Quick review of 3.2 sport DSG and a dealer to AVOID!

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adamskib

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First the car... I was astonished when I first got in the A3... looks like a junior repmobile, no spoilers, no stupid wheels. nothing to tell you what is about to happen!
Turn the key and the (muted) burble from the exhaust is definitely not a diesel!. The interior is about what you should expect from this type of car, it feels well made without being too flashy.
I am a huge fan of the DSG gearbox, complete with Flappy paddles. seamless changes when you are feeling lazy or have spent a day in traffic, with almost full control just a nudge of the chunky lever away!
Gentle use of the throttle lets you burble along with everyone else... push harder though and all hell is let loose!
CRIKEY! I thought...this is good! I overtook everything in sight and giggled like a seven year old in a cake shop... This thing is FAST!
Handling? yup it does that too... leave the ESP on and it can feel a little "woolly", turn it off and you had better know what you are doing, it can bite very quickly in the wet!
Living with it has been fine, everything (almost, but I will come to that) works as it should, nothing falls off or creates a drama. It can hold MASSES of stuff, these Sportbacks are mated with the Tardis! The pdc Is ace, no bumper rash at all, the Xenon's illuminate a whole county so the chances of squishing wildlif or humans is lowered considerably.
Now... this IS a large engine... the last car I had over 3l struggled to average 20mpg... this thing is GREAT! I have been busy demonstrating Launch control to friends and family, attempting 0-60 times, hooning about like Kevin in a Corsa and it STILL averages 26 mpg! bear in mind that this is my wife using it to commute... she does not hang around either... when I take it on a run trip one usually sees 30mpg+ this is an affordable huge engine!

So what haven't i talked about?

Ohhh yes... the flappy paddles! This is because in the three months I have had this car it has spent three weeks back at Evans Halshaw while they "fix" it... we have had all the expensive bits replaced... gearbox doings and steering wheel (sorry thats as technical as I get!) but they STILL can't make the flappy paddles work! they have one more opportunity in March to repair it... I have had great service from most of the Evans Halshaw team, but feel VERY let down by the dealer principle who has avoided letters, told fibs and evaded the truth whenever possible. Do yourself a favour, go elsewhere when looking for one of these... I am almost sure that if you buy the Marque they are franchised for you will have NO worries...don't buy what they don't know about though... MY experience is that it will bite you hard!

What are my thoughts on the 3.2? Great car! BUT it is little too "uninvolving" for me, hence my wife has one it and I drive my Kia Carens the 800 miles a week I travel... it's worthless anyway so moon miles wont matter a jot IF we ever sell it!
I am just deciding between a lotus Elise/Exige/Europa as a garage car... I want something visceral and alive... these three have that in spades!
We are keeping the 3.2 as my wife is now addicted to the urge it has! I am impressed but not awed. I WANTED to be awed, it just misses that involvement, that spark that I need in a toy!
 
Hope you get your DSG sorted. The A3 3.2 is certainly not a hot hatch and not intended to be as 'hardcore' as the S3 which is relatively safe and quite numb in comparison to a CTR or Megane 230 f1 for example.
PS Please do no use that word 'flappy paddles' , invented by JC and now used by most lame car journos all over who have zero technical knowledge ( or pretend to , to look cool)
 
Point is you will see why the 3.2 is so good after you have done 800 mile a week in a Elise/Exige/Europa :jump:
I think it is without a doubt the best A3 for the road. An S3 might beat it on the track but you either love little engine turbo's or big engine v6/v8's not a lot of middle ground. I test drove a couple of S3's a while back and they are excellent at what they do...........but they are not the ultimate A3 in my books. Stick a nice exhaust on a 3,2, stick it in sport mode and listen to that V6 howl at 6k rpm as you come out of a bend :yes: i rest my case !
Just out of interest does your change manually on the gear stick ? surely that's the same set up as the paddles so i would guess your problem is either coding or wiring.
 
Plus 3.2 hold their value less so make a cracking buy -- my next car will have min 6 cylinder, the noise is to die for (Not literally).
 
paddy said:
Point is you will see why the 3.2 is so good after you have done 800 mile a week in a Elise/Exige/Europa :jump:
I think it is without a doubt the best A3 for the road. An S3 might beat it on the track but you either love little engine turbo's or big engine v6/v8's not a lot of middle ground. I test drove a couple of S3's a while back and they are excellent at what they do...........but they are not the ultimate A3 in my books. Stick a nice exhaust on a 3,2, stick it in sport mode and listen to that V6 howl at 6k rpm as you come out of a bend :yes: i rest my case !
Just out of interest does your change manually on the gear stick ? surely that's the same set up as the paddles so i would guess your problem is either coding or wiring.
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Paddy, I totally agree with you!!! The noise mine makes is well... brilliant to keep it clean lol The DSG coupled with this V6 is the best combo! I'm certainly a very happy bunny!!!
 
The 3.2's are getting cheap to buy, they are generally cheaper than Mk4 R32's and much much cheaper than mk5 R32's which are very similar beneath the skin.

I hope I dont have issues with my DSG!
 
adamskib said:
I am impressed but not awed. I WANTED to be awed, it just misses that involvement, that spark that I need in a toy!
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Totally agree! It's sounds lovely, I've gone from and MX5 2.0, which is involving with plenty of character, the A3 is a decent car, I bought it for the engine note! Wish it was a little more like the MX5 though. But it is a very refined drive, with all its toys, I got alot of car for £11k!!!!
 
Don't misread me... this is one heck of a car... REALLY good, very few cars have whupped me to "naughty" speeds, one car, the local R8, and it wasn't nearly as embarrassing as I thought it was going to be!
I am just not WOWED by it ... I am extremely happy with my car and will be keeping it for a looong while... mainly because my wife says If i sell it she will be VEEERRRY cross!

The Lotus will do a max of 10,000 miles and a couple of track days a year... comfort NOT an issue.

JC is tops, so "flappy paddles" it is :)
 
adamskib said:
Don't misread me... this is one heck of a car... REALLY good, very few cars have whupped me to "naughty" speeds, one car, the local R8, and it wasn't nearly as embarrassing as I thought it was going to be!
I am just not WOWED by it ... I am extremely happy with my car and will be keeping it for a looong while... mainly because my wife says If i sell it she will be VEEERRRY cross!

The Lotus will do a max of 10,000 miles and a couple of track days a year... comfort NOT an issue.

JC is tops, so "flappy paddles" it is :)
Click to expand...

Ok its quick but not THAAT quick! If the R8 was trying you wouldnt even be in the same post code!
JC IS great but his and Hammonds 'flappy paddles' are a subtle part of the dumbing down of TG to entertain the plebs..which has resulted in such classics as an LP-550 2 Balboni driving down leafy lanes at 30mph after a stupid air balloon!
 
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On the 3.2/R8 front...
A 3.2 will scare the life out of you and get you a bolloking...
an R8 will scare the life out of you anf get you banned if not locked up.

The beauty of the 3,2 for me is i can go ballistic and then blend back into the traffic jam. Too much attention is paid to JC on his private airfields and the MaxPower performance figures of the R8. The sad fact is we live in a world of 30-70mph speed limits and its not how fast your car is, how many BHP your turbo shopping trolly puts out,or even how big your remaped waste gated 24valve Suffolk Punch is. Its how big your balls and wallet are. I was cruising up the A29 the other day at just under 85mph and a Toyota IQ crawls past....Is my car faster ? Is the pope ex Hitler youth ? Do i want toor need to risk my licence proving my 3.2 is faster than an IQ ?? :noway: not really.
 
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Don't expect a nice exhaust sound from the Lotus unless you invest in a Larini or 2bular. I'm going the other way after having an Exige S for 2 years. My back can't take any more and I've lost all my teeth after going over too many pot holes. (still a great car though!)
 
paddy said:
On the 3.2/R8 front...
A 3.2 will scare the life out of you and get you a bolloking...
an R8 will scare the life out of you anf get you banned if not locked up.

The beauty of the 3,2 for me is i can go ballistic and then blend back into the traffic jam. Too much attention is paid to JC on his private airfields and the MaxPower performance figures of the R8. The sad fact is we live in a world of 30-70mph speed limits and its not how fast your car is, how many BHP your turbo shopping trolly puts out,or even how big your remaped waste gated 24valve Suffolk Punch is. Its how big your balls and wallet are. I was cruising up the A29 the other day at just under 85mph and a Toyota IQ crawls past....Is my car faster ? Is the pope ex Hitler youth ? Do i want toor need to risk my licence proving my 3.2 is faster than an IQ ?? :noway: not really.
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There's a time and a place for everything, if you live in the cities, unlucky, but out here in the countryside, its ****** brilliant. In the right place at the right time of course. If driving is just a "my car is faster than yours" , then I guess your easily pleased, but getting tthe feeling you want to get from your car, the balance of driving for fun and driving to work, then I say the audi 3.2 is one of the best cars around with 5 seats. But I'd ripp your hand off for an R8!
 
audi upgrades
Going back to the paddles issue, I assume they've actually coded the damn car to make them work, this is a must as they're not plugnplay, you have to go into steering wheel electronics module & tell it it has new style paddles.
 
NHN said:
Going back to the paddles issue, I assume they've actually coded the damn car to make them work, this is a must as they're not plugnplay, you have to go into steering wheel electronics module & tell it it has new style paddles.
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No idea... I am too "dumbed down" to possibly understand that kind of thing.... I will struggle on though :)
 
Welcome to the site btw.

May I suggest you ask a vagcom owner to login & check the coding for you mate, there's a link in my sig that shows users in areas who are willing to help, give that a try.
 
Hunty said:
There's a time and a place for everything, if you live in the cities, unlucky, but out here in the countryside, its ****** brilliant. In the right place at the right time of course. If driving is just a "my car is faster than yours" , then I guess your easily pleased, but getting tthe feeling you want to get from your car, the balance of driving for fun and driving to work, then I say the audi 3.2 is one of the best cars around with 5 seats. But I'd ripp your hand off for an R8!
Click to expand...

Sorry mate but i live in the stick and we have the same laws as city folk. as i said, you car is only as fast as you dare drive it.
 
paddy said:
Sorry mate but i live in the stick and we have the same laws as city folk. as i said, you car is only as fast as you dare drive it.
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Totally agree Paddy, but I'd rather be driving it on a country road at 60, than down a motorway at 110, or pulling away from a set of lights at full throttle to beat the nissan micra next to me, as I'm sure you would be too.
 
you just both wanna race massey fergusons whilst watching out for highway men on the A29 lol:laugh:
 
Oh yea...forgot you in Cambridgeshire ....Down here in Surrey we have a blanket 40mph limit on country lanes. 30mph in some places !!! and mobile camera vans to police it. I have sold my bike now because the temptation to change into second gear was to great....( for the uninitiated a modern bike like my R1Yam would do 100mph in first)
That said...You would have to be very brave to do 60mph on most of the roads down here because they are full of very deep pot holes !!:lmfao: My family live in Norfolk and i am up there once a month and believe me from a traffic and roads point of view its a different planet !!
 
Derbushire is great... need a camera detector but otherwise fine.
(stay away from "hot spots" though!! the Matlock areas is swarming!)
 
Surrey sounds pretty pants paddy, sorry to hear that!!! I live right on the border of norfolk, lincs andd cambs. So i'm pretty lucky roads wise. (Sorry about those noisy jets you may have heard flying about in norfolk, I work at RAF Marham) Those potholes are everywhere!!! Those massey fergussons are deceptively quick off the start!!! Not, they're the bane of my life! And the mess they leave all over the roads!! We need food though I guess!
 
Ha..I have spent a few hours at Marham snapping GR4's .:happy:..my nephew lives at East Lexham but most of my faimily is in Cromer.
 
The whole Top Gear team are tossers - JC being El Duce tosser. Every programme is so contrived but we're supposed to believe it's all 'off the cuff'. It's an insult to our intelligence!!... Ide luv to cut his shrivelled balls off and feed them to his donkey.
The **** doesn't even understand how an internal combustion engine works!!
I don't know if you've noticed but i'm sorta angry a little bit. We pay for those assholes to travel the world, spend loads of our money and tell us nothing!
Oh and now Audi owners are '*****' according to JC......JC=Justa **** I think.
Maybe, from now on, we should finish our posts with a short fact...." **** is a tosser (or whatever your prefered description is)!"
**** = James May, Richard '****' Hammond or Jeremy Clarkson - depending on which one you hate the most at the time! Or all three if you feel really normal!! :Flush:
 
JonRola said:
The whole Top Gear team are tossers - JC being El Duce tosser. Every programme is so contrived but we're supposed to believe it's all 'off the cuff'. It's an insult to our intelligence!!... Ide luv to cut his shrivelled balls off and feed them to his donkey.
The **** doesn't even understand how an internal combustion engine works!!
I don't know if you've noticed but i'm sorta angry a little bit. We pay for those assholes to travel the world, spend loads of our money and tell us nothing!
Oh and now Audi owners are '*****' according to JC......JC=Justa **** I think.
Maybe, from now on, we should finish our posts with a short fact...." **** is a tosser (or whatever your prefered description is)!"
**** = James May, Richard '****' Hammond or Jeremy Clarkson - depending on which one you hate the most at the time! Or all three if you feel really normal!! :Flush:
Click to expand...

WOW...you need to chill mate:zen:
 
I have to say, I dont watch TG anymore, just fedup with it for some reason, also the enormous amount of cash they get paid is ridiculous overall & I'm an avid solidly against the license fee type, just find it a rip of as you get sweet FA for your money.
 
I dont think you get sweet FA on the BBC except for highlights on MOTD2 :lmfao:
 
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JonRola said:
The whole Top Gear team are tossers - JC being El Duce tosser. Every programme is so contrived but we're supposed to believe it's all 'off the cuff'. It's an insult to our intelligence!!... Ide luv to cut his shrivelled balls off and feed them to his donkey.
The **** doesn't even understand how an internal combustion engine works!!
I don't know if you've noticed but i'm sorta angry a little bit. We pay for those assholes to travel the world, spend loads of our money and tell us nothing!
Oh and now Audi owners are '*****' according to JC......JC=Justa **** I think.
Maybe, from now on, we should finish our posts with a short fact...." **** is a tosser (or whatever your prefered description is)!"
**** = James May, Richard '****' Hammond or Jeremy Clarkson - depending on which one you hate the most at the time! Or all three if you feel really normal!! :Flush:
Click to expand...

That's a bit of a rant.....

For a start the show has a script editor - this is not denied! They even joked about this on the show before, when they won an award for being an unscripted show.

Having had a brief chat with all the guys, James May seemed sound as a pound, JC was a genuinely funny guy, but Richard Hammond seemed like a bit of a diva. Not a fan.
 
Came out to visit us in Afgan a while ago, they're just journalists and its a matter of opinion, has gone a little bit **** of recent though, I'm more of a fifth gear fan, but I think most car lovers are!
 
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