Well my A3 went in again for the second time for them to fix the emission control light.
The first time was just the ECU remap that should of cured it.
But in the end it was the DPF that was blocked because of a faulty component. I'll let you know when i get the paperwork from the car - too cold tonight.
They had it for two days, so....
They gave me:
A 57 plate A3 Sportback S-Line 2.0 TDi 170 S-Tronic in Black.
Extras:
This could take up some space:
S-Tronic transmission with paddle shift (DSG)
A4 S-Line Special Edition 18" 7 arm Double Spoked Alloys
Symphony head unit
Bose
Mobile preparation
iPod console
Heated front seats
Light and Rain sensor pack, including auto dimming rear mirror, auto low beam mode for headlights, automatic windscreen wipers.
Audi Exclusive Line including: two tone fine nappa leather (black, silver), black cloth headlining, black door inserts, aluminium inlays, black floor mats with coloured piping, 3 spoke leather steering wheel with contrasting stiching and S-tronic shift paddles and multifunction controls, head restraints with contrasting stitching. Phew
Front Centre armrest
Interior Lighting Pack including: illuminated vanity mirrors, door openers, storage compartment, footwell lighting, reading lights front and rear, ambient lighting and active door reflectors.
Open Sky System including: glass roof, electric slide-n-tilt control sunshade front and rear.
Protection Pack including: front and rear mud flaps, bumper protection film.
That's it.
It amounts to nearly £7,500 worth of extras!!
Driving:
The A3 drives well. I will comment on the DSG gearbox and driving as that was different for me. I've only had a test drive in a couple before.
WOW
The speed in which the car changes gear is immense. Your head stays perfectly still, as does your right foot if it's planted to the floor.
There are essentially 4 modes of transmission:
D - just for everyday pootling but with the ability to dropdown a few gears in kickdown. This mode changes up the earliest.
S - as above but holds the gear nearer to the red line.
-/+ - This mode lets you move the gears up or down using the gear lever, like a touring car's sequential gearbox.
Then there's the paddles.
These can be used in any mode, but are mainly for the -/+ gearlever position. This means that the car will not change gear until it either hits the red line or at the other end of the revs and will change before it stalls.
I used a combination of paddle shift in -/+ and D.
The MPG is worse than a manual though, quite a bit worse.
Launch control was interesting, I felt that I could of pulled away quicker manually though. Foot on brake, ESP off, Gear lever in S or -/+ and whilst you have your foot on the brake dial up 2000 revs and let go of the footbrake, off you go.
The manual says to dial up 3200 revs. Would never do it for me.
Day to day I can see it would be easy to live with whilst very entertaining whenever you feel the need to have a play. On a safety note, you can change gear whilst both hands are on the wheel, even when turning corners.
The car sat on Continental Sport Contact 2's, they didn't feel as grippy as Sport Maxx's or anywhere near as grippy as Potenzas. (std fit on new Impreza)
Inside:
Seats are great, driving position is perfect because of the movement of the seats and steering wheel. I love the air vents in the A3, very TT. I would say that the Fine Nappa leather although very soft to touch would be difficult to keep clean. The reason is that the Silver parts were already showing signs of dirt, from jeans etc.
Again the Bose has not left a good impression. I guess that because the sound is so different, perhaps it does excel in clarity, but it felt gutless and flat. But my ears are different to yours, so have a listen.
The Open Sky system was a welcome change and reminded me of my earlier cars that had sunroofs. Although the masses of glass made the car much lighter inside. One pain was that the sunroof didn't close with the windows when pressing the key fob which is a shame.
My summary would be:
I really liked the S-Line, loved the leather seats, just not their centre colour.
The gearbox was amazing as I thought it would be, but the fuel consumption really puts me off.
I was really lucky to drive a car that was that loaded with options. Were they all useful additions or a waste?
The lighting pack, the two tone leather and the open sky system are a bit of a waste and a pose.
Just have std leather, and the single glass sunroof.
Everything else was spot on.
Just get it debadged though, looks a lot cleaner.
Sorry for the long review, there was a lot of optional extras to talk about.
