2011 Euro V Sedan vs 2011 US V Wagon comparison

Couldn't really find a general info thread or something so I'll post this here for someone who is looking for this kinda info.

I had my friends 2011 CTS-V Sedan A6 for a day since I had to install some parts for him. His V is a Euro-spec car while I have an imported US-spec 2011 CTS-V Wagon A6. Both cars have currently the same mods:

• Airaid Intake
• LS7 TB
• 2.5 upper
• ID1050X
• Flexfuel
• Highflow Cats

Keep in mind both cars are in Switzerland and in other European countries there might be differences. Some changes might also be due to wagon vs sedan and some things might be due to different trim option, but as far as I know not too many options were available to the V series.

The most obvious difference between the cars are obviously the lights.:

• The headlights don't have a bulb in the DRL spot and use the LED tube during the day. There is also an additional plug on the headlight housing, possibly to achieve the different light modes.
• There's also a remote adjuster possibly for the height of the low beams. If I want to adjust the height I have to remove the whole headlight.
• The euro-spec cars come with fender mounted turn signals as well.
• The taillights are clear glass and have an amber turn signal. Euro-spec wagon taillights have a larger clear window where the reverse lights are that also contain the amber turn signals. Pretty sure the electrical connection is different aswell as the lights have a different configuration.
• The euro-spec models have rear fog lights inside the bumper inserts. I'm not sure if the wagon or coupe have that too.

Exterior differences:

• The front bumper has different foam inserts for crash protection. Some of the foam actually blocks some of the lower grille from the inside and there is an additional brace with a second foam in the lower portion of the bumper.
• The side mirrors have a curved glass to provide a wider field of view. It does not have the "objects in mirror are closer than they appear" text.
• The car has a stock diff cooler mounted under the spare tire bulge.

Interior differences:

• The gauges are set up for metric units. Meaning the speedometer goes from 0 to 330. The gauge has a line every 10 units and the number written next to the line every 30 units (30,60, 70 ....). For me that was a bit annoying since I have the imperial gauge wich only goes to 200, but that means the resolution is much finer with a line every 5 units and the number for every 20 units, so it is easier to see what speed you are going. My gauge is also set to show km/h.
• The boost pressure gauge shows the values in kPa and engine temp is in degree Celsius.
• Another annoying thing is the passenger seatbelt warning. I was doing a log with my laptop on the passenger seat and the seatbelt warning would beep constantly as long as the laptop triggered the passenger presence sensor. In my car it goes off after a couple of seconds and the light in the dash stays on and blinks occasionally but it will not keep beeping.

Last difference that drove me crazy:

• The anti theft system features an interior motion sensor that would trigger the alarm if any movement was detected inside the car. I dropped my jacket thru a window onto a seat and it would go off. Sometimes it will also randomly go off with all windows closed parked in the garage. You can turn it off when exiting the car, but it is annoying. I ended up unplugging the sensor and now it won't trigger anymore even if the system is left active.
• There is also a seperate battery pack in the trunk to power the anti theft system. It is currently unplugged since it will trigger the alarm as soon as it is plugged in. It's probably trying to say that the battery is empty.

Other differences not region related:

• My friends car has a KW suspension and while it feels very planted I do prefer the magnaride with cut stock springs(very little) on mine. My rear shocks are shot but I already have replacement shocks ready to be installed.
• His steering feels a bit lighter than mine. Maybe due to suspension setup or different power steering settings.
• Besides the different exhaust tips and the angle of the tips, the mufflers are different internally. I think that is a known fact that sedan and wagon mufflers are slightly different.
• I am running his modified sedan mufflers now. Unfortunately I can't say in what way they are modified since he got the car with them on. They sound really good and absolutely no drone inside the car. That is with highflow cats and stock secondary cats. With a cam they might be too loud but we'll see about that in the future.
• His car has some cheap chinese mufflers with an internal valve. With open valve it is ridiculously loud and a lot of drone. Didn't really dare to go full throttle they are so loud and I didn't wanted to get pulled over. With the valves closed it doesn't drone but the exhaust becomes very resticted. It starts whistling thru every little hole it can.