2015 Audi A3 anyone ?

[74-911]

Wife's 2006 Jetta is now pushing 125K miles and except for replacing the headliner has had nothing but routine maintenance... no complaints whatsoever with it.

She is enamored with the new A3 and as her favorite car of all time was her '83 Audi Coupe GT she thinks the A3 would be good replacement for the VW.

I know a lot of people on this forum are not exactly fond of VW / Audi products but we have never had any issues at all with the several we have owned.

Anyone have or driven one of the new A3's ? My concern is it is on a new platform with a new engine and sometimes being early to the party is not a good idea with cars.

[imcarthur]

I happen to be driving a new rental A3 convertible in Crete right now. It performed very well on the crazed roads here. Lots of power for passing - in double line areas climbing mountains etc. A manual 6 spd gas version btw. A half tank of gas was a whopping 50 euro. Comfortable & the AC works well. I know it's not much help . . . But I quite like it.

Ian

[craigster59]

I put 175k on my '06 A3 before I traded it in, no issues. The A3 is a quick, fun car. Personally I think Audi gets a bit of a bad rap, some from people with direct experience but there also seems to be a lot of the "I have a friend who works with a guy, who knows a guy who's Audi was always in the shop".

[wildthing]

I like it. Maybe the S3...

[Icemaster]

I'll watch this also...my wife is in the same situation, wanting to move on from her '04 A6. Which has been trouble free but for maintenance and a sensor about a year ago.

[Noah930]

A recent Road & Track had a quick comparo between the A3 as well as a C-class MB and 3-series BMW. They didn't like the A3.

[imcarthur]

Originally Posted by Noah930

A recent Road & Track had a quick comparo between the A3 as well as a C-class MB and 3-series BMW. They didn't like the A3.

No question. My wife's DD - our family car - a 6 cyl MB C300 is a better car. More $s however. The Euro blown 4s are good but not as good as a 6 cyl imho.

Ian

[VW_NUTT]

My wife drives her 09 A3 daily and loves it. Only time it was at the dealer was for the coolant sensor. Nothing bad to say about it. Our Allroad is another story. Its a great car as well, but when things go wrong you need to be either handy or have a thick wallet.

[aigel]

I am a hatch back fan. It is just a lot more practical for every day driving and lugging things around. I would not be caught dead in a C class or even A4 +. As I age, I definitely don't want to look 70 years old in a sedan ...

G

[wildthing]

Originally Posted by aigel

I am a hatch back fan...

G

Too bad the new A3 US-version is not a hatch.

[Stutzdriver]

And the Audi ABS chimes in:

1. The current 2015 A3 is moving very well, 5283 sold in the month of May. My estimation is the sweet spot for these is the A3 quattro Premium Plus with the Navigation Plus. I have delivered about 12 of these since the April 3rd intro date (April 3=A3, marketers. what can you do?). No complaints from anyone, every owner loves this car. Its about the same size as the pre-2008 A4 but with updated everything. Lots of people don't want somethin the size of the A4/C-Class/3-series so it fits mayn well. Base prices in 1.8L FWD at $29,900 + destination with sunroof, leather, bluetooth and xenon headlights, add quattro and you start at $32,900.00 for the addition of the 2.0 and quattro.

2. In the fall we get the S3, the A3 Cabriolet and the Q3. No firm date for any of these in the USA yet but word is early fall (Sept/Oct). No ordering information on these yet other than the current 2015 A3 sedan.

3. The hatchback version A3 returns in 2 forms sometime in the spring of 2015 as the e-Tron plug in hybrid and the FWD TDi (FWD only, no TDi quattro)

4. I read the articles written and there seems to be no complaint among the magazine scribes about the car other than the M-B CLA has a slicker interior. Go look at a CLA and checkout the body gaps. Grab the front fender at the wheel arch and pull it, not too hard or you'll bend it like I did the one at the Cleveland Auto Show! Somewhere I read that if you pay for half of a Mercedes, you get half of a Mercedes!

We have Mercedes CLA owners who have 3-4 month old CLA's that have been here to try to trade out of them. Similar to the Cadillac ATS guys that are dying to get out of those cars.

If anyone has questions or needs more information, PM me here. I'll try to help...

[OffCamber00]

So there WILL be a TDI hatch? That is the only one i'm interested in.

thanks.

[74-911]

Originally Posted by aigel

I am a hatch back fan. It is just a lot more practical for every day driving and lugging things around. I would not be caught dead in a C class or even A4 +. As I age, I definitely don't want to look 70 years old in a sedan ...

G

As a soon to be 70 caught dead in a sedan...

Given our current life style a 2 dr hatch is about the last car we would get as it is totally impractical. We have a booster seat more or less permanently installed in the back seat of the Jetta for the 4 YO granddaughter and asking friends (or enemies) to crawl in and out of the backseat of a 2 door just isn't going to happen. 4 doors is an absolute necessity.

As to hauling stuff around, that is what the F-150 is for.

[onewhippedpuppy]

74-911, the previous A3 was a four door hatch. Far more practical than a sedan.

I think the current A3 is the most appealing of the under $30k German crowd.

[Deschodt]

I don't know that comments from previous gens A3s apply, the new A3 is NOT the same car at all...
I'm curious about the S3, as a current S4 owner (that car's kick off the line is truly neck snapping) but I'm sad they used the 2.0T instead of the superb supercharged 3.0 (stupidly called 3.0"T" as well)

All I can say based of the cars I've test driven recently (base model loaners at the dealer) is: do NOT ever buy an Audi if you are not gonna get a quattro. That's just pissing money away... I mean if you're getting a FWD car with a 2.0T engine, save yourself $10-15K and buy a GTI or a passat... If you are gonna get an Audi and spend that kinda of $, get the quattro ! Makes all the difference in the world in dynamics and feel and allows snappy take offs.

[gatotom]

All I can say, I have owned 3 A4's last 2 have been the sport model, all Quattro's, my wife has had 2 A4 Avants and 2 of my 3 children drive A4's.

On the 2014 models they have a pop up mmi screen in the middle of the dashboard which I think is kind of stupid but I am sure there is a reason for it.

My 2013 is finally breaking in with 11K on the clock, on hwy getting 31.7 mpg with combined 29, not bad for a Quattro.

We live in the mountains so fwd is never considered. Sure Subaru may get a mile or two better mileage but the get up and go and passing power, Audi smokes the others, thou not even close to a Porsche.

[wildthing]

I pulled the trigger on a base model A3 (1.8T Premium) for the wife. Took a lease. Picked it up last Friday. Drives ok. Though I have no point of comparison as this is my first brand new European car.

As my luck would have it (seems to be a pattern with every new car I buy save for the minivan), somebody rear-ended it today.

Seems to be minor. Bumper retained its overall shape. I was fully stopped and on the brakes. She was probably doing no more than 10mph. She may have just lifted off the brakes herself. It only has indentations where the other car's tag holder touched. I am hoping it will be sorted fast enough. No bodily injuries, which is always a good thing.

[Halm]

I was at the Audi dealer yesterday for a routine stop with the Q5. While I was waiting, I wandered out to the showroom and checked out the new A3.

We had a pre-2008 S4 and the A3 feels a bit bigger. Fit and finish is outstanding. Price point seems to be about fight.

If I was in the market for a sedan, I would buy.

[kaisen]

Originally Posted by Stutzdriver

My estimation is the sweet spot for these is the A3 quattro Premium Plus with the Navigation Plus.

And that's a $40K MSRP A3..... and still not 'loaded' by any stretch

There are other cars I'd pick for $40K before the A3, certainly

[wildthing]

I was going to go for the 2.0T Premium as I didn't need anything else other than the 2.0 but I couldn't justify it for my wife.