Collected the car last Friday. Its on a 63 plate but wasn't a car that I had built to order. It was dealer stock which was basically standard but with the addition of SD sat nav.
I traded in an 08 XKR that I had owned for just over two years, the warranty had expired, I was averaging 20 mpg and had 8 points on my licence through speeding offences (most of them on my Ducati 1100 evo). I had previously owned a nearly new UR Quattro and when I decided on an A3 it had to have the Quattro system and also the 184 Ps engine.
I have set the individual drive select system to dynamic steering only, the engine and gearbox dynamic option holds the gears too long for me. The seats are pretty much superb and its easy to get a good comfortable driving position. the first couple of days the car was averaging 34/35 mpg but now has settled down to around 44 mpg. I have driven 900 miles this week, 600 of them on the motorway. The car is rock solid stable at all speeds and handles superbly in the wet. I did notice that the steering in any mode other than dynamic was quite wooly and needed more attention keeping the car straight on motorways etc. However, in dynamic steering mode its perfect.
I have noticed that the down change is quite slow when approaching junctions etc and pulling out quickly. I have tried this in dynamic engine and gearbox mode and it feels the same. I will have a word with the dealer next week about this as it's the only part of the car I have concerns with.
The sat nav is pretty good and the voice control works well even with my accent. I have attached an Ipod touch via cable for music and videos and have my Iphone connected via bluetooth for calls and music also. For the first time in a car I have DAB which I am loving, especially Planet Rock. I am also most impressed with the method of navigating the various options on the MMI screen, its pretty much intuative. Everything about the car says quality, the materials, the solid feel of the controls and the finish.
Performance, 184 Ps is adequate for overtaking, joining motorways etc and strikes a balance between performance and economy. It's early days yet but I'm sure it will loosen up a bit more over the next 5000 miles or so.
In summary, its a damn nice car, well built, reasonably roomy and quick enough with great handling too.
Regards
veggie
I traded in an 08 XKR that I had owned for just over two years, the warranty had expired, I was averaging 20 mpg and had 8 points on my licence through speeding offences (most of them on my Ducati 1100 evo). I had previously owned a nearly new UR Quattro and when I decided on an A3 it had to have the Quattro system and also the 184 Ps engine.
I have set the individual drive select system to dynamic steering only, the engine and gearbox dynamic option holds the gears too long for me. The seats are pretty much superb and its easy to get a good comfortable driving position. the first couple of days the car was averaging 34/35 mpg but now has settled down to around 44 mpg. I have driven 900 miles this week, 600 of them on the motorway. The car is rock solid stable at all speeds and handles superbly in the wet. I did notice that the steering in any mode other than dynamic was quite wooly and needed more attention keeping the car straight on motorways etc. However, in dynamic steering mode its perfect.
I have noticed that the down change is quite slow when approaching junctions etc and pulling out quickly. I have tried this in dynamic engine and gearbox mode and it feels the same. I will have a word with the dealer next week about this as it's the only part of the car I have concerns with.
The sat nav is pretty good and the voice control works well even with my accent. I have attached an Ipod touch via cable for music and videos and have my Iphone connected via bluetooth for calls and music also. For the first time in a car I have DAB which I am loving, especially Planet Rock. I am also most impressed with the method of navigating the various options on the MMI screen, its pretty much intuative. Everything about the car says quality, the materials, the solid feel of the controls and the finish.
Performance, 184 Ps is adequate for overtaking, joining motorways etc and strikes a balance between performance and economy. It's early days yet but I'm sure it will loosen up a bit more over the next 5000 miles or so.
In summary, its a damn nice car, well built, reasonably roomy and quick enough with great handling too.
Regards
veggie