I am looking to buy a new semi luxury vehicle in the next few days. I was lookig at IS350/250, G35 and A4. I have always loved all things Audi, but never owned one, or know much about them. I have heard good and bad about Audi, actually lots of in-service failures for the Audi lineup. I have driven the IS350/250 and G35. I stopped by the Audi dealer, and was looking at the A4, but they all have the CVT (not for me) and they are going to a new body style soon, so this unit is dated.

I then stumbled across the A3. I immediately liked this car, and it intrigues me very much. I know it may not be in the same "class" as the Lexus/Infinity, but the fit and finish on it seems outstanding. I have not gotten to drive one yet, so I am posting here a few questions, hope someone can help.

First, the car I like on the lot is a 2008 2.0 S-Tronic (I assume that is the DSG eveyone talks about here), Lava Gray, S-Line, Ipod, Open-Sky. Thats it. It is a beautiful car.

I don't want a stick shift. The Lexus and Infinity are bigger cars, and I *somewhat* like that, but the interior of the A3 seems nearly the same size of these two. Am I correct?

The exterior of the car seems small. Does this car feel "small" on the road? Does it get thrown around by potholes and uneven road surfaces? We have shitty roads here.

The normal stereo(Concert?), is is good?

Do you owners get compliments on the "status" of this particular Audi, or do people view it as an unknown, or some sort of tuner car or a VW?

Is the road noise I read about here valid? The opensky rattles valid?

Does the DSG drive like a normal Auto Trans in the auto logic function?

And the big one: What is the reliability of Audi products? I keep my cars for approx. 5-6 years, and I hate troublesome vehicles. I take very good care of my vehicles, but hate when they don;t return the favor.

In my price range, I know I don't have allot to choose from (damn, I remember when 30k bought a really nice car), is this really a high quality vehicle, or a so-so quality vehicle.

Thanks, and sorry so long winded.

 

Lama, I just bought my A3 2.0T DSG (yes that's S-Tronic only way better) 6 months ago so I'll give you my 2 cents so far. There are much more qualified members here who can help you & probably direct to some specific threads. Look around too.

I've driven alot of cars (not the G35), & the A3 is by far the most fun.[sm=wootwoot.gif]

I think Audi is more in the MB/BMW "class" but maybe not quite as recognizable, and that's the "status" of compliments I have been receiving.
You're right, fit & finish are excellent. Just touch the dashboard edge above the gauges, that material is incredibly soft, I was blown away. It speaksto the quality of the interior.

The size of the interior seems perfect for me, I'm 5'11'" and I am very comfortable inside. Not cramped at all.The hacthback is versatile, since there is lots of room when the backs seats are folded down.

I have the Premium (non-sport) version, but I hear the S-Line is still good, "firm but not punishing". You will want to slalom around the potholes!!

Concert Stereo...B minus...not bad for astandard stereo (a little too much bass), but some expect more from Audi.

I don't notice road noise, & my open sky has had no problems.It getsa lot ofuse because I dig that thing.[sm=smiley16.gif]

DSG is unbelievable, IMO it's the best of both worlds. It has DRIVE: yes, "normal auto" mode onlywith cutting edge technology. Virtually no lag between shifts. SPORT: still auto, but shifts around redline.
MANUAL: shift yourself with the console or paddle shifters.

I also keep my cars a long time, and I've heard Audi's reliability has improved lately. We'll see, butyou already knowthat with aperformance vehicle, theremay come a little extra care & maintanance. I think it's worth it.

A few morereasons whyI bought mineare the clean lines & overall looks,and that you don't see many on the road.

Take a test drive...you will want one!![sm=happybounce.gif]

 

Best thing to do right now is to take it for a drive. The car speaks for itself and I'm sure you'll love the car... I know I did and now I'm may be considering one over an S4.

In my opinion I think Audi is above lexus/infiniti. Audi produces a much more technologically advanced car and always seems to go the extra mile, which in the past has slightly hurt their reliability. But now in the new models (2006+) audi's reliability has made a huge leap. The A3 has nearly the same ratings for reliability as lexus/inifiniti. Remember Audi's are heavy (better build quality and a higher grade metal) and on the road they have a heavier feel which gives the drive the sensation of sticking to the ground and an overall solid feel. Around me people have never seen an audi and compared it to a tuner or VW; Audi's are very distinct and have a high reputation of classiness

Hope this helps

 

Agreed with all that was said. I personally like the A3 much better than the A4 in almost all respects, and I have driven all the cars you've listed before buying the A3 myself. Drive it and you'll never look back.


Cheers!

 

Hey - Lama you're right - It's not in the same class as the Lexus or Infinity. Those guys are the newbies - Audi is part of the old European "established".
If your are concerned about a vehicle sticking around for 5 to 6 years - why are you looking at the Infinity - others may disagree with me. But, I know too many people with those Infiniti/ Nissans - that 3.5 is great but - everything else around it could be a problem.
IMO - You want a Lexus go get a Lexus. Test drive the A3 and you'll have second thoughts about that Lexus. I was seriously considering a 330i, G35, IS350 and WRX.Overall - the A3 won hands down - it was not one specific'thing'. For example - performance was not an overall factor or else the WRX would have won out - it wasnot theluxurious rideor Lexus would havewon. It was a whol bunch of mitigating factors. And tothis day - I still cannot quatify it.
And as I'm sure you are seeing from the other websites - everyone is tell youthat you should buy a Lexus IS blah blah because of blah blah and blah. Or theInfinity drivers are saying the G35 is for you because of blah blah and blah.
But here -you'll have at least one A3 driver, myself, whowill tell you that this car is not for you because of the same reason's that you like theInfiniti'sor Lexus'. Measuring the A3 quatitatively or qualitatively point by point with another car - will not do it. Go drive an A3 and take it in as a whole not just part by part or attribute by attribute. Because, you are not just buying the performance. You are not just buying the looks, or the ride. What you are buying is a whole car for 30K.

 

Thanks to everyone for the replies. Today I will go drive the A3, and see for myself. I just want to spend 30k correctly, and with long term satisfaction. I must say one thing though, it is really, really hard to fall in love with ANY other vehicle right now in my mind, with that damned Audi S5 in Black sitting in the Audi showroom. That to me is the most beautiful car I have ever seen, bar none. Unfortunately, I don't have the funds for a 50k+ vehicle [&o], LOL.

Also, if anyone could help once more, the A3 I'm looking at has a window sticker of $32,485.00. Invoice $30,082.00 (per Edmunds)

Anyone think I can get it for $30, 485?? I think that would be a fair deal.

Thanks again!!

 

One thing, when I referred to the A3 not being in the same "class" as the Lexus/Infinity, I meant that the IS and G35 were more traditional sport (midsize) sedans, more on par body-wise with the A4, not the A3.

 

I will also agree

I have pretty much the car you saw in the lot and took custody of it 2 weeks ago.

DSG, IPOD, Bluetooth, SLINE, OpenSky

car is just awesome and the girls seem to like it so far

the ONLY drawback i could say is the IPOD is useless. I absolutely hate the fact that it doesn't display the song title on the screen. I THINK it's the IPOD that's at fault here, not sending this data via its data port as opposed to Audi refusing to display it. I end up using the CD loaded with 150 MP3s or so...or even better, if you can fork it, defintely go the NAV with SD CARDs

 

Lama > Just to add some already good advice by the posters before me... I too, was between the IS250 and the A3. In the end it was driving the A3 that really made the choice easy. The IS is a great car, but the feel is completely different from the A3. For me, the Audi is a "drivers" car. What I mean is that the controls are in the right place (germans do it like no one else) and the car has a lighter, more responsive feel to all the control input. If you like a heavier feeling car, the Lexus fits the bill. The penalty is a more sluggish response and a much less sporty feel. We can all tell you how good we think the A3 looks, but style is subjective. It sounds as though the look of the A3 has already hooked you, so driving it will be the final test. Good luck either way, and please post your driving impressions!

 

Drove one today. Very nice tight car, beautiful build quality, very, very quick. Just not the car for me. Thanks to all who helped in my pre-purchase research. Got to love the WWW. Thanks!!!