Ordering A3 1.5TFSI

[MaffewEM]

Hello all,

Spent about 3 or so months in the configurator and I'm interested in the following specification:
Sportback 1.5TFSI COD S-Line, 6-Speed Manual, Comfort & Sound Pack, Privacy Glass, Pre-sense front.

Only unsure about the colour, I quite like the Mythos Black, White and Silver. Still pondering on the colour, I don't know how I feel with Mythos black on the new shape that the 'grey' off the rear-diffuser? (Obviously seems to be more fitting on the black edition?)

Thought it was worth asking all your opinions and whether there is any other options that you would recommend?

 

[davemk]

Black looks lovely when clean, but I've had one and it's a PITA to keep it looking good.

Floret is a lovely colour, as is glacier white.

An extra few hundred on your spec will get you Black Edition which looks great with those colours and gets you B&O with the C&S pack.

 

[MaffewEM]

Black looks lovely when clean, but I've had one and it's a PITA to keep it looking good.

Floret is a lovely colour, as is glacier white.

An extra few hundred on your spec will get you Black Edition which looks great with those colours and gets you B&O with the C&S pack.

As I was writing it I did contemplate why I hadn't looked at the Black Edition, however it will probably shuffle the insurance a bit more. I've just compared the current spec against the black edn and it looks like it adds approximately £650 to the price.

I was going to get it paint-protected (not by Audi) so it should keep it glossy and retain some of it's shine but aware I've been warned black in general is really hard to keep clean!

 

[davemk]

I don't think it made a huge difference to my insurance, if any. £650 sounds about right when you factor in not needing the privacy glass as an option. Also factor the B&O in and the difference is negligible.

It's not just keeping it clean: it marks really easily. Washing it leaves swirls, even with a good wash technique. If you choose black, be prepared to spend lots on detailers or buy a machine polisher.

 

[KenL]

Don't get white!

Black is the best colour and floret looks great.

Just my opinion!

No swirls on my solid black car after 15 months, 15k miles.

 

[MaffewEM]

Friend at work has a silver (presuming floret as that appears to be only one) 2013 A4 and his looks quite nice. I looked at the solid, couldn't decide whether it was worth the £550 extra for the metallic, same with the white if I'm honest! I've currently got a white car so I'd probably like a change.

I would presume the coat I'm going to add via my detailer would avoid most swirls and I'd try take it back to him just to clean. He advised not to let the dealer touch the car (i.e. wash it) before applying the protection.

 

[KenL]

What is the "protection" and what are you paying?

A lot of these make claims about protecting the paint for x years that are probably not true.

Good advice about not letting the dealer touch it. I do likewise.

 

[MaffewEM]

What is the "protection" and what are you paying?

A lot of these make claims about protecting the paint for x years that are probably not true.

Good advice about not letting the dealer touch it. I do likewise.

Off the top of my head it's Gyeon Q2 MOHS and costs approximately £300? But may try get the plus version which I think lasts around 60Months. Probably better off than the standard 18 months it supposedly provides. Although I only do about 7k miles a year.

Noticed that the washing of the dealers tends to swirl your paint before you've even had a chance to drive your car away!

 

[Jassyo06]

Floret Silver gets my vote with either edition mate, very nice and sensible spec aswell

 

[Carefree69]

My previous two cars were black (A3 8P and Fabia vRS) and after 14 years of combined ownership I was glad to get rid. As has been said black is great when clean but it just doesn't last long.

Ive had my glacier white A3 since September and it's been driven on roads covered by ice, rainwater, mud and salt and it is easily still cleaner looking at this stage than either of my previous black cars.

Oh, and swirls or surface scratches don't stand out like a f#cking huge beacon like they do on black cars.

I'm sure current owners of black cars will disagree, but it's just my experience.

 

[1future]

I’ve got glacier metallic white too, it’s gorgeous with BE & is quite easy to maintain/clean. Drove down a dirty back lane and a truck was blocking so had to get round but to do so had to go through a dirty *** puddle..

checked for dirt when i got home.. nothing.. clean as a whistle(not had it detailed yet)

i’d recommend the 1.5 saloon, picked mine up a month ago couldn’t be happier!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Chris43]

Options and colour are down to personal choice as you have to live with them and unfortunately pay for the pleasure.

Hill hold assist is worth £75 of anyones money. I tried my luck and the dealer through it in for free. I added a few other options to make long motorway trips a bit more bearable as thats how the car is used.

Colour? Ive had black and its a bitch to look after, never had white. I went nano grey which im pleased with.

I also have the 1.5, plenty of torque and fairly good on fuel. Its a good compromise between the 2.

 

[Rideen]

This is my second black car. Would never get black car again, had to take this one in black because otherwise I'd have to wait for the car for another 2 months which was impossible at the time.

I agree black looks amazing when clean, but oh damn does it show dirt earlier than other colors!

 

[Neil C]

Don't get white!

Black is the best colour and floret looks great.

Just my opinion!

No swirls on my solid black car after 15 months, 15k miles.

Why not white? Am seriously thinking about this for my next car, so would be interested in any pros / cons that folk have come across.

 

[Carefree69]

No cons for me with a white car, no obvious swirl marks, can't see surface scratches and I've washed my car once since I got it in September. My two previous black cars would have had at least 4 or 5 washes by now.

 

[Rideen]

Got a white car in the family and all I can say, it's the second best color for maintaining, other than (floret) silver. Our silver car gets washes every 6 months and white one a bit more frequently. But black... oh man, it needs weekly washes.

 

[MaffewEM]

Options and colour are down to personal choice as you have to live with them and unfortunately pay for the pleasure.

Hill hold assist is worth £75 of anyones money. I tried my luck and the dealer through it in for free. I added a few other options to make long motorway trips a bit more bearable as thats how the car is used.

Colour? Ive had black and its a bitch to look after, never had white. I went nano grey which im pleased with.

I also have the 1.5, plenty of torque and fairly good on fuel. Its a good compromise between the 2.

Glad to hear it, was test driving the 1.5 and wasn't sure if someone previously ragged it as the MPG was in the 20's... as I drove it, it did get better and finished around 40-45mpg after around 30mins on different roads. Will be interesting to see how well it does generally!

Good advice re the hill hold; my current car has this but I haven't experienced Audi's version yet - believe it comes included with the comfort pack.

This is my second black car. Would never get black car again, had to take this one in black because otherwise I'd have to wait for the car for another 2 months which was impossible at the time.

I agree black looks amazing when clean, but oh damn does it show dirt earlier than other colors!

It's a really tough one, I've had a black car (never washed it because it was so old that washing it made it actually look worse) and my current white which I have to say only looks 'clean' to me for about 2-3weeks after being washed. Tough decision.

Got a white car in the family and all I can say, it's the second best color for maintaining, other than (floret) silver. Our silver car gets washes every 6 months and white one a bit more frequently. But black... oh man, it needs weekly washes.

Thanks for sharing your experience with all the colours. May pop down to the dealer and see if I can compare the different colours a bit easier than on the configurator

 

[Chris43]

40 to 45mpg is a reasonable figure to expect from day to day driving.

I managed 51mpg average accross a full tank when I drove the 500 mile round trip to Loch tay and back, that was steady motorway miles with the cruise control set to mid 70s. Conversely, I've just spent the last few weeks running round town and I only managed 350 miles from a full tank. Safe to say it doesn't like short journies, MPG may be affected by the recent drop in temperature too.

I've had the car since late August and my only gripe is the poor amount of storage inside for sunglasses etc. I had a MK7 Golf before that had numerous draws and cupboards for storing stuff.

Have you decided on the colour yet?

 

[MaffewEM]

40 to 45mpg is a reasonable figure to expect from day to day driving.

I managed 51mpg average accross a full tank when I drove the 500 mile round trip to Loch tay and back, that was steady motorway miles with the cruise control set to mid 70s. Conversely, I've just spent the last few weeks running round town and I only managed 350 miles from a full tank. Safe to say it doesn't like short journies, MPG may be affected by the recent drop in temperature too.

I've had the car since late August and my only gripe is the poor amount of storage inside for sunglasses etc. I had a MK7 Golf before that had numerous draws and cupboards for storing stuff.

Have you decided on the colour yet?

That doesn't sound too bad but so long as I can achieve around that MPG to-from work that's reasonable, I current avg 39-42 with no stop-start. I originally thought the COD would be beneficial as I do pass through areas of slow-moving traffic at times where little to no power is required just to crawl forward.

Currently think I'm stuck between Mythos Black & Glacier White. Silver, to me doesn't look right with the privacy glass

 

[SamR92]

My first car was black, hated it because it looked good for about 5 mins after washing it , showed imperfections everywhere.

2nd car was white - loved it, only showed dirt when it was actually dirty, but was a PITA to polish and wax.

3rd car was silver, and was the best choice I ever made. Barely shows dirt or minor imperfections at all

4th car (currently on order) is an A3 Sportback, guess what colour? (Hint: silver) also with privacy glass specced. Didn’t like look of PG on the Audi configurator, but looks good in the flesh

 

[davemk]

Each to their own, of course, but I think Floret and privacy works well. Team it up with the BE for a big win.

 

[MaffewEM]

My first car was black, hated it because it looked good for about 5 mins after washing it , showed imperfections everywhere.

2nd car was white - loved it, only showed dirt when it was actually dirty, but was a PITA to polish and wax.

3rd car was silver, and was the best choice I ever made. Barely shows dirt or minor imperfections at all

4th car (currently on order) is an A3 Sportback, guess what colour? (Hint: silver) also with privacy glass specced. Didn’t like look of PG on the Audi configurator, but looks good in the flesh

Thanks for the feedback, aware I'm going to get it paint-protected ASAP upon delivery, which should make the look last longer (obviously it's not indefinite but should last longer than without - should solve some of the white/black issues). Think I'd have to see silver with PG it in person to see how it looks.

I also can't get over the rear-'grey' coloured diffuser on the mythos black, which isn't grey if you get the BE but obviously that's an extra added expense.