I know this forum is supposed to be for the performance models but WTH, audi fans are here. Had my A4 in for its 85k service. As its getting long in the tooth my wife and I are looking for an eventual replacement and I thought an A3 might be a good fit. We both like wagons and audi, smaller with decent power should be good right?

Enter the loaner car from the dealer, the 2.0 TFSI S Line. This was a FWD model.

Quick summary:

Drives nervously, not stable/composed like our A4.
Decent power for a small hatchback.
Not as much cargo space as you might think for a wagon.
Kid's Car seat=someone in the front is gonna be uncomfortable.
Much more interior road noise than the A4.
Interior not as nice as other Audi cars.

All in all I couldn't help but ask why anyone would buy this when the WRX wagon is a direct competitor?

 

im actually quite surprised, as most find the opposite is true. Maybe the lack of quattro on the model you tested accounted for the lack of stability. As for the interior quality, i actually find the B7 a4 dated compared to my 09 which has revised finishing touches.

For the price of my A3, i could of purchased a brand new loaded a4 2.0T, but i never even considered it. I find it underpowered and extremely bland.

 

I had a 2.0T S-Line A3 for a couple of years and I loved that car (so did my wife when I gave it to her). As far as composure, I thought it was really good - maybe because we had the sport suspension? Considering it's basically a long wheelbase GTI, it's pretty sweet. The reason people wouldn't buy a WRX over the A3 is because of the stigma attached to WRXs (esp. where I live). Finally, they hold a decent amount of stuff, esp. with the rear seats folded. It's not for everyone, that's why they make A4s...

 

Personally, I think I'd rather have an R32 over both the A3 and WRX. There's supposed to be a new R32 coming out soon too.

 

The S-Line chassis has never really clicked with the FWD driveline - so don't slam it until you've driven the Quattro equivalent. (Although I read somewhere you guise don't get the 2.0TQ?) While the S-Line offers some gorgeous subtle styling, the chassis in itself is pretty damn awful in the cars I've been in. Harsh and uncomfortable and hard as a rock, without being particularly good in the corners .... I'd much rather go with the normal suspension and get an aftermarket kit.

I'm surprised you thought there was so much interior noise than your B7 though, not supposed to be that much difference... Ghetto tires on the 3?

 

R32 is not in the making anymore. The replacement is on the market for a while now and is called R20.

Here are some pictures with one of a friend of mine.

Also these are the mods so far: | Revo Stage 2+ | Milltek TBE Non-Res | THS intercooler | APR HPFP | ITG Maxogen Intake | TT lower arms | RS4 FPR valve |

 

I looooooooooooove the Golf R! Even with a lowly stage 1 ECU, these are at 320+ hp.

 

With proper mods, this car can get to 400-430hp easy. Also mind that it has DSG gearbox and Quattro traction. Just imagine...

 

So a few answers. I'm with Jox, I LOVE the looks of this car. I've had quite a few hatchbacks myself and in the family and the S-line styling is great.

It may be that the FWD doesn't work well with the S-Line chassis, or FWD doesn't work as well as quattro in general. I did some acceleration out of a 90 degree corner (typical pull out of the gas station fast thing) and got some wheel spin. Did some other hard cornering on back roads here in vegas and it did feel fairly harsh and understeer was noticeable at the limit.

As for road noise, it was noticeably louder. And our A4 is a B6 ('05 where they switched models halfway through the year). Could be tires, remember this was a dealer loaner so its possible they threw on the cheapest they could find. If this is the case, yes my review might be unfair, we all know what an effect tires can have on ride, grip and noise.

Interior. Yes, our B6 (special edition even!) is somewhat dated but definitely has more of a quality feel to it. The seats are good in the A3 but the rest didn't seem as nice as typical audi. Its not like it was a toyota or something, audi has just set a high bar for interiors.

After driving it yesterday my wife said she liked the power vs our 1.8t (much better off the line, no doubt) and said she got used to the handling. She loved the brakes which I didn't mention before, they are good. She also said she wouldn't want to replace the A4 with it considering the cost for what you get.

 

Moose, that R20 looks awesome! We never got an R32 replacement over here.