Ok now... I am currently driving a B5.5 VW Passat W8 and I love the look of the new A3. There are various reasons why I am looking into purchasing an A3. First, I love my car but the overall performance of the W8 is a bit disappointing.... Then, gas is killing me, I commute everyday. I want to know. The discontinued the W8 and any work done to it will kill my wallet. Is it worth it to purchase a A3??? I love the looks in side and out the V6 vs. the 2.0T. How much potential does the 2.0T have, the model I am looking it to getting?? [/align]

 

Welcome to the forums! I have a 3.2 (not nearly as mod-friendly), but most of the people here have 2.0T and many have lots of performance mods. My advice is just to search the forums for mod advice - keywords chip, exhaust, etc. Chef and A3Night are among several who have been very forthcoming about their mods.

 

Welcome HankTheButcher! I had a B5 VW Passat V6 earlier as one of my cars and it got up to 33 MPG on the freeway, but less mileage city driving (15 to 22). My A3 2.0T is still stock and blows my Passat V6 away on overall performance. I used to hate taking off on wet streets and getting a gear jump occasionally with good tires, no such issues with A3 with DSG. The DSG shifting is so much better then a 5 speed tiptronic. Of course VW Passats now uses 6 speed tiptronics with normal/sport mode which is better, but the A3 just leaps ahead when you give it some gas in normal mode, in sports mode it is a bad boy car. I imagine the W8 was great getting up to speed but like any V8 sucks gas a bit too much to use as a normal commute car. For me the 2.0T after breakin gets up to 31 to 34 on the freeway and really does get 25 to 26 in the city, with the capacity to zoom to 110 MPH without slowing down at all. With stage one chip mod this car then goes easily to 130 MPH as a comparison, but how fast do you really need to go? The inside of a A3 is great compared to VW, love the quality of Audi's versus VW's. Unless you really need Quattro and a V6, the 2.0T is a throwback to the great sports cars of the past and its a blast to drive. I enjoy everyday I drive mine![sm=type.gif]