Is it worth paying £ more for the 2.0 Engine?

[LaurenP]

Hi! First, of all, I have no knowledge in cars but I am planning to buy a used AUDI A3 preferably 2016 reg. I have been driving a crappy Vauxhall for 7 years now and I think it's time to change.

Basically, I am deciding whether to get the 1.6 or the 2.0 engine. The 2.0 Engine is like £2-3K more expensive (correct me if I'm wrong I just did a quick google search and browsed around) Is it worth spending the extra cash for the 2.0? Can you feel the difference? Is it a big speed difference etc? My brain is telling me to get the 1.6 because it's cheaper but I don't know. Oh and I want an automatic A3 not manual if that makes any difference or not

Appreciate the help

 

[Timi8888]

Definitely go with the 2.0.

I currently have a 1.8 manual TT and regret it. I need that 2.0 S Tronic in my life. Only had it a year but swapping it for an S3 already!

 

[LaurenP]

Definitely go with the 2.0.

I currently have a 1.8 manual TT and regret it. I need that 2.0 S Tronic in my life. Only had it a year but swapping it for an S3 already!

Oh I see
May I ask what is 'S tronic' 'PS S tronic'? Also how come some A3 the steering wheel is square underneath and some are full circle shaped? Is there something I should be knowing before I buy? I am browsing pretty much blind right now lol no idea what im looking at

 

[Timi8888]

S Tronic is just the auto gearbox. I'm not sure what PS S Tronic is lol.

I'm guessing the flat bottom is for the S Line trim and the round one is for Sport trim? Someone can probably confirm this.

 

[LaurenP]

S Tronic is just the auto gearbox. I'm not sure what PS S Tronic is lol.

I'm guessing the flat bottom is for the S Line trim and the round one is for Sport trim? Someone can probably confirm this.

Thank you. Also how come some S3 have the shark fins on top of the car? What is that? The 2 line thingy 0_0 (LOL I dont know what they are called but i call them shark fins)

 

[Ormesome]

diesel or petrol?

 

[LaurenP]

diesel or petrol?

diesal

 

[AudiNutta]

With a diesel you are better off going with a 2.0, although the 1.6 engine will get fantastic fuel economy. The 2.0 will have that little bit more power.

But, you really should consider a petrol. I've had the 1.4TFSi and they are superb, my grandparents has the 150hp variant. Consider that the government are trying to make diesels more expensive, diesel fuel is more often than not more expensive and you have issues with the DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter). The petrol will achieve 50+mpg on a run and around 40mpg around town and are much more fun, not to mention cheaper to buy.

The flat bottom steering wheel is in S Line cars and above.

The shark fin on the roof as far as I am aware is on all of the A3's now. 'Shark fin' is the best term for it. It's the antenna for the in-car systems, radio and alike.

I am surprised that if you have such little knowledge of cars, you managed to find us caring lot

 

[AudiNutta]

I'm feeling helpful tonight, on nights and touch wood.. all is quiet in the bread manufacturing engineering world

Perfect examples......

This one below is nearest the 1.6TDi power wise, this is the 'pre-facelift'.. you will see the difference when you look at both. The 'facelift' has some subtle changes, better headlights etc and better standard equipment with LED lights throughout.
https://usedcars.audi.co.uk/usedcar...yZGlmZg|1070,2016|1121,14/l|12,1,PRICE_SALE,U



This next one is a 'facelift' and is the latest model. It is the 150hp engine and is comparable to the 2.0TDi but more fun
https://usedcars.audi.co.uk/usedcar...yZGlmZg|1070,2016|1121,14/l|12,1,PRICE_SALE,U



I hope that helps show you what you could be looking at, sorry I don't know your budget but they are a couple of the cheapest 1.4TFSi, Automatic (S-Tronic), S Line cars on the approved site.
By the way, you won't know yourself getting into an Audi.. life of luxury

 

[RichardT]

I agree about the engine. Go for the 1.4 petrol - superb.
What I would suggest is going on-line and downloading the A3 brochure. Then you can see all the options etc.
Or go to a dealer anf grab one there.

 

[Timi8888]

It depends which driving style you prefer. If you wanna be lazy I always find diesels easier to drive. If you like accelerating and driving faster, then the petrol is more fun!

 

[Chris43]

A bit more useful info.

Audi make 2.0 litre diesel with 2 power outputs.

150PS 0-60 8.6 sec
184PS 0-60 7.4 sec

(these figures assume manual transmission in the Sportback, they will be slightly different if you go stronic)

I think you'll find many more used cars with 150ps spec as they are favoured by company car drivers.

The best thing to do is go and drive a few. The 150PS (petrol or diesel) may well be quick enough. I'd do a quick check on the insurance and car tax as well.

 

[S32B]

Definitely go with the 2.0.

I currently have a 1.8 manual TT and regret it. I need that 2.0 S Tronic in my life. Only had it a year but swapping it for an S3 already!

Why exactly? I thought a lot of the 1.8TT guys are happy with that engine/performance.

 

[Timi8888]

The 1.8 Manual in the TT is pretty nasty to drive. In first gear in stop start traffic it's really lumpy and jerky. I know 3 others with the same car and we all have this issue. Driven the 2.0 petrol and diesel and they don't do this. Audi put it down to the characteristics of the car. Also front wheel drive can't even keep up with the acceleration from stop. Not much grip. The Quattro is a LOT better. The 2.0 petrol is quite a bit faster with similar economy also. The gearbox is also not the best. Sometimes difficult to put into 1st gear.

 

[Ormesome]

As you can see from the replies (and even mine), we all have our own preferences on this forum, some love petrol, some love diesel, some won't touch it & some can see the point in the 2 types of fuel. All of these people will try to make you change to their point of view. The only thing you can do is take the comments on board, choose & test drive a car that is suitable for your requirements. You will not have DPF problems if you drive your diesel correctly. My 1.6tdi is able to "accelerate & go fast" so don't listen to scaremongers! I love petrol engines but see a use for diesel, hence why have one now. I had a Golf 2.0tdi for a while, it was better at overtaking than my 1.6tdi A3 and 5th & 6th gear acceleration pulled better but the rest is quite similar. In between the Golf and my A3 i had a 2.0 petrol Scirocco that drank fuel. 30mpg on a trip and it would see lower than that sometimes during local runs so i just couldn't justify it considering the miles i do every year.

What kind of mileage a year do you plan to do? local town runs or longer motorway trips? are you buying new or 2nd hand? £2-3k is quite a bit of cash. didn't know there was that much difference. If i was buying new or 2nd hand now i would probably go with the 2.0tdi if it was the same price but not sure if its that much more expensive.

 

[S32B]

The 1.8 Manual in the TT is pretty nasty to drive. In first gear in stop start traffic it's really lumpy and jerky. I know 3 others with the same car and we all have this issue. Driven the 2.0 petrol and diesel and they don't do this. Audi put it down to the characteristics of the car. Also front wheel drive can't even keep up with the acceleration from stop. Not much grip. The Quattro is a LOT better. The 2.0 petrol is quite a bit faster with similar economy also. The gearbox is also not the best. Sometimes difficult to put into 1st gear.

wow surprised at that. I took the 2.0 TT as a loan car when I had my first service done with Audi, I booted that a few times and the front skipped around a bit before it got 100% grip....something quattro would fix.

 

[Timi8888]

Yeah, 2 of the 4 of us with the 1.8 TT have swapped now, and I'm about to swap for an S3 in September.

Such a good looking car and not sure you can get one much better for the price, but the drivability of it is really quite frustrating! It may just be a coincidence, but I highly doubt it! I bought the 1.8 thinking the speed would be enough and it was so much cheaper than the 2.0. If I went for the 2.0 s tronic quattro then I would 100% be sticking with the car for a few years. (But it was around 8k more)

 

[richinsoton]

I have the 2.0 150 diesel with a manual box & a friend of mine she has the 1.6 diesel with S Tronic which I went in for the first time a few weeks ago & I thought the performance was more than adequate. The obvious answer is to try & test drive both back to back & then you can decide which you prefer.