Ultimate v N Line S - happy with your choice?

[Wychwood]

Whilst I appreciate that the Premium and N Line models offer plenty of specification and value for money, there are many owners on this forum who opted for the Ultimate or N Line S. I personally found the choice between these two models very difficult and it was resolved for me primarily by the much quicker availability of the Ultimate and that may still be the case. I have often gone with sporty trims in the past ( Audi S Line, VW R Line, BMW M Sport) and I had a natural affinity with the N Line/ N Line S. There has been plenty of discussion on the forum about the merits of these two highest spec models but I wonder in the light of living with and owning one of these two whether anyone feels ( and are prepared to admit!) with the benefit of hindsight that they should have opted for the other one?
I have been very pleased with my Ultimate but still really like the N Line S exterior both front and back, and especially the body painted wheel arches and sills; however, I do prefer the design of the Ultimate’s alloys which have been relatively easy to keep clean. I also like the seats/ red stitching etc in the N Line S. I know the Ultimate has some extra goodies like all leather and ventilated/electric memory seats and heated seats in the rear but I am not sure if they trump the better aesthetics of the N Line. Perhaps the colour of the car has some bearing on how each model looks and why some may prefer it eg shadow grey only available in N Line spec.

I know at the end of the day it is each to his/their own. Maybe when the facelift comes next year there could be a N Line Plus which combines the best of both models or they could just get rid of the plastic bits on the Ultimate.

[EJH]

Great thread Wychwood.
I'm toying with the idea of body colour painting my arches and lower front & rear grilles etc. I'm hoping to use photoshop method to 'colour in' 4 side images to decide if it suits it in my eyes.
By trade I painted cars, so we'll see what happens next

[EJH]

Other than above, I'm very happy with my 'Ultimate' choice. Regularly use park assist as my drive leading upto garage is inset into house. Great security feature for me personally.

[Deleted User 1130]

I put the N Line S against the Ultimate and it came down to interior trim, electric memory seats and the other bits and bobs that just trumped the N Line.

For a facelift, an Ultimate with N line bodykit would work for me, oh and the option of some more colours that other markets get.

[old man]

As you know, I like my N Line S.
The two things I would change are the wheel style and I'd delete the whole glass roof.
Personally, I haven't seen any model designation Tucson that looks as good as my NLS in black (with two exceptions) and I think that to the untrained eye, the Ultimate is indistinguishable from lesser models. I would have ordered Dark Knight grey if circumstances had been different. I drove a Shadow Grey NLS demo which I thought was rather fetching, but my dealer wouldn't sell it at the time. I think maybe it looked good due to the black roof as a contrast because my neighbour has a Kona in Shadow Grey which looks rather plain.
There are enough features on the NLS to make me happy and there was nothing in the Ultimate over and above the NLS that I needed/wanted that warranted the extra cost, except electric memory seats.

Not trying to be contentious here, these are just my personal preferences.

[Southern Lad]

Same as Oldman for me with my NLS. Love the Shadow Grey and would of had Black or Dark Knight Grey as my secondary options. The shadow Grey like the Black has great depth of colour and really pops in the sunlight. Got mine booked in for a full Carpro Cquartz UK 3.0 coating in April to get all that shine locked in. Personally I like the wheels and although a bit more work to keep clean you can help cut your work down using today's modern products to help. I use Gyeon Wet Coat on the wheels once a month and with it's very good hydrophobicity it really helps keeping them clean. Also helps the brake dust not stick. If I had a choice of options from the Ultimate I would of liked the 360 Deg reverse camera and the blind spot monitoring. Otherwise it's got everything that I personally like to have including a non hard ride with all the sporty features. It's all a personal thing and we all have different tastes but I don't think you can go wrong with either choice really.

[Deleted User 616]

If I had a choice of options from the Ultimate I would of liked the 360 Deg reverse camera and the blind spot monitoring.

SL, you do know that those options are not standard spec on an Ultimate. They come as part of the optional Tech Pack.

[Southern Lad]

Ah ok. I thought they were included. Thanks for pointing that out. Having said that when I ordered mine the tech pack was not available to add to the order. It was also the cause of longer delays.

[Wychwood]

EJH - you might have to resurrect your career and provide a service to Ultimate owners!

[TWPC]

We got our Ultimate in December, having ordered it in May 2022. TBH, didn’t really consider the N Line S as at the time it was significantly more expensive from the car broker through whom we were ordering the car. Also it is a family wagon and the younger members of the family were VERY keen on the heated rear seats and the pano roof, while we boring older ones were keen on the leather upholstery and electric front seats.
Bottom line we are very happy with our choice. The additional features have been as popular as we hoped, especially on chilly days, but obviously our reasons for getting the Ultimate were very family-specific. Ours is Amazon Grey and I actually think it looks OK with the grey wheel arches. It may look better if they were body colour but it’s not something I’ve really considered.