock thats why I couldn’t even check it out maybe thats why i didnt get it. I realized i should have get the sel p right after a week i got mine. Sel is fine but sel premium has a lot more to offer. My fav options are the super nice headlights and the digital cockpit but there is a lot more like the heated steering, 360 cameras, leather seats etc
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


That is what I am afraid of for me. I drive very little, approximately 5,000 miles per year and expect to own this for at a minimum the 6 year warranty. By then, this technology will be outdated so I am leaning towards the Premium but at same time think "do I really need this stuff?". lol


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## autostrophic (Aug 23, 2011)

BCalvert said:


> Can't decide if I want to take the leap for the Premium. I am coming out of a 2009 SEL that has all the bells and whistles. I love this car but time to upgrade My wife just picked up a 2018 Atlas SE that she loves and her model comes with the rain sensing wipers but no climate control. As many of you know, you need to jump to the Tiguan SEL to get the rain sensing wipers, memory seat, folding mirrors, adaptive headlights etc. I would love the heated steering wheel but all the other items such as 360 view, lane assist, park assist etc seem to be so so. Digital cockpit is cool might be overkill.
> 
> Anyone made or not made the decision for the Premium and why? Happy with decision? Thank you.


Atlas SE does not come with rain sensing wipers nor does the Tiguan SEL. Memory seats and power folding mirrors are SEL P only. It’s either Atlas SE w/Tech or Tiguan SEL Premium. I have a Tiguan SEL-P and love all the extra stuff, but that’s subjective. If money ain’t the problem and you like the cool tech I’d say go for the Premium.


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## BCalvert (May 17, 2011)

autostrophic said:


> Atlas SE does not come with rain sensing wipers nor does the Tiguan SEL. Memory seats and power folding mirrors are SEL P only. It’s either Atlas SE w/Tech or Tiguan SEL Premium. I have a Tiguan SEL-P and love all the extra stuff, but that’s subjective. If money ain’t the problem and you like the cool tech I’d say go for the Premium.


My wife has the Atlas SE without Tech and it does include Rain sensing wipers. Money is not the issue, I just want to know if the extras are causing buyers remorse for others. Thanks for the reply, much appreciated.


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## autostrophic (Aug 23, 2011)

BCalvert said:


> My wife has the Atlas SE without Tech and it does include Rain sensing wipers. Money is not the issue, I just want to know if the extras are causing buyers remorse for others. Thanks for the reply, much appreciated.


You’re right, sorry, my mistake. Anyways, the SEL P is worth the extra money, IMO. Good luck.


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## buzzindsm (Sep 2, 2017)

It was either the SEL-P for my wife or should would have bought another brand/model. The tech is the thing that sold her. As far as the tech becoming outdated, I do think this will happen in time but if I look at the digital cockpit of the 2015 Audi's, it still looks great to me. LED headlights are not going to be dated. 19" wheels are not going to be dated compared to 18's. The Fender audio system isn't going to be dated compared to the standard one. Now whether this stuff is worth an additional $4k is the big question. It won't bring $4k more during trade in but it will probably bring $1,500 so is it worth $2,500 more?


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## JenSnyder1083 (Nov 20, 2017)

SEL-P owner here. There were a few good points over on another thread regarding SEL v SEL-P decision. Once I discovered the redesigned Tig for 2018, it was 100% SEL-P for me. 
http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?9067865-SEL-vs-SEL-P


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## BCalvert (May 17, 2011)

JenSnyder1083 said:


> SEL-P owner here. There were a few good points over on another thread regarding SEL v SEL-P decision. Once I discovered the redesigned Tig for 2018, it was 100% SEL-P for me.
> http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?9067865-SEL-vs-SEL-P


Thanks. My heart is with the SEL P but my mind/wallet says to be more responsible. I drive very little and expect to drive it for at least the 6 years of warranty. Dealership in Springfiled VA is advertising unbelievable pricing online. There are NO SEL P's in the Western New York Market for me to even sit in one. I guess a road trip is in my future. I am hoping I can get my dealer locally to find me one AND match their pricing. That will be a tall order though.


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## cruzgti17 (Jun 13, 2017)

Thing about SEL vs SEL-P in the U.S. is that dealers are hardly getting any SEL-Ps yet SELs continue to roll in. There is good haggle room for the SEL but the SEL-P does not due to lack of inventory. Late last year they didn't even qualify for VWOA incentives. If we wanted one we would have had to put a deposit down on one coming in months away, at full price.

So you are looking at ~4K MSRP difference but maybe up to 8K or more in actual difference. Which is nuts. It made us by something else.


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## BCalvert (May 17, 2011)

cruzgti17 said:


> Thing about SEL vs SEL-P in the U.S. is that dealers are hardly getting any SEL-Ps yet SELs continue to roll in. There is good haggle room for the SEL but the SEL-P does not due to lack of inventory. Late last year they didn't even qualify for VWOA incentives. If we wanted one we would have had to put a deposit down on one coming in months away, at full price.
> 
> So you are looking at ~4K MSRP difference but maybe up to 8K or more in actual difference. Which is nuts. It made us by something else.


Yea. My preferred dealer locally just got one SEL Premium in today. So I am going to go check it out and see what it is all about. Maybe I will sit in each and think its just not worth it..... I have no issue traveling to get the right car are have it shipped so its time to do some research once I sit in it and get a feel. Thanks.


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## BCalvert (May 17, 2011)

buzzindsm said:


> It was either the SEL-P for my wife or should would have bought another brand/model. The tech is the thing that sold her. As far as the tech becoming outdated, I do think this will happen in time but if I look at the digital cockpit of the 2015 Audi's, it still looks great to me. LED headlights are not going to be dated. 19" wheels are not going to be dated compared to 18's. The Fender audio system isn't going to be dated compared to the standard one. Now whether this stuff is worth an additional $4k is the big question. It won't bring $4k more during trade in but it will probably bring $1,500 so is it worth $2,500 more?


I haven't looked at it from the trade in resale value yet. I appreciate your thought process. I guess like any type of purchase like this I just have to decide on what I can really afford and go with it. Otherwise I would just fix my 2009 SEL with the main seal leak and keep it for a few more years. But the new model is really calling my name.....


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## jpik (Sep 11, 2017)

I’m a week into my SEL Premium and I couldn’t be happier. I was more so going back and forth between size: atlas vs Tiguan and I finally decided on the full feature list. I was moving toward an atlas and my 7 year old loved how huge it was to him, but the deal I got on the premium (33,700+ taxes), no sunroof on the SE atlas(something I really wanted), and all the tech features that would keep me from ripping apart the electronics (I’m a sound quality nerd, fender upgrade isn’t great but it’s enough) made the Tiguan Premium the choice for me. 

Granted I’m coming from 20+ years of GM and japanese compacts so everything about this SEL-P just grabbed me.


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## JenSnyder1083 (Nov 20, 2017)

BCalvert said:


> Thanks. My heart is with the SEL P but my mind/wallet says to be more responsible. I drive very little and expect to drive it for at least the 6 years of warranty. Dealership in Springfiled VA is advertising unbelievable pricing online. There are NO SEL P's in the Western New York Market for me to even sit in one. I guess a road trip is in my future. I am hoping I can get my dealer locally to find me one AND match their pricing. That will be a tall order though.


Road trip for sure. There were none in what I wanted anywhere near Florida (closest was in TN where they "just sold the one online" before I called). So we flew up to MD, bought in PA and drove 900 miles home. Adaptive cruise was amazing on the whole trip home. The bulk of SEL-Ps I found back in November were up in your area. The PA guy was great, didn't even have to ask for discounted pricing, his first offer was well below what I'd seen and they were a dream to work with on a big out of state purchase.


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## cwfoot (Feb 28, 2018)

autostrophic said:


> I have a Tiguan SEL-P and love all the extra stuff, but that’s subjective. If money ain’t the problem and you like the cool tech I’d say go for the Premium.


Totally agree with this ... you'll definitely regret not going with the Premium especially if $$$ not an issue. 
I had to order my Premium 4mo back in Dec because availibility so limited especially in the orange so didnt get much off MSRP (3-4%) but dont regret one bit getting what I wanted.
I believe the SEL P's are becoming more available at least around here so you may get a better deal now then I did then ?


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## BCalvert (May 17, 2011)

JenSnyder1083 said:


> Road trip for sure. There were none in what I wanted anywhere near Florida (closest was in TN where they "just sold the one online" before I called). So we flew up to MD, bought in PA and drove 900 miles home. Adaptive cruise was amazing on the whole trip home. The bulk of SEL-Ps I found back in November were up in your area. The PA guy was great, didn't even have to ask for discounted pricing, his first offer was well below what I'd seen and they were a dream to work with on a big out of state purchase.


Flying to VA to pick up the new ride on Tuesday. Got the SEL P with the color and combination I wanted at a price of $35,877 and that is everything except tax and tag. I'm pumped and cant wait for the 7 hour drive home. Going to miss my 2009 SEL but not for long. I have a question, does the built in NAV show speed limits like the Apple NAV? And if so does it also in the digital cockpit? Just curious. Now that you have it for a while, any tricks or tips for me? Thanks.


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## autostrophic (Aug 23, 2011)

BCalvert said:


> Flying to VA to pick up the new ride on Tuesday. Got the SEL P with the color and combination I wanted at a price of $35,877 and that is everything except tax and tag. I'm pumped and cant wait for the 7 hour drive home. Going to miss my 2009 SEL but not for long. I have a question, does the built in NAV show speed limits like the Apple NAV? And if so does it also in the digital cockpit? Just curious. Now that you have it for a while, any tricks or tips for me? Thanks.


Speed limit will show on the screen on your discover media unit but not on the active info display.


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## JenSnyder1083 (Nov 20, 2017)

Congratulations! You will LOVE the ACC for the drive home!


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## giantsnation (Dec 15, 2014)

Congrats! I'm still trying to decide between a SEL Premium vs Atlas SE with Tech.


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## Eye Candy White (Nov 9, 2006)

If I'm adding anything to an SEL, it's going to be the R-Line package. The money spent on that vs. the differential to the SEL-P just doesn't seem worth it.

I very much dislike all the black plastic cladding, and I have a feeling staring at that every time I get into the car is going to bother me more than the few things you get by moving up to SEL-P.

Also just not sure paying for the R-Line may be worth it. Inventory is so low (for now, possibly ongoing as well), that my dealer doesn't seem to want to move much off of MSRP, which is tough to swallow when SEL's without the R-Line package are going for ~$30-31K (SEL w/R-Line MSRP ~$36K).


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## socialD (Sep 19, 2011)

The fact that the R-Line appearance package is just that, an appearance package, makes it a total non-starter for me. Now if it came with Golf R power levels I'd pay significantly more for that.


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