Hi, I'm seriously considering the purchase of an A3. I test drove the 2.0T and I was very impressed. However, I have a strong reluctance to trade my '05 EVO MR for the A3 2.0T. I would get it in a minute if I could keep my other cars too. However, for many reasons I cannot keep that many cars at this time. Now, I've been reading about the 3.2 Quattro and it might be a suitable replacement for the EVO. Although in many ways, the cars are very different, in my mind the A3 3.2 could be comparable.

The big attraction to the Audi for me is the DSG tranny. The gear shifting gets old in the stop and go traffic and at any rate, I'm recovering from shoulder surgery so it makes a lot of sense to entertain a car with the automatic feature. I just love the DSG tranny and frankly, the A3 2.0T drives and rides very nicely. I'm just afraid I'll later regret trading my EVO for it.... At some level, I think the 3.2 Quattro would be easier to trade for. This is probably all just emotional, but I'm sure you understand.

What I would like to hear from the Audi A3 owners is which you think would be a better option for me and why. Don't tell me to get an S4 or RS4, I already considered those options, but not only they want too much money for those, but in reality the S4 is not in the same performance level as the EVO, it's smaller and even uses more gasoline. True, it's a very attractive car, but not enough. I think that the RS4 is definitely a step up from the EVO, but the cost is prohibitive. Anyway, here I am wanting an attractive, sporty, high performance car with great handling which would be good for a daily driver. I'd appreciate your input.

 

Oh yeah, BTW, what do you think about $33,700 for a 2006 A3 3.2 Quattro with 7900 miles? It has the Bose system, power seats, etc.....

 

Well I guess I am going to be the first one to tell you...

99% of the people on this board are going to say the same thing, including me.

Spend the $6k less for the 2.0T and chip it. The performance numbers are very similar to the 3.2 once that's done (minus the quattro), and its a lot cheaper; not to mention better on gas. You said you test drove the 2.0, did you also try the 3.2? I have heard many people say that even though the 3.2 is fast, it doesnt feel fast. And we sure as hell don't buy the car for what the 0-60 time says it can do.

But whichever way you go, you aren't going to be making a bad choice. They both are really suitable options and a step up from the Evo (in areas...); Cheers to you, and I'm sure you will be happy whatever you decide. Welcome to the Audi Family.

 

Stay with your Evo MR, neither A3 can match its performance, but if you have to switch, get the 2.0T; once you have a turbo, you cannot do without.

 

That's what I was afraid of... In reality, the EVO is a very nice car in the performance aspect. I do believe that there is a car out there that I can trade up to though... Anyway, I thought that most people would say to go with the 2.0T. It makes sense that the turbo is much easier to modify for higher performance and it is around $6K less. I must tell you one thing, I did find the A3 to be a wonderful driving car and I loved the handling, the DSG and yes, the engine is quite powerful and has a lot less turbo lag than the EVO. OTOH, that damned EVO is some kind of race car... My EVO puts down 249 whp on a Dynodynamics dyno (equivalent to approx 290whp with a dynojet) and according to the published specs, it weights about the same as the A3.... I gotta find a way to keep the EVO and get the A3 too, it's the only solution that will work

I can see a silver A3 joining my other two rides....

 

Hmm, hmm........Dolphin Gray.

 

If you're trying to figure out between the 3.2 and 2.0T, well, with the 2.0T, you can chip it, mod it and can put out roughly 280hp once you put in about $2000 in mods

with the 3.2, since it's quattro, you're actually getting less hp to the wheels than the specs say......... BUT, i think VF Engineering has a supercharger for the 3.2, that they say can put the 3.2 up to 350hp, so i think you can put that into consideration to compare the 3.2 to your EVO

 

Hmmmm.. A 3.2 with a supercharger should be quite a fast car. I wonder how much power the 3.2s put down in stock form? Also, if the 2.0T can be modded for $2K and put down 280 whp (DD dyno), It would be on par with the EVO at least power wise. What exactly are the mods needed for this?

 

Last I checked the 3.2 Supercharger wasn't available yet, and when is it will not work with the DSG Transmission, meaning no luck for 3.2's in the U.S. Does anybody know if this is still the case?

 

For Stock form, i think the 3.2 can push 250 hp and 236 ft/lbs torque, but since it's quattro, you loose some of that hp to the wheels, and dmarsh is right that the supercharger is only for the manual tranny, although here's the site and seems like it IS available.
http://www.vf-engineering.com/

as for the 2.0T mods
chip - $500
Turboback exhaust- $1300
CAI - $300

that's for the perfomance mods, but with all this power, you need to sustain grip to the ground, so stiffer engine and tranny mounts would be another 600 bucks