Feedback on my A3 config wanted..

[Zygote]

Hi there!

I am on the verge of doing something I never thought I would do. Convert from BMW to Audi. I have a 116D 2012 model today, and the reason I want to upgrade is because living in rural conditions here in Norway, four wheel drive is something that would put bring great peace and comfort to my driving during the winter. I dont need a bigger car, I just need four wheel drive and automatic transmission, and to my great suprise, BMW just doesnt offer that unless you go for the M135i, which is way out of my price range. So the A3 2.0TDi Quattro it is. At least I think it will be.

I went to my local dealer and we got together a configuration. While its a well equipped car, ideally, I would want quattro + automatic with a smaller engine which would significantly lower the price of the car due to the tax rates on cars here, but oh well.

The list of equipment is all in Norwegian, so I will just summarize the list.

But first some thoughts on the setup

* The Bang & Olufsen sound system might not be worth it. We get the Audi Sound System upgrade as standard here anyways, which I think is good enough, eh? The shiny lights around the speakers is probably my only reason for wanting them to be honest.
* Having never had an Audi, Im not sure where the sweet spot would be in terms of suspension. Currently I have the regular sport suspension configured as its part of the Ambition package. Some say I should pick the standard suspension due to the 17" wheels, while others say that the driving dynamics gets too numb if you do. Coming from the BMW, I have a feeling the standard sport suspension would be better choice here.
* The exterior S-line package is nice, but I just couldnt get myself to opt in for it as its just a cosmetic upgrade, and an expensive one at that. Though if I opt out of the B&O system, maybe Ill go in for the S-line exterior instead.

So what I would love to hear from you guys is what you would take out of the following setup, and what you would add.

Ive translated the list here as best as possible.

AUDI A3 TDi 2.0 Ambition Automatic Quattro

CRUISE CONTROL
ELECTRICAL FOLDING MIRRORS
PARKING SENSORS FRONT/BACK
ADVANCED KEY
LIGHTING PACKAGE
MLF-SPORTS STEERING WHEEL (the all round one)
PANORAMA SUNROOF
NAVIGATION SYSTEM PLUS
INTERIOR IN ALUMINIUM FINISH
BANG & OLUFSEN SOUND SYSTEM
HEADLAMP ASSISTANCE (toggles the brighter lights in the dark automatically)
AUDI CONNECT
AUTO DIMMING INTERNAL MIRROR/RAIN SENSOR/LIGHTS/ TECH.PK
TECH-PACKAGE
TYRE-Pressure Control

Thanks for any input you guys can provide!

 

[Sandra]

Welcome to audi-sport.net. Im sure the guys will be along shortly to help you out. Enjoy the forum. x

 

[V00D00]

Nice spec. Zygote,

you may want to consider heated seats as I imagine it gets a little chilly in Norway. I personally like the roof rails, but I know it's not to everyone's liking. I wouldn't bother with the tyre pressure gauge, as I imagine it could become quite annoying. I have the standard sound system, and I am more than happy with it. Yes I would like the speaker lights but not sure it's worth the premium. ( I know all you B&O
owners will disagree)

Audi connect? I am still waiting for other members opinions on this.

I guess the only thing I didn't spec. On my car, which I wish was available at the time of ordering was the LED headlights.

 

[Tom75]

Hi,

thats a difficult one. I have the BO sound system and have to say it´s the greatest sound I ever had in a car however I don´t know the standard Audi system. Anyway in your situation I would prefer the s-line package over the sound system, it make a really big difference to the look.

- I am also living in Norway and since it is pretty dark over here during the winter I would definitely recommend adaptive xenon lights.
- Another must have for Norway is in my opinion the park heater..... there is nothing worse than starting and driving a cold car at -25 or so, especially if it is a Diesel engine. So if you ask me I would never ever choose over here the panorama roof over the park heater ... or where in Norway do you live?

- Considering the terrible quality of norwegian roads the best thing would be to have magnetic ride, however this costs a little...... but I can tell you its great.

Regards,
tom

 

[TDI-line]

Can you spec the Comfort pack, that will take care of rear sensors, cruise and the auto wipers/dimming rear view mirror?

 

[Zygote]

Thanks for all the input! Much appreciated!

Nice spec. Zygote,

you may want to consider heated seats as I imagine it gets a little chilly in Norway. I personally like the roof rails, but I know it's not to everyone's liking. I wouldn't bother with the tyre pressure gauge, as I imagine it could become quite annoying. I have the standard sound system, and I am more than happy with it. Yes I would like the speaker lights but not sure it's worth the premium. ( I know all you B&O
owners will disagree)

Audi connect? I am still waiting for other members opinions on this.

I guess the only thing I didn't spec. On my car, which I wish was available at the time of ordering was the LED headlights.

I think heated seats come as standard on the Audis here in Norway. They are pretty much a must-have here. I dont have any particular urges to get the roof rails, so I figured I might as well save on that. The reason I opted in for the pressure gauge is because it really saved me one time on the BMW, so since its rather cheap, I figured I would go for it this time as well.

The B&O sound system is really good, but for me it seems like its biggest strength is being able to handle really high volume extremely well, which is not exactly my primary use case. Hence why I think the Audi Sound System.

Hi,

thats a difficult one. I have the BO sound system and have to say it´s the greatest sound I ever had in a car however I don´t know the standard Audi system. Anyway in your situation I would prefer the s-line package over the sound system, it make a really big difference to the look.

- I am also living in Norway and since it is pretty dark over here during the winter I would definitely recommend adaptive xenon lights.
- Another must have for Norway is in my opinion the park heater..... there is nothing worse than starting and driving a cold car at -25 or so, especially if it is a Diesel engine. So if you ask me I would never ever choose over here the panorama roof over the park heater ... or where in Norway do you live?

- Considering the terrible quality of norwegian roads the best thing would be to have magnetic ride, however this costs a little...... but I can tell you its great.

Regards,
tom

Thanks for the input Tom, especially considering we're in the same country. Adaptive Xenon lights always seemed like such a gimmick to me. Its only real benefit seems to be when making sharp turns in the dark, and Im not too sure how much I find myself doing that while wishing for turning xenon lamps to be honest. Then again, Ive never had it, so I cant really compare

I am also leaning towards the S-Line exterior package instead of the sound system, but I dont know.. I spend more time inside my car than outside looking at it, so yeah

Remotely controlled heating seems really nice, but its also a very expensive addition. I dont really park my car outside all that often either, so I can usually do just fine during the winter in that regards. I really want the sunroof as I feel it gives me that airy open feeling that I really appreciate in a small car.

The magnetic ride thing seems really nice too, but again, the price was just so high that I instinctively steered clear of it. I live in Oslo.

Can you spec the Comfort pack, that will take care of rear sensors, cruise and the auto wipers/dimming rear view mirror?

I think I did spec the Comfort pack, so I got the parking sensors, standard cruise control and auto wipers/dimming rear view mirror!

The LED headlamps looks really nice, but again, not sure how much it will actually benefit me from a practical point of view.. any thoughts?

 

[baldrick]

Having gone from an A3 8P S-Line with 18" wheels to a BMW 320d ED with the standard ED 16" wheels I can honestly say I preferred the Audi ride. I would not hesitate to spec a new A3 with the S-line suspension beyond sport. The wife found the A3 comfortable too. Obviously down to preference but some of the journos comments about avoiding the bigger wheels and sports suspension don't match my experience.

 

[Tom75]

Hi,

ok if you live in Oslo you could probably skip the magnetic ride thing.

But the adaptive xenon lights are great in my opinion and not only in sharp turns. Ok, I am driving maybe more roads on the country side but a dark road during winter months outside the city ...... they are really amazing especially with all the moose.


Regards,
Tom

 

[Zygote]

Interesting input.

By the way, during my test drive today I noticed something odd compared to my 1-series. I felt a bit more cramped than in my BMW. It seemed like the rear-view mirror was a lot closer to my face, and that the front side of the cabin was almost a bit claustrophobic. However, I suspect that this was partially due to the black lining in the roof instead of the default lighter one. Could also be the seating position which I didnt spend too much time adjusting.

At any rate, I think I will skip the magnetic ride option. From what I gather, you have to manually toggle it yourself, and I dont care much for things I have to toggle

So, regarding the exterior S-Line package, whats the general consensus?