Paul Posted April 24, 2004 Report Share Posted April 24, 2004 My day with new 3 door A3 2.0 FSi whilst mine was in for service... 700 odd mile fresh car, still smelt like new. first of all , i guess its only fair to mention, that im comparing against the only other Audi's ive owned which are S3's... Nice car, steering light, as was clutch, i had not realised how heavy and snappy the S3 clutch was till i stepped back into mine! strange accelerator pedal, as it it is hinged the other way at the bottom.. strange and quirky handbrake arrangement, usual handbrake like action, but strange in the way it comes up out of the tunnel. This car came with a 6 speed gearbox , and personally i didnt see the point in 5th and 6th. 4th didnt over rev the car, and you didnt realise you were NOT in 6th. it was completely gutless, and had no feel of actually progressing and moving. I appreciate i have a S3, but to put it into prospective, this struggled to keep up with an Heavy A6 1.9 TDi estate. I was quite disappointed. However , for the milage i did, zooming around back and forth the whole time i had it, it was economical, and i only put a £10 in it to top it up.The S3 would have guzzled far more. other things i noted, (compared to S3 so i dont know if the previous A3 had these??? ) rear quater windows are fixed unlike S3, shame no option to open them... they have lost the illuminated lights on the dash vents due to the new style, which was always a nice touch on the S3.. No lighting on the vanitiy mirror unlike the S3... no map reading lights, the car felt smaller and more crampt for me, being 6ft 3 due to the "arms or wings" that extend out from the centre consol around where my knees would be.(i found the same with a previous loaner A4) I also dont particularly like the current trend of audi in their new models of placing the cigarrette lighter in the centre consol by handbrake... Its messy if you plug and electrical device into it, Geodesy, road angel etc and like me being a non smoker, I dont use it, and prefer it hidden out of the way. Picky, but hey, this is a review Aircon split into two halves of car , unlike S3 Bose detailing on speakers looks classy with silver detailing.. quick conclusion.... disappointed with the engine. If i was looking at a 2.0 bracket A3, i would have immediately asked to test the TDi or considered test driving the 3.2 Oh and the bit i missed the most ???? My ARMREST bring on the pipe and slippers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seadweller Posted May 16, 2004 Report Share Posted May 16, 2004 Nice review, but you did not mention the high level front seat back release lever. Thats got to be a big improvement on the old low level one? Wish my S3 had them! I'm going to check for the vent lights you mentioned when it gets dark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J6ORDS Posted May 17, 2004 Report Share Posted May 17, 2004 [ QUOTE ] Oh and the bit i missed the most ???? My ARMREST bring on the pipe and slippers. [/ QUOTE ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted May 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2004 [ QUOTE ] Nice review, but you did not mention the high level front seat back release lever. Thats got to be a big improvement on the old low level one? Wish my S3 had them! I'm going to check for the vent lights you mentioned when it gets dark [/ QUOTE ] Yes your right thinking back. A nice touch. Just forgot about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABT_DSG Posted May 23, 2004 Report Share Posted May 23, 2004 you have to remember that the S3 is top of the range so therefore you will require to put on extras on top of the 2.0FSi as its not even any where near top end of the A3 engines now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted May 24, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 24, 2004 Yes thats why i mentioned it at the start. I have since tried the A4 2.0 FSi with the auto /tiptronic box. Still uninspiring engine, but i prefered the gearbox over the A3's 6 speed manual. A vast improvement. next to try with any luck is A4 2.5 Tdi quattro (auto/tipronic) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Posted May 25, 2004 Report Share Posted May 25, 2004 Nice review Paul. Interesting you say it struggled to keep up with a 1.9 TDi A6. I drove the A3 1.9 TDi a while ago, as reviewed HERE and it seems that may be/feel quicker! I rather liked that car... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterb Posted May 25, 2004 Report Share Posted May 25, 2004 Hmmm. I also had an A3 2.0TDi loaner whilst my 6 was in for service. The first thing I noticed was how heavy and snappy the TDi clutch was! It was almost too much for my arthritic knees and hips. The A4 TDi I last had as a loaner had a lighter clutch. The only manual cars I drive on a regular basis are our A2 TDi and old Corsa. The clutch on these feel feather-light compared with the A3. I have to agree that the six-speed box seemed to be unnecessary - in many circumstances, fourth/fifth/sixth gears were equally appropriate. Performance-wise, I guess it was about what I expected - a bit more nippy than the A4 TDis I've been loaned previously, somewhat faster than the A2 but much slower than my RS. A lot of the nice-to-have touches of other Audis seemed to be missing, and I was surprised that the car didn't come with DIS. I was puzzled as to the purpose of the switch and two leds built into the rearview mirror. I didn't find the accelerator action to be a problem - I've driven many older cars which have/had a similar arrangement. The handbrake arrangement is interesting - the main benefit, of course, is that it doesn't foul on the driver's armrest (which this car did have fitted). Overall, I prefer driving the A2 to this A3, but best of all, of course, was to get back into my RS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatcat Posted May 25, 2004 Report Share Posted May 25, 2004 [ QUOTE ] but much slower than my RS. [/ QUOTE ] (but only just) Ok mate, as I know you I will let you off that type of reckless and irresponsible remark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomk Posted June 18, 2004 Report Share Posted June 18, 2004 i find the visability of the new one really bad compaired to my old style a3, was really hard to park it , Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted June 25, 2004 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2004 just had another A3 2.0FSi still dont think it needs 5th and 6th. It had an Armrest mucho improvement now where is my pipe and slippers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jojo Posted June 26, 2004 Report Share Posted June 26, 2004 Had a New A3 2.0 FSI overnight with 280miles on the ODO and managed to get 136mph on the clock , took ages though compared to my S3. Nice looking car and nice interior as you'd expect from Audi, but not a car for me though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CARACTERE 007 Posted June 26, 2004 Report Share Posted June 26, 2004 alwight jojo, nice to see you over here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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