My S3 had to go into Audi for some minor brain surgery, so I've had the pleasure of sampling an A3 from the opposite end of the scale of spec, options, and performance for a couple of days. It's been interesting and revealing in equal measure, so here's a few thoughts.
The loan car for a couple of days is an A3, with a 1.4 COD petrol engine, 7 speed S&Tonic gearbox and SE trim with absolutely no optional extras at all. It's a basic as an A3 comes, barring one important feature. It's a ragtop!
Of course it's February in North London, which means drizzle and low temperatures, so there's a significant chance of the roof staying up...
First impressions?
Roof up, it's not a bad looking thing at all. Chopped up hatchbacks are notoriously hard to get looking 'right' when they are hacked about so much. Not surprising when you consider how many of the same cuts would be used to turn an A3 into a pick-up. The "Addison Lee" solid black paint is a bit lifeless though, especially in an overcast car park full of the more vibrantly hued metal normally found at an Audi dealers. Coming from a 3 door S3 on 18's, it looks distinctly light of foot in the wheel department. The 16's are undersized for the car, especially when you consider all the extra bodywork it's carrying about the back end. The polo mint wheels and portly derrière leave the distinct impression of an A3 that could do with a diet and a gym membership.
Unlocking the car reveals the second of the spec deficiencies, no dynamic indicators. This is odd since I'm now so used to the cascade of twinkly lights on the front and rear of my car that I barely notice them anymore, yet the singular amber blink on this car suddenly looks dated and frankly, a bit low rent...
Opening the door reveals the familiar-yet-ever-so-slightly-different interior of an A3, albeit without the leather trimmed super-sports seats I'm used to. Actually sitting in them though highlights that worst kept Audi secret. Barring the leather and the optional electric lumbar support in my seats, these seats feel exactly the ****** same.
The dash is slightly foreign to me now. My Virtual Cockpit has been replaced with more traditional instruments, and dual zone climate control has made way for a fiddly three dial panel that merely blows air at various temperatures and speeds at you, none of which ever meets the goldilocks criteria of being "just right" that users of climate control take for granted. A click on the key motors the MMI screen out of the dash, but when I try to select sat nav to get me back to work, I'm shown the message that will forever label the future owner of this car as a Scrooge like miser every time he or she accidentally hits the nav button when trying to make a phone call;
"the navigation system has not been activated, please see your Audi dealer... you cheap *******"...
A further turn of the key starts an engine that is quiet, much quieter than the already very quiet burble and whine that accompany the S3 engines first rumblings. This is no S car though, and since it's early and I've now got to trawl through stop start rush hour traffic back to the A406 (otherwise known locally as "That F*&kin' North Circular") I can happily do without the extra soundtrack.
On the move in heavy traffic the S&Tonic gearbox does its best, and when accelerating up to normal traffic speeds it's a very good box indeed. But it does a number of things I don't like. It's sometimes jerky when pulling away, especially if you pull away immediately after stopping. Try as I might, I cant get it to be smooth every time, and calibrating my right foot to the pedal is nigh on impossible. Its either jerking, not pulling away smartly enough, or spinning the wheels. It's also regularly in the wrong ****** gear, or rather, not the gear I want it to be in, but the gear some egghead keen to pass Euro 6 laws decided it should be in. Sport mode just makes things worse, as the little 1.4 litre engine just seems to rev its knackers off in an unnecessary and slightly embarrassing manner. Manual mode in traffic is just as ****** annoying, so I concentrate instead on trying to work with the box in Auto mode. Turning off the start/stop reduces the problem, and eliminates another annoyance; That of the engine cutting out as you slow to halt, making the steering very very heavy indeed for the last few feet. I'm also very aware that this car doesn't have the £70 option of Hill Hold Assist, and it's ****** irritating. Some say you don't need it with S&Tonic. I disagree.
One thing that is quite shocking is just how good the basic suspension is. Where my S3 with Magride will drop off a speedhump and then pitch and wallow in comfort mode, or try to shatter bones in dynamic mode, the SE poverty set-up handles them without any fuss at all. Why can't this low speed damping be carried over to the S cars?
Once out of the traffic and moving at more normal speeds. I give the little 1.4 a bit of welly to see what it'll do. I was expecting this particular car to be a bit heavy and gutless, what with it's Kim Kardashian sized **** and I imagine some fairly significant scaffolding underneath holding the car together in the abscence of a metal roof. However it's surprisingly swift, and pulls well too. S&Tonic gearboxes have a habit of disguising lacklustre but peaky power bands though, but even in manual mode it pulls well from low revs and is more than acceptable for speeds up to 90mph or so. This is unexpected. Also unexpected is something else that begins to nag at my mind. I think the steering in this car may be better than the S3. Later, more spirited and less trafficked journeys confirm this. The non-dynamic fixed rate steering has vastly more feel and is more natural to use than the variable ratio dynamic system in my S3.
Other features of the cabin make themselves known as my journey to work continues. I'm constantly looking over my shoulders to see if a door or window is open, but it's just the ragtop leaking noise from outside into the cabin. I'm no stranger to soft-tops having owned five myself, but this is a bit disconcerting. Audi offer the option of a top with more acoustic insulation, if I were in the market for a cloth roof A3, I'd definitely throw some extra cash at it to quiet the external din. The stereo is also a place I'd spend some extra cash. The standard system is beyond awful. How Audi can offer this junk in a 'premium' vehicle is beyond me, I've got a 7 year old transit van that sounds better.
Finally parking the car up at the office highlights another shortcoming of the fabric roof. Visibility out over the rear quarters is garbage. There's a huge blind spot at each rear corner filled with a vast swathe of canvas. All you can see when you look in this direction is just how small and cramped the rear seats are compared to tin top cars. Reverse camera and parking sensors would be very useful on this car.
In the afternoon the weather breaks just long enough to drop the canvas and enjoy some open top elemental motoring. Before I bought my S3 I had an MX5 which would be roof down whenever possible. It's just such an enjoyable way to drive. Except in this car. I was looking forward to this, but it seems too open and exposed and wind blown, almost like driving a caterham but without the carefully managed aero. It also quickly dawns on me that I'm not driving a rorty two seat roadster with overtly sporting intent, but a slightly awkward looking base edition hatchback with the roof cut off. As such, I look like a bit of a tit.
Night time brings further comparisons, this time with the headlights and drivetrain. The xenon lamps would be considered good, if it weren't for the fact that the new LED lights are vastly better. The Pre Facelift LED's were awful, but the newer one seem to be a vast improvement. The high beam performance is passable. In comparison to matrix lamps though they are hugely outgunned. They work fine, but they're not exceptional by any means. The lack of Quattro means there's a lot of wheelspin on the lousy surfaces we're seeing lately. I suppose I could just slow down though...
After a couple of days it's time to return the car. Whilst filling it up to replace the tiny amount if fuel it's used(often better than 40mpg, which for a loan car driven by me is little short of a miracle) I notice just how far the rear bumper is from the filler flap compared to my 3 door. There really is an awful lot of extra metal hanging out of the back of this car. In my minds eye I try to imagine the back end of a convertible version of the 3 door hatch, and come up with something that looks like a cross between a pram and a PT cruiser. On balance, the saloon body was probably the best canvas to use for a convertible.
So, would I buy one? A look at the price sheet hammers a nail into that coffin.
The list price for this car is £29450, which is roughly £6000 more than the same car with a tin roof, and uncomfortably close to the starting price of £33340 for an S3.
£6000 is a huge premium for what is a pretty crap roof and a letterbox for a boot. If you're after a convertible there are vastly better places to put your money, and you'll get a vastly more enjoyable car. The tin top version for £22525 though? That seems like a lot of car for the money, especially compared to the likes of the Vauxhall Astra, a car which is marginally cheaper, but vastly inferior. I'd definitely upspec the stereo, add HHA, and drop the S&Tonic gearbox though. Otherwise, it'd be a car I could merrily use everyday.
Or at least, that's how I felt until I got back in my S3. The S3 is just overkill, far to powerful, far to fast, and utterly unnecessary, but it's a blast to own...
The loan car for a couple of days is an A3, with a 1.4 COD petrol engine, 7 speed S&Tonic gearbox and SE trim with absolutely no optional extras at all. It's a basic as an A3 comes, barring one important feature. It's a ragtop!
Of course it's February in North London, which means drizzle and low temperatures, so there's a significant chance of the roof staying up...
First impressions?
Roof up, it's not a bad looking thing at all. Chopped up hatchbacks are notoriously hard to get looking 'right' when they are hacked about so much. Not surprising when you consider how many of the same cuts would be used to turn an A3 into a pick-up. The "Addison Lee" solid black paint is a bit lifeless though, especially in an overcast car park full of the more vibrantly hued metal normally found at an Audi dealers. Coming from a 3 door S3 on 18's, it looks distinctly light of foot in the wheel department. The 16's are undersized for the car, especially when you consider all the extra bodywork it's carrying about the back end. The polo mint wheels and portly derrière leave the distinct impression of an A3 that could do with a diet and a gym membership.
Unlocking the car reveals the second of the spec deficiencies, no dynamic indicators. This is odd since I'm now so used to the cascade of twinkly lights on the front and rear of my car that I barely notice them anymore, yet the singular amber blink on this car suddenly looks dated and frankly, a bit low rent...
Opening the door reveals the familiar-yet-ever-so-slightly-different interior of an A3, albeit without the leather trimmed super-sports seats I'm used to. Actually sitting in them though highlights that worst kept Audi secret. Barring the leather and the optional electric lumbar support in my seats, these seats feel exactly the ****** same.
The dash is slightly foreign to me now. My Virtual Cockpit has been replaced with more traditional instruments, and dual zone climate control has made way for a fiddly three dial panel that merely blows air at various temperatures and speeds at you, none of which ever meets the goldilocks criteria of being "just right" that users of climate control take for granted. A click on the key motors the MMI screen out of the dash, but when I try to select sat nav to get me back to work, I'm shown the message that will forever label the future owner of this car as a Scrooge like miser every time he or she accidentally hits the nav button when trying to make a phone call;
"the navigation system has not been activated, please see your Audi dealer... you cheap *******"...
A further turn of the key starts an engine that is quiet, much quieter than the already very quiet burble and whine that accompany the S3 engines first rumblings. This is no S car though, and since it's early and I've now got to trawl through stop start rush hour traffic back to the A406 (otherwise known locally as "That F*&kin' North Circular") I can happily do without the extra soundtrack.
On the move in heavy traffic the S&Tonic gearbox does its best, and when accelerating up to normal traffic speeds it's a very good box indeed. But it does a number of things I don't like. It's sometimes jerky when pulling away, especially if you pull away immediately after stopping. Try as I might, I cant get it to be smooth every time, and calibrating my right foot to the pedal is nigh on impossible. Its either jerking, not pulling away smartly enough, or spinning the wheels. It's also regularly in the wrong ****** gear, or rather, not the gear I want it to be in, but the gear some egghead keen to pass Euro 6 laws decided it should be in. Sport mode just makes things worse, as the little 1.4 litre engine just seems to rev its knackers off in an unnecessary and slightly embarrassing manner. Manual mode in traffic is just as ****** annoying, so I concentrate instead on trying to work with the box in Auto mode. Turning off the start/stop reduces the problem, and eliminates another annoyance; That of the engine cutting out as you slow to halt, making the steering very very heavy indeed for the last few feet. I'm also very aware that this car doesn't have the £70 option of Hill Hold Assist, and it's ****** irritating. Some say you don't need it with S&Tonic. I disagree.
One thing that is quite shocking is just how good the basic suspension is. Where my S3 with Magride will drop off a speedhump and then pitch and wallow in comfort mode, or try to shatter bones in dynamic mode, the SE poverty set-up handles them without any fuss at all. Why can't this low speed damping be carried over to the S cars?
Once out of the traffic and moving at more normal speeds. I give the little 1.4 a bit of welly to see what it'll do. I was expecting this particular car to be a bit heavy and gutless, what with it's Kim Kardashian sized **** and I imagine some fairly significant scaffolding underneath holding the car together in the abscence of a metal roof. However it's surprisingly swift, and pulls well too. S&Tonic gearboxes have a habit of disguising lacklustre but peaky power bands though, but even in manual mode it pulls well from low revs and is more than acceptable for speeds up to 90mph or so. This is unexpected. Also unexpected is something else that begins to nag at my mind. I think the steering in this car may be better than the S3. Later, more spirited and less trafficked journeys confirm this. The non-dynamic fixed rate steering has vastly more feel and is more natural to use than the variable ratio dynamic system in my S3.
Other features of the cabin make themselves known as my journey to work continues. I'm constantly looking over my shoulders to see if a door or window is open, but it's just the ragtop leaking noise from outside into the cabin. I'm no stranger to soft-tops having owned five myself, but this is a bit disconcerting. Audi offer the option of a top with more acoustic insulation, if I were in the market for a cloth roof A3, I'd definitely throw some extra cash at it to quiet the external din. The stereo is also a place I'd spend some extra cash. The standard system is beyond awful. How Audi can offer this junk in a 'premium' vehicle is beyond me, I've got a 7 year old transit van that sounds better.
Finally parking the car up at the office highlights another shortcoming of the fabric roof. Visibility out over the rear quarters is garbage. There's a huge blind spot at each rear corner filled with a vast swathe of canvas. All you can see when you look in this direction is just how small and cramped the rear seats are compared to tin top cars. Reverse camera and parking sensors would be very useful on this car.
In the afternoon the weather breaks just long enough to drop the canvas and enjoy some open top elemental motoring. Before I bought my S3 I had an MX5 which would be roof down whenever possible. It's just such an enjoyable way to drive. Except in this car. I was looking forward to this, but it seems too open and exposed and wind blown, almost like driving a caterham but without the carefully managed aero. It also quickly dawns on me that I'm not driving a rorty two seat roadster with overtly sporting intent, but a slightly awkward looking base edition hatchback with the roof cut off. As such, I look like a bit of a tit.
Night time brings further comparisons, this time with the headlights and drivetrain. The xenon lamps would be considered good, if it weren't for the fact that the new LED lights are vastly better. The Pre Facelift LED's were awful, but the newer one seem to be a vast improvement. The high beam performance is passable. In comparison to matrix lamps though they are hugely outgunned. They work fine, but they're not exceptional by any means. The lack of Quattro means there's a lot of wheelspin on the lousy surfaces we're seeing lately. I suppose I could just slow down though...
After a couple of days it's time to return the car. Whilst filling it up to replace the tiny amount if fuel it's used(often better than 40mpg, which for a loan car driven by me is little short of a miracle) I notice just how far the rear bumper is from the filler flap compared to my 3 door. There really is an awful lot of extra metal hanging out of the back of this car. In my minds eye I try to imagine the back end of a convertible version of the 3 door hatch, and come up with something that looks like a cross between a pram and a PT cruiser. On balance, the saloon body was probably the best canvas to use for a convertible.
So, would I buy one? A look at the price sheet hammers a nail into that coffin.
The list price for this car is £29450, which is roughly £6000 more than the same car with a tin roof, and uncomfortably close to the starting price of £33340 for an S3.
£6000 is a huge premium for what is a pretty crap roof and a letterbox for a boot. If you're after a convertible there are vastly better places to put your money, and you'll get a vastly more enjoyable car. The tin top version for £22525 though? That seems like a lot of car for the money, especially compared to the likes of the Vauxhall Astra, a car which is marginally cheaper, but vastly inferior. I'd definitely upspec the stereo, add HHA, and drop the S&Tonic gearbox though. Otherwise, it'd be a car I could merrily use everyday.
Or at least, that's how I felt until I got back in my S3. The S3 is just overkill, far to powerful, far to fast, and utterly unnecessary, but it's a blast to own...
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