Quattro or FWD A3 170 Tdi S Line?

Smithymartyn

Smithymartyn

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Hi all, looking for a little advice.

I am looking to buy a second hand A3 170bhp S Line and not sure if I should go Quattro or not.

Probably 56 or 07 plate with between 55-70k miles on the clock. I will probably do c.12k miles per annum.

Is Quattro worth the premium and also, are there any key faults/questions I should be asking? Probably be a non Audi dealer where the A3 will be purchased.

Thanks all!
 
Hi welcome to ASN. It may be better if you post this in the 8p section of the forum, your more likely to get the advice you need. Enjoy the
site.
 
I would never touch a FWD 170. We are on our third QUATTRO since 2005. Everytime I drive FWD performance cars I hate them. QUATTRO is just so planted on the road and a pleasure to drive.

All the best anyway!
 
As good a car as the TDI 170 is, the economics of running a diesel on 12k miles a year is definitely a grey area. You may well find that a 2.0T quattro is cheaper to buy and possibly to run (and not much worse off on fuel).
 
Unless you're young-ish, in which case the insurance on a 2.0T will kick the crap out of anything else. They want an extra grand off me for the 2.0T over the 1.8T which is another £500 over the TDI 170, which is itself a further £100 over the TDI 140... The TDI is clearly the way forward for me. Quattro actually reduces my premium by £200.

Quattro is more expensive, more maintenance, slightly less fuel economy (we're talking about £80 over 10,000 miles) but a better drive by most accounts.
 
I haven't driven a the 170 Quattro but did drive a Golf GTD 170 which is the same set up as the A3 FWD and it had a bit too much torque going through the front wheels in my opinion. On a wet day the Quattro will be better. My suggestion is to test drive both that's the only way you will choose and be happy yourself that you made the right decision

Ps. do it on a wet day so you can feel the difference and justify if a Quattro is needed :) good luck
 
I look at it like this if you don't want a DSG and can afford to Quattro everytime.
 
I would advise you to look at the 140 quattro and rempa it to 170 or there about as the 170 has a DPF filter in the exhaust which is an absolute pain in the **** and puts me off my A3 so much. With it having this and being a quattro theres not much in the way of mods and increasing the power can be a hit or a miss. No body does a DPF delete pipe for the 170 quattro or an exhaust system and the majority of mappers wont look at it and the ones that will look at it do advise that it may be a hit or a miss if it runs well.

AMD in essex is where i am going to take mine but being from the highlands of scotland it is a fair old trek for me so that is a future plan.

Thinking back if i knew then what i know now i would have bought a 140 and mapped it instead.

The 170 quattro is a awesome car just let down by the DPF and if you do town driving the majority of the time it will soon become apparent of how much of a pain in the **** it is.
 
I'm pretty sure there is a DPF delete, more likely a custom job though, any good exhaust place would be able to do you something I'm sure. Same with the mapping, I'll ask my mate about it later see what he reckons
 
I was under the impression that there were two different 2.0 TDI engines, an earlier one and a later CR one, and that the DPF on the latter is nowhere near as bad as the former? I could be making that up, though.
 
audigex said:
I was under the impression that there were two different 2.0 TDI engines, an earlier one and a later CR one, and that the DPF on the latter is nowhere near as bad as the former? I could be making that up, though.
Click to expand...

Audi have told me they have more problems with the latter ones than the ones fitted 06-08, the workshop manager said they are harder to burn off unlike the older ones. Regarding fwd or quattro, looking around reading lots of comments i was under the impression that about 5mpg is lost and the 170 isnt as economical as a normal 2.0 diesel to put it kindly lol. Mine is FWD and i have to say i dont have many issues with the wheels lighting up unless its 2nd gear, wet and you plant it. If you run a good pair of tyres then they seem quite capable of putting the torque down effectively and i am pleased with the handling overall. Hope this helps
 
I have had my 11 plate 170 s-tronic for 5 months now and done 6.5k and had no issues with dpf or any issues in the rain, I do a lot of mixed driving and still managing 49.5mpg which is worked out manually and not via dis. That said if audi done the 170 quattro with s-tronic I would have bought that but they don't and I wanted s-tronic more than quattro, and as I have never had any probs in snow and ice in 20 years of driving I don't regret that decision.
 
Checked yesterday yes the dpf can be deleted quite easily with a custom pipe, hes has done quite a few without any hassles
 
Shane. said:
Checked yesterday yes the dpf can be deleted quite easily with a custom pipe, hes has done quite a few without any hassles
Click to expand...

the trouble with the custom pipe is, it isn't custom its the original pipe cut, the guts removed and welded up and some smoke more than dot cotton :( there can be issues with dash lights on aswell. Not many of the main tuners will do it.

Amd can map it above 200 ponies with the dpf in place, until miltek do a pipe I'll leave mine in :(
 
Last edited:
Brill! Thanks all. Just test drove the Quattro and loved it! Deposit left..roll on collection! Will keep posting as no doubt have loads of other
Techy questions....
 
eddyd said:
the 170 quattro is a very good car once mapped.
Click to expand...

IMHO the 170 Quattro is an even better car if you leave it alone. I've driven a few mapped cars and quite frankly the 170 Quattros we have had 09 and 11 do not need messing with.

Just my views...all the best
 
PilotAudi said:
IMHO the 170 Quattro is an even better car if you leave it alone. I've driven a few mapped cars and quite frankly the 170 Quattros we have had 09 and 11 do not need messing with.

Just my views...all the best
Click to expand...

I was really disappointed with the standard 170 quattro, drivetrain losses plus the extra weight make it quite a slow car considering it's the best diesel A3 you can buy! My old car a 1.9tdi Seat Leon remapped was very nearly as quick and it was only remapped to 130-140hp.
If I hadn't remapped then I would have sold up by now and got a 123d.

You should try a remap Pilot, an extra 40hp makes all the difference!
 
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