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james_tiger_woo
17-01-2014, 11:56 AM
I'm a little delayed on this as I passed 10k a couple of weeks back but I just wanted to share my owning experience without going on too much about it - Unlike my Golf ownership :)

I'm up to 11k and so far my ownership experience could be described as a bit "meh". I wanted to say that I love the car and it's brilliant, but I'm sorry, I can't.

It's a competent, solid car, but it's not the car I thought it would be. It has many fine features:

MMI is brilliant and intuitive
Sat Nav (now I know how to use it properly) is very good
The MMI screen is, probably, in the best place it could be - visible but not intrusive and in your eyeline without being in your face
Performance from the 2.0 diesel is great
Rear legroom is very good
Access to the spare wheel is very good
The jack can indeed bear the weight of the car
The from seats, when adjusted properly, are comfortable. Getting them adjusted right, however, is a pain
Economy is about 48mpg and improving
The Audi sound system is very good and the dash speaker is nice (not sure how much it adds, but I do like it) - However, see below....


However, it does fall down in other places:

Regularly I get a message stating that the Radio is "initialising" - this can last several minutes
It is slow to access my iPod at times
Saving places to the address book isn't very intuitive
Handling is poor - Even when I remind myself that it's NOT my Golf GT. It'll understeer and wheelspin a LOT - something I'll raise when it's serviced
The rear seats aren't very comfortable (so I've been told)
I find that the boot space is limited
The "storage pack" is pointless - Don't bother. The storage net in the front is handy, but that's about it.
The 12v power lines don't charge my phone (that could be the 2 eBay adapters I've tried though)
The nearside rear door seal has failed somewhere - I still need to sort that
The MMI screen creaks - I still need to sort that
The fuel tank is too small - I can just about do 530 miles on a tank when driving economically on a cruise. The Golf had a bigger tank and could do 620+: I could drive to Heathrow and back from Scunthorpe on a single tank in the Golf, there's no way the A3 could
While the Audi sound system is very good, it can be intrusive. I've learnt that to get the best out of it, I need to either turn OFF the subwoofer or turn it down to the point where it isn't worth having. If the bass is too great when it's on, it cuts the volume right down (GALA off makes no difference)


Don't get me wrong - I enjoy being in the car. It's a nice, comfortable place to be - it IS nicer than the Golf to be in and drive, but it leaves me a bit cold.

I don't regret choosing the A3 - the other choices of the Civic, Golf and V40 would have left me regretting not choosing the A3.

As a Car to get in and live with, it's a fine car, but I don't think I'll get another in this spec. I will say this, however, if I was to choose another, I would probably look at the Sport or S Line with the 1.6 diesel to improve it ride as it's this that is really making me not love this car.

Of course, this is all VERY subjective and I'm sure other owners will say the opposite to some of my negative points above :)

JTW

james_tiger_woo
22-01-2014, 11:16 AM
Wanted to add a couple of things:

I find that the gear change is quite sticky and notchy when it's cold
I struggle to pull away in second
Stalling is almost a regular occurrence, even in 1st too - On the plus side, when you do stall, it'll start back up by itself
There is a big delay in turning the key and the engine starting - I know it's all electronic these days, but I rather like the "turn the key and the starter motor fires" and not the "turn the key, wait while the car initialises and eventually the car starts"
My suspected blown speaker was a bag of crisps left in a rear pocket which was rattling
I do like the stop/start - I'm rather used to it


Little things, I know, but I want to share all my observations :)

A question I do have though - Should the handbrake engage automatically when the engine is turned off?

icebun
21-08-2014, 05:33 AM
Hey James

Did you get the MMI creak sorted out in the end? If so what was the fix?