What do you like about your A3 8Y?

[DreamInCode]

A lot of us had fair few issues with our 8Ys. Despite them I'm sure there are things we like about our 8Ys.
So let's share what we like about it.

For me:
1. The DSG gearbox is very smooth and almost imperceptible up/down shift in normal day to day drive.
2. Very flat cornering with very little body roll.
3. MHEV system is very good for auto start/stop. So finally I don't bother to turn it off everytime I start the car.
4. Small point but interesting: a red-bull sized can perfectly fit in between 2 larger sized cup holders.

Cheers.

 

[STmichael]

Great topic. All us people waiting on our cars arriving are surely nervous given all the negativity on the forum. Nice to hear some positives!

 

[LesleyG]

1. Agree the auto gearbox is lush
2. Seats are comfier than before, especially with the alcantara
3. With all the production delays, i think mine is currently the only S3 in my town so i feel like a bit of a celeb tbh !

 

[SteveF1]

* Car styling - the creases down the side when viewed from the front wing look awesome.
* Virtual cockpit is class leading.
* The speakers are very good.
* The headlights are amazing
* Build quality is good
* Ride and handling are good

 

[Henno005]

1- the design- especially the interior
2-the quality of material
3- the manual gear box is really nice ( apart from 1st in the first minute of driving from cold but that is well documented with the 1.5)
4-the suspension is really comfy but no roll in the bends

 

[Audi1966]

NeXt Gen....

Good points/ bad points:
inside is nice, step up to a modern sleek look, is it better than the previous 8V.....I would have to say the materials are not as good, but the design is a step forward.
Outside the car, work of art....although I do prefer the s-line and above styling with the air vents on the bonnet...albiet fake ones!!!....the sides have beautiful angles in sun light, and the rear could have been better in my opinion...but overall the design is a step up for sure.......the reflections for the driver though really p$%s me off....why that silly shape was cut into the dash is beyond me...its like looking through a 50 pence coin!!!...silly shape that I can only assume is for the HUD...but if you have not got HUD then just leave the top of the dash smooth....makes me wonder if they ever went out and tested this car!!!

Driving the car is a much more relaxing, long journeys become shorter, wind noise at 70mph is quiet, even with 19" rims, so the smaller based rims should be even better, it`s also not bad at 105mph (so I am told!)...... gearbox on the manual is good, clutch peddle needs a workout, I guess all new cars need to be bedded in.....the only thing I found with the car is the safety systems do not really give me much faith in trusting them, for sure they work as they should, but this is level3 Auto driving....and these systems whilst useful, do not convince me that I am safe.....for the first 200 miles in this car I let the car more or less drive itself, on the motorway in did!...this made long journeys feel much more chilled...but after a few more 100 miles I started to `drive` the car myself....and this is where you feel what Audi have done, the car is much tighter, grip is amazing for a front wheel drive car, and the turbo is just about right in its punch....it is less aggressive than the 8V in the way the power curve climbs, it is more progressive on the 8Y....(ECU voltage changes can manipulate this)..... but just drop it down a gear and let the turbo kick it at 4k revs.....the thing can move.
Around town nice and smooth, no issues....parking is very easy....just one small change on design, the mirrors have been bought forward slightly, now this is fine, but it has a plus and minus, the plus is you can see more, that little gap by moving the mirror forward is a real help, downside I think you get more cabin noise from this placement....but like i said, plus and minus!
Overall this car has more plus than minus about it.....

So as carwow would say...should you buy it, shortlist it...etc.......Well I bought it, but my advise would be to shortlist it!!!.....simply because I think Audi as usual has dropped the ball in crucial areas, and the Golf, Seat and others in this bracket have more features for your money, and if you can live without the snobbery of an Audi badge, then they would be better options as they are virtually the same cars!!!!....

If I could describe the car in a few words it would be .....A beautiful women, with beautiful hair and in an amazing dress, ...wearing wellington boots.

 

[AdamInKent]

Having been caught in a long stop-start traffic jam on the M25 earlier today, the Driver Assist package paired with the S-Tronic gearbox made it so very easy. The car pretty much drove itself - including adjusting to the ever changing variable speed limits -allowing me to chill to some music and keep an eye on the ever changing traffic situation on the sat nav .

I‘d also add that the hands free car kit is spot on. I did a whole 30 minute journey a week or so back whilst on the phone, with no more effort to do so than if I’d been sitting on my sofa at home.

And the matrix lights - now sadly only available in the highest trim (?) - are a game changer for night driving. To be able to run full beams on an unlit motorway or dual carriageway, regardless of other traffic, makes driving at 70 mph feel much safer. It goes without saying that they are also great on other types of road and I still catch myself being impressed with the way that the main beams open and close like theatre curtains.

And the switch gear and virtual cockpit are easy and Intuitive to use (which is one of the ways that the Audi pulls ahead of the Golf, and Seat) - with the exception of the switch for full beam which seems to change function depending on which mode the lights are in.

 

[KXL]

Pros:
Very comfortable, quiet (can hardly hear the engine 30 TFSI).
Seemless S/S with hybrid drive
Did 60mpg in the petrol car!
Like the main screen as well as digital cockpit
Interior quality is decent in the front (at least where I'm seated)
Like the airvents with brush alumnium, likewise the AC controls have a satisfying solid click when pressed (thank goodness they didn't do the touch A/C controls)
Fan washers!
40:20:40 rear seats and can fit parcel shelf cover under the boot partition

Meh:
Why old school bulbs for interior lights and tail-lights (Sport trim), it's an Audi? Can't turn on reading lights individually in front?
SOS malfunction ping a few times (before entering Blackwall Tunnel)
Threw up a red symbol which I still have no idea what it was.
B&O for now yet to convince me. Sub and bass a bit weak despite increasing both a few notches to the right (maybe needs bedding in?)
Evertime I come too close to the car in front at the traffic light, it will inform me I'm too near, but it also reduces the volume of my music (why?).
No other options besides piano black trim near the Auto gearshift?
No more old school handbrake

Cons (for me)
Could they make the rear air-vent any uglier / cheap looking? 8V ones and even those in Leon / Golf / Scala are way nicer and upmarket.
All previous cars I had, included rear seat pockets (for magazines, papers), Audi charges for this, and it's just a net!

Other thoughts:
As an Audi, the they should really have made the 30 TFSI the 1.5TSI 130 engine. Leave the 1.0s for the Leon / Scala / Golf. Even the Golf and Leon both have 1.5 130.

 

[Mastachaz]

I love
great design


and also broken MMI and poor quality overall - just kidding i hate it only plus its design.

 

[Sparks43]

Pros:
Very comfortable, quiet (can hardly hear the engine 30 TFSI).
Seemless S/S with hybrid drive
Did 60mpg in the petrol car!
Like the main screen as well as digital cockpit
Interior quality is decent in the front (at least where I'm seated)
Like the airvents with brush alumnium, likewise the AC controls have a satisfying solid click when pressed (thank goodness they didn't do the touch A/C controls)
Fan washers!
40:20:40 rear seats and can fit parcel shelf cover under the boot partition

Meh:
Why old school bulbs for interior lights and tail-lights (Sport trim), it's an Audi? Can't turn on reading lights individually in front?
SOS malfunction ping a few times (before entering Blackwall Tunnel)
Threw up a red symbol which I still have no idea what it was.
B&O for now yet to convince me. Sub and bass a bit weak despite increasing both a few notches to the right (maybe needs bedding in?)
Evertime I come too close to the car in front at the traffic light, it will inform me I'm too near, but it also reduces the volume of my music (why?).
No other options besides piano black trim near the Auto gearshift?
No more old school handbrake

Cons (for me)
Could they make the rear air-vent any uglier / cheap looking? 8V ones and even those in Leon / Golf / Scala are way nicer and upmarket.
All previous cars I had, included rear seat pockets (for magazines, papers), Audi charges for this, and it's just a net!

Other thoughts:
As an Audi, the they should really have made the 30 TFSI the 1.5TSI 130 engine. Leave the 1.0s for the Leon / Scala / Golf. Even the Golf and Leon both have 1.5 130.

Why old school bulbs for interior lights and tail-lights (Sport trim), it's an Audi? Can't turn on reading lights individually in front? - I have an S3 so not sure if it's different on the Sport trim but don't think so but the reading lights are touch on/off and if you hold they also dim

Evertime I come too close to the car in front at the traffic light, it will inform me I'm too near, but it also reduces the volume of my music (why?). -Front parking sensors come on automatically when you get close to something and it then reduces the Radio volume - You can change these in the MMI

 

[KXL]

Why old school bulbs for interior lights and tail-lights (Sport trim), it's an Audi? Can't turn on reading lights individually in front? - I have an S3 so not sure if it's different on the Sport trim but don't think so but the reading lights are touch on/off and if you hold they also dim

Evertime I come too close to the car in front at the traffic light, it will inform me I'm too near, but it also reduces the volume of my music (why?). -Front parking sensors come on automatically when you get close to something and it then reduces the Radio volume - You can change these in the MMI

Thanks, I did try to press the actual individual reading light itself, but nothing happened. I pressed the bulb icon plastic button, and both front two and rear two lights came on, def of the halogen variety.

Thanks for the headsup on the MMI tip regarding reducing my volume when car in front is too close (or maybe I shouldn't go to close to the car in front haha). I'm guessing that is where I can also find the option to have the fuel consumption indicator inside the rev counter? had a look briefly and couldn't find it. Ahh maybe I really need to look at the 'comprehensive' manual one of these days.

 

[Daniel43CR]

1. The look of the car (mine is a black, sport saloon)
2. Economy of nearly 60mpg is achievable
3. Smoothness of the engine/s-tronic combo
4. Power and delivery is actually not too bad (previous car was a manual Golf R)

 

[KXL]

I really dislike how 'scratchable' the piano black trim is on this A3. I went to clean the headlight switch area with the supplied microfibre cloth and then used a soft bristle paint brush to gently flick away the excess dust, and now it's lightly scratched! Imagine what nails/keys/rings could do to this pianoblack trim! Had sat in a Mini before with a similar thing, and I'm sure it wasn't as scratchable.

 

[Mastachaz]

I really dislike how 'scratchable' the piano black trim is on this A3. I went to clean the headlight switch area with the supplied microfibre cloth and then used a soft bristle paint brush to gently flick away the excess dust, and now it's lightly scratched! Imagine what nails/keys/rings could do to this pianoblack trim! Had sat in a Mini before with a similar thing, and I'm sure it wasn't as scratchable.

but looks nice when its clean haha

 

[dtv1983]

By far what i like best is the screen and the digital instruments. Love the conectivity with apple car play, seems to work very well althoug i had the minor glitch with the software recall, fixed on second attempt.

Love the outside as well, the new front is very sporty and clean even at base models. Probably the best german choice of this segment. Overall a very satisfying car to drive. Good response yet confortable (i have 16” wheels which helps a lot).

 

[bomp306]

Loving all the tech

Android Auto works flawlessly
256GB flash drive loaded with my audio collection
A few HD music videos for when I'm waiting for the wife, sound amazing on the B&O setup.

Also my first car with full LED lights, wow what a difference!!

 

[auzzam_crd]

My favourite things about the car:

1) meeting everyone virtually through here / YouTube!

2) the looks never grow old, especially with the Pano roof open on a nice sunny day

3) the interior, the fine Nappa seats in the vorsprung/s3 are lovely and fit nice alongside the other modern aspects

4) The driver assistance pack, so glad I was able to re-order the vorsprung.

 

[bomp306]

Also like the turn of pace the hybrid offers. Although it's got me a few moans from the other half

 

[AdamInKent]

4) The driver assistance pack, so glad I was able to re-order the vorsprung.

I did a 400 mile round trip this week, and my A3 drove most of it (motorway and A roads). It makes long journeys so much easier and more relaxed. It even slows down for junctions, requiring me to take over just before entry.

I found that the system has limitations on windey A roads though: there is a limit to how far the car can turn the steering wheel when negotiating bends: I found that it needed a helping hand around any bend tight enough to require a warning sign. (A reason why the driver needs to keep a hand on the wheel at all times, just to monitor what the car is doing.) Then again, under most circumstances I would want full control on those sorts of roads (I was letting the car drive them because I was in traffic).