Sold My A3, A Quick Review.

[unkle]

Said goodbye to my A3 yesterday, picking up a Golf GTI in a few days time so thought I'd do a quick write up of the last 13 months, maybe it will help other people when they decide to purchase or failing that push my post count up just a little higher.

Good Things: 2.0 TDI engine, amazing piece of engine, excellent for the Autobahns and for ragging round the ring road in town, doesnt like the wet though, amazing MPG figures (got it up to 54.4 yesterday) and all the torque is great even has pull in sixth. Leather interiour was great although not sure if Id bother with it again, I think the Symphony II option is a bargain for a dash mounted 6 cd changer. Multi-function steering wheel was mildly useful but a bit expensive, reverse parking sensors are a must. Also A3's are still quite rare on uk roads especially round my old hometown, made me feel like an estate agent.

Not So Good Things: Fuel tank is too small, the central locking system was the bain of my life or maybe I just didnt read the instructions properly, cant believe it doesnt come with rear matts, hated how when it rained and you opened the window a flood of water would come in. The door handle on the drivers side came off in my hand one time which was a bit of a shocker (its an Audi, not a Rover) those bars on the centre console which make your legs ache after 20 miles did my head in, also cant believe it doesnt have reverse Light + Fog Light in both clusters on the rear, even BMW's have this luxury.

Never had any need to go to a dealer so cant comment on them.

One thing that did disappoint were the residuals, always believed Audis had the best but I got mine VAT free and still lost a bit when I sold it (admittedly to a dealer, might of gotten more if Id sold private but still would of been hit)

Overall an excellent car.

 

[AndyMac]

you ran abrand new Audi for over a year and only lost 20%, that's fantastic, when you consider you lose the VAT as soon as you drive it off the forecourt.
I'd be well chuffed. Glad to hear you didn't have the teething problems that many seem to have suffered on new Audi's (apart from the door handle).
I presume you have only done 12k or so miles so why on earth did you buy a TDi?

 

[unkle]

I presume you have only done 12k or so miles so why on earth did you buy a TDi?

When I handed it over it had only done 7500ish miles, I got the TDI because it was cheap to insure but fast enough to keep me entertained, also I went to Iraq for 9 months when originally was supposed to about 6/8 weeks which kept the mileage down as well....

 

[ianwoodall]

Enjoy the Golf GTI. I sold my A3 a few months ago and bought one - it's so much more fun to drive than the A3. And it doesn't rattle or squeak like my A3 did

 

[mfspen]

Enjoy the Golf GTI. I sold my A3 a few months ago and bought one - it's so much more fun to drive than the A3. And it doesn't rattle or squeak like my A3 did

How does it compare to a 2.0T S-Line, which I guess would be the nearest A3 equivalent to the GTI ?

 

[Amchlolor]

First time I've heard the tank size being criticised..
Given that you evidently drive it quite gently (54mpg is impossible for me to achieve,even driving like a nun),you should be getting 500-600 miles to a tank.
How far would you like to go on a tank ????

You'll be very lucky to get half that on a Gti tank.
The last Gti I had ( 1.8T ) was lucky to do 250 miles to a tank.
Proper pain in the *** that was.
Never away from the pumps.

 

[steve184]

Andymac - why should the only reason to buy a diesel be that you have to do high mileage - this is utter tosh - at the end of the day a diesel is a completely different kettle of fish to a petrol - this gives more choice for people to choose between other than.... ohhhh diesels are more expensive to buy so you simply HAVE to be doing 30k a year to own one. MY last audi was 2.5 years old when i sold it with 11,000 on it. I still do 7,000 a year approx but guess what.... i'm getting another diesel... simply cos they make petrols feel gutless not to mention make a fool out of their thirst for fuel!

 

[marriedblonde]

Enjoy the Golf GTI. I sold my A3 a few months ago and bought one - it's so much more fun to drive than the A3. And it doesn't rattle or squeak like my A3 did

You must be THE lucky one then, everyone over on another forum seems to complain bitterly about the build quality! A lot of them are now jumping ship to the A3...

Personally the mkV golf hasn't grown on me, reminds me too much of the pug 307. It's the first one I haven't owned and don't plan to own.

But we are all different

J.

 

[cdb2]

My other half has a 2006 Golf and the difference between the interior on this and the A3 is like night and day, the A3 is way ahead.

I had a Renault once, that had a better interior than the Golf Mk5. Hard grey plastic, nice!

 

[AndyMac]

"they make petrols feel gutless" well that's quite a sweeping statement, totally depends on the petrol version you're comparing it to.
I was just interested in someone who has moved from a TDi to a GTi, why they chose the TDi in the first place if doing a relatively low mileage.
If I wasn't concerned about either company car tax or fuel economy, a TDi would certainly not be top of my list, even the fuel economy is getting debatable as petrol engines get more efficient and TDi's get more power, the gap is narrowing. If my TDi only did 32-36mpg I would get rid of it, luckily I get a steady 48mpg so quite happy to overlook the horrendous engine noise and the limited power band.

 

[Amchlolor]

With regard to the 'gutless' thing,I was following a brand new 2.0T sportback over a back road this morning.
Although he wasn't exactly driving fast,he was evidently flooring it out of corners.
My car couldn't even look at it,he was pulling yards out on me every time.
He wasn't using tonnes of revs either,so low down torque/acceleration is evidently better on the 2.0T.

 

[mfspen]

With regard to the 'gutless' thing,I was following a brand new 2.0T sportback over a back road this morning.
Although he wasn't exactly driving fast,he was evidently flooring it out of corners.
My car couldn't even look at it,he was pulling yards out on me every time.
He wasn't using tonnes of revs either,so low down torque/acceleration is evidently better on the 2.0T.

That is certainly my experience, having owned both cars.

The 2.0TDI initially feels more impressive, due to the sudden surge at 2000rpm, whereas the 2.0T is much more progressive. It doesn't 'feel' as quick, until you look at the speedo !

I used to find the TDI could be frustrating when booting out of corners. If you let the revs drop just a bit too much, it would take an eternity to pick up. With the 2.0T, it just hauls itself away at any revs.

 

[C_Audiboy]

That is certainly my experience, having owned both cars.

The 2.0TDI initially feels more impressive, due to the sudden surge at 2000rpm, whereas the 2.0T is much more progressive. It doesn't 'feel' as quick, until you look at the speedo !

I used to find the TDI could be frustrating when booting out of corners. If you let the revs drop just a bit too much, it would take an eternity to pick up. With the 2.0T, it just hauls itself away at any revs.

Yup. Dead right.

I prove this point on a regular basis as a work colleague tries to follow me in his Golf 2.0 140 TDi. The TDi just runs out of steam too early, the TFSi just keeps going. If he's got the TDi in the 'sweet spot' out of the corners he's right there behind me - until the power disappears ha ha

Like you say - not the sudden push at 2000RPM, but the TFSI is most definetely the quicker.

It actually surprises me how well the TFSI drives from low revs sometimes....

 

[Beddie]

Enjoy the Golf GTI. I sold my A3 a few months ago and bought one - it's so much more fun to drive than the A3. And it doesn't rattle or squeak like my A3 did

You must have a good 'un there mate, my Feb 2006 GTI rattled and squeaked like you would not believe at times, not all the time granted but often enough to annoy on a 21K car....
When the foam in the drivers seat started coming out like an old teddy bear i decided it had to go...

The GTI and in particular the engine is a great unit and undoubtedly quicker than my 2.0TDI that has replaced it, but the build quality issues and all that grey interior plastic always seemed at odds with the amount of £ i'd paid for it!
I know that the A3 platform has it's fair share of issues and owner gripes as with any car, but i'm more than happy with mine...:icon_thumright:

 

[unkle]

First time I've heard the tank size being criticised..
Given that you evidently drive it quite gently (54mpg is impossible for me to achieve,even driving like a nun),you should be getting 500-600 miles to a tank.
How far would you like to go on a tank ????

You'll be very lucky to get half that on a Gti tank.
The last Gti I had ( 1.8T ) was lucky to do 250 miles to a tank.
Proper pain in the *** that was.
Never away from the pumps.

I drove from Herford to Thurrock Services on a tank (520 miles) and that was doing 120+ to the German border and then 100ish through Holland, Belgium and France, went down to just below 50 MPG, I just wished the tank had been a little bit bigger...the 54.4 reading was from Maidstone to Kings Lynn, I get paranoid when I go back to the UK about speed cameras and the like...

On another note all the 2.0 TDI vs 2.0T arguements are a bit mis-placed, both are excellent engines and have their advantages and disadvantages, ones a bit quicker and not so noisy while the other has lots of torque, Group 11 insurance and 40+ MPG on most journeys...

Pick whichever suits your needs...

 

[nb]

On another note all the 2.0 TDI vs 2.0T arguements are a bit mis-placed, both are excellent engines and have their advantages and disadvantages, ones a bit quicker and not so noisy while the other has lots of torque, Group 11 insurance and 40+ MPG on most journeys...

Pick whichever suits your needs...

True, true it all comes down to personal preference but i do agree with andymac as i wonder why you would want to own a diesel apart from to exploit the mileage benefits. But saying that there are some pretty sweet diesel engines out there now like the 335 and 320cdi lump. Audi are slipping somewhat!!!

Just to throw another perspective in and sorry to hijack this thread somewhat, but i must say the S3 has really, really impressive pull throughout the whole range - well into the red - but in my opinion thats about the only thing i liked about it!!