A3 2013 Sportback S Line suspension settings

[paul8852]

Hi guys

First time posting here so bear with me.
About to order an A3 Sportback 1.4 TFSI Sport Line in Glacier White, which is quite a radical change from my present A6 2.0 TDI Sport Line in Black (dont ask!) however, I have been trying to test drive a Sport Line A3 which all the dealers in Sussex & Kent don't seem to possess, have driven the petrol SE and diesel Sport (both felt great, the petrol was so quiet) but just wondered how the ride is by dropping that extra 10mm on the Sport, is it immediately obvious or very similar to the Sport in dynamics.
I am sure I have read somewhere that you can configure the Sport Line with a Sport set up ie 15mm drop on the SE yet when speaking to my local dealer he suggested its an all or nothing package, if anyone could verify this it would be appreciated.

 

[Vertigo1]

By "Sport Line" I presume you mean the S-Line. As standard the S-Line comes with the same suspension as the Sport, but you can opt for harder/lower S-Line specific suspension at no cost.

I find the standard Sport suspension on mine to be a good compromise - firm enough but not harsh and certainly more compliant than my old 8P S-Line was. I'd suspect the full S-Line suspension would be similar to my old car and rather firm/jiggly on poor surfaces.

 

[paul8852]

Thanks Vertigo for clarification there, my local dealer seems to suggest that the S Line is standard at 25mm rather than the 15mm, I was a little reluctant to purchase on those settings as I have had previous experience of BMW M Sports 320s with run flats and my back is still recovering!! I have driven the 2.0 A3 Diesel Sport and found that fine, some reports suggest that the ride with a petrol engine is even smoother due to weight differential so relieved to hear I can opt for the softer sport setting, Cheers for that.

 

[number3]

I have the s-line suspension on my car and am very happy with it, the car i had before had the sport set up. to be honest I prefer a firm ride and this gives me that! But you are not jumping all over the road on crap surfaces. Do some country roads but mostly motorway, and high and low speed bumps are not that far off my old A3 with sport set up, the biggest difference is cornering , feels so much more solid!! Also breaking seems to be more responsive ?? Not sure whether that's just the car in general though


Also You do feel more of a general rumble on all roads, but I like that!


.

 

[s33nyboy12]

i have also ordered the ''mans full fat'' S line suspension set up lol, but im still only young so my back is fine!

Sean

 

[Vertigo1]

I never really had a problem with the S-Line suspension in my old car but passengers noticed it more than I did.

It sounds like the dealer is getting confused with the old model, as with the 8P the S-Line came with firmer/lower suspension which couldn't be changed. To clarify, with the new model, Sport suspension is standard on both the Sport and the S-Line trim levels but you can have the full S-Line suspension at no cost. If you don't specify otherwise, an S-Line will come with Sport suspension.

 

[paul8852]

Thanks Vertigo, they could really do with your help at my local dealer, its probably saved them a future sale and they have acknowledged the new settings you describe as correct, just trying to decide on the Phantom Grey or Glacier White or alternatively pick up £520 of additional options (DAB Radio, High Beam Assist and Electric Mirrors) and run with solid Black, looks great on my A6 not sure its the right colour on the 3, Audi seem to be really pushing the White & Red in all their publicity shots, any ideas would be welcome

 

[s33nyboy12]

I've gone with brilliant black. And I HAVE specified the s line lower stiffer suspension on my car, written in bold on my order with free of charge next to it.

Sean

 

[paul8852]

Sounds a nice spec Sean, I am still not convinced about the stiffer suspension but wondered whether you managed to locate any shots of the A3/A3 Sportback in Brilliant Black apart from the Audi configurator. I have been searching Google images for shots of it in BB and haven't come across any, if you can let me know where you've seen them it would help me make my decision, have to admit the outgoing Sportback in Black still looks great, not sure the Glacier White will be as practical!!

 

[Vertigo1]

If the high beam assist is the one which dips main beam headlights for you when it spots an oncoming car then I've read quite a few reports that this is rather poor and just doesn't dip them fast enough to avoid being flashed by other drivers all the time.

Would make sense - when driving at night, you tend to notice the headlights of oncoming cars around corners and before you can actually see them or they you, but an automated system would have to wait until their headlights were shining directly at you before it triggered, which could well be a short period after they're blinded by yours.

 

[s33nyboy12]

I've not seen any sportback release photos in black , like said above they all seem red or White. I've seen 3 door a3 today in brilliant black with trade plates on s line and I got to say....... It looked nice! They do £525 upgrade to phantom black but I didn't bother with it. It was paint or nav on my budget and I chose nav .

Sean

 

[dieseldoug]

s33nyboy12
I dont want to disapoint you with SAT NAV from Audi.... but I chose this option in my Q5 tech pack high at a cost of 450 pounds at build and found the maps to be 20 months out of date on a car built and purchased in February 2012. The cost to upgrade this will be 200 pounds and I am still fighting with the dealer regarding this, I expect the upgrade to be free because of the date released on the OLD maps. It may be wise to speak to your dealer regarding this also hence the reason I did NOT TAKE THIS OPTION on my A3 better using other SAT options and cheaper to upgrade.
Other French car builders are useing Garmin as there SAT option and cheaper upgrades.

 

[number3]

s33nyboy12
I dont want to disapoint you with SAT NAV from Audi.... but I chose this option in my Q5 tech pack high at a cost of 450 pounds at build and found the maps to be 20 months out of date on a car built and purchased in February 2012. The cost to upgrade this will be 200 pounds and I am still fighting with the dealer regarding this, I expect the upgrade to be free because of the date released on the OLD maps. It may be wise to speak to your dealer regarding this also hence the reason I did NOT TAKE THIS OPTION on my A3 better using other SAT options and cheaper to upgrade.
Other French car builders are useing Garmin as there SAT option and cheaper upgrades.

this is why I love forums and hate them all at the same time!!!

Dieseldoug, if I get home and check, and mine are out of date, I will hold you fully responsible lol !!!

.

 

[dieseldoug]

Number3
Yes its best to look for a road that has been changed in the last year and see if the map finds it. We found this out while driving down to Glasgow airport the road had been opened for more that 1 year the Audi SAT was going crazy as we were driving on fields, but Tomtom clearly had the road network and of course the average speed we are travelling at because of the SAT location and pick ups.

Sorry the Audi SAT failed us at a cost during build, but staying with my Tomtom for all upgrades and costs.

 

[junkbuddy]

GPS integrated in car is useless and expensive.

I ordered mine without Nav.

Use your Symbian, Android or iPhone. Maps always updated and only costs a fraction.

 

[hittchy]

I agree it tends to be expensive (unless you're getting it free on a Sportback at the moment). However, it is one of those 'would like' options that gives a little in terms of residual at resale time. Taking this into account, it probably only costs us £200 to £300 over the first three years to have it fully integrated in the car. I never really understood how manufacturers could justify £2k on sat nav systems.

Google Maps is handy but needs a good 3G connection - not much use when you're lost out in the sticks.

You can get TomTom or CoPilot on your phone for less than £30. OK for occasional use, but it would drive me mad having stuff hanging off the windscreen or dash rattling around after paying all that money for a clean rattle-free interior!

Are the maps a really big issue? I still use a TomTom One from about ten years ago and it occasionally takes me through a 'virtual field' before picking up the road again. I agree that they should be fairly current (last couple of years) and it would be great if they included your first map update free. Surely it wouldn't cost that much?

 

[Sootchucker]

HI all, first post. Have a VW Scirocco at the moment coming up to it's 2nd birthday. Whilst it's been fantastic, and 100% reliable, and I do love it, I've started looking for it's replacement (as I'm 50 this year and a sports coupé isn't really a cool look for me now ) , and ideally something with 5 doors and really like the look of the Sportback in S-Line Trim.

Been to the dealers but obviously they only have the 3 door at the moment and say they won't get a 5 door for test until late March / early April, so I guess I'll wait until then before deciding. I did wonder about the Sport and S-Line suspension set ups though.

The Rocco I have has the ACC adaptive suspension set up and it's really comfortable in the "comfort" settings but tightens up nicely in the "Sport" setting. Having not driven the new A3 yet, I was wondering what the S-Lines sports or S-Line suspension packages were actually like on comfort. Whilst the system on the Rocco is good, the only downside is that as standard they sit a little too high. The sport suspension package at 25mm lower or the S-Line setup at 35mm will certainly look much better, but I'm wondering if the ride will be affected to the point of it being uncomfortable.

Can anyone comment on this please, and If you go for the sport suspension delete (and get the standard setup), is the ride height then too high for a car with 18" alloys and a sporting pretence ?

Secondly, I've been spoilt by DSG in the Rocco and absolutely love it, so the A3 would have to have Audi's version of S-Tronic. That being the case, at the moment it only seems to be available with the 1.8 TFSI 180bhp Petrol engine. Whilst it will no doubt be quick, and the "official" MPG figures look suspiciously very good (at just over 50mpg overall), I don't obviously expect to get this in real life, and was wondering if anyone had a 1.8 in 3 door form and could comment on the expected MPG that should realistically be able to be achieved ?

 

[PjDali]

I've never had an inbuilt car satnav as always been way too pricey and I've a TomTom Go 7something which has been great for all the years I've owned it, I paid for TomTom map updates which has been OK costwise.

As A3 SB satnav is a freebie more than happy to take it but not sure I'd be paying Audi to update the incar map unless I was going abroad....which is where the TomTom came in handy. Looking forward to no more trailing cables and a nice tidy dash but a bit surprised when I read the thread at the money Audi charge.

Really is ripping the **** springs if Audi expect hundreds of pounds to update satnav maps.....unless there is more to the update process than I can think of? It's an SD Card based map is it not? So surely a case of updating SD Card data and maybe activating new map?


Looking forward to the car anyway but not sure I'll be spending my hard earned on map updates.

 

[Vertigo1]

GPS integrated in car is useless and expensive.

Very thorough analysis and reasoning.

Use your Symbian, Android or iPhone. Maps always updated and only costs a fraction.

Tiny screen, eats your battery, no integration with the car.

 

[dieseldoug]

View attachment 10071Sootchucker

I have just recieved my A3 S-line full S-line suspension and I find the car better than my departed A4 S-line, the set up is much better and the look of the car with the clearance between wheels and body sets everything off.
I think a lot of people went for the standard sports suspension because the comment was S-line set up was too hard, not sure if it has been changed but I have no problems with the set up.

 

[Sootchucker]

Now that looks sweeeet..........

 

[phil_w]

At last more scuba-bluers !

 

[sebtomato]

I think a lot of people went for the standard sports suspension because the comment was S-line set up was too hard, not sure if it has been changed but I have no problems with the set up.

Nice looking car!
Let's get your opinion again in 6 month time about the suspensions!
I had an S-line before, and the ride was very harsh. The low profile 18 inch tyres does not help. I much prefer the Sport suspension and 17 inch wheels, even if they don't look as good.

You will note that in all the test drives done for the various websites and magazines, Audi never provided them with S-line or even Sport suspensions...

 

[stevey_cam]

You will note that in all the test drives done for the various websites and magazines, Audi never provided them with S-line or even Sport suspensions...

The thing that annoys me about that is that all the websites and magazines always have a really negative opinion even though they've not driven the s-line spec. They could well be right but don't think it's right to assume based on past models.

 

[paul8852]

Good call Stevey, all the trade mags including What Car & Top Gear are stressing that if you stick to SE settings you get a very forgiving ride, they imply that straying to a Sport or worse still an S Line set up will seriously diminish the ride quality. Having trawled various forums this doesn't seem to be the case at all, there was a trade journal that had test driven the S Line and was surprised at how much smoother it was to the outgoing model, it seems like the others all followed a pre written script (probably by BMW lol) to steer us towards their 1 series for fun or play it safe with an SE. I too am ordering the A3 S Line 1.4tfsi Sportback

 

[sebtomato]

They could well be right but don't think it's right to assume based on past models.

I guess my point was not really about the reviews, but more the fact that Audi didn't provide them with Sport or S-line suspensions. Audi probably thought that the standard SE suspensions are good enough, and a good compromise, or Audi was not keen for journalists to test drive cars with sport or S-line suspensions...
For the new MK7 Golf, most models tested are with the dynamic suspensions (not available on the A3), sort of indicating that VW considers that option very worthwhile.

Audi may have improved the S-line ride (couldn't really make it worse), but I know personally that I wouldn't order S-line suspensions unless I can test drive a car with them, given my past experience and lack of reviews.

 

[dieseldoug]

Sebtomato,
Regarding the S-line suspension, I had my A4 S-line for 6 years and I enjoyed the handling of this set up, I purchased a Q5 S-line full suspension set up also on 20" tyres, I also have 17"winter tyres on this at present, the 17" wheels have the worst handling compaired to the 20" as the 17" allow the car to track all over the road and the noise is louder at any speed.
I have traded my A4 for the A3 full S-line spec and suspension and find the comfort MUCH better than the A4 was, smoother quieter, the A4 was also on 18"tyres, so basically dont follow what the TV or Mag's or some report, test the car yourself and then make your choice you may be suprised.