A3 S-Line - looking to buy

[robby]

Hi
As title says i'm looking to buy an A3 S-line in either silver or white.
I've seen 2 for sale within budget but looking for info - what to check for/ how they are every day/ etc

1.4 - 140bhp - 2013 - 21k - white
Same engine as the Golf GT i currently have (2014my) and it's nice enough, white looks nice but does it chip easy (Golf does)

1.2 - 105bhp - 2014 - 20k - silver
This looks a lot nicer in silver and it's £1k less than the other car as well as being a year newer. Is this underpowered for a heavyish car or are they nippy enough? I don't want to buy it then regret it as it doesn't pull as i've got rid of lots of cars due to this, a test drive doesn't really help as i have steep hills where i am and where the dealer is it's probably flat - has anyone got 1?

Do all S-Lines have the xenons and sat-nav as standard?

Cheers

 

[TDI-line]

Hi Robby,

all 8V S-lines have the LED xenons.

The SD Sat Nav was an optional extra back in 2013 on my Glacier white Sportback, not sure about 2014 spec though. All current S-lines have it is as standard, probably 2015+.

My Glacier white never had any chips, but then i don't follow other cars to close if possible.

The 1.4 is a nippy engine, but i think there may be 2 outputs, 125bhp, and 150bhp COD cylinder on demand versions, with the COD being really good imo. I haven't driven the 1.2 engine so can't comment.

Floret silver is lovely, and I'm only getting use to this colour at the moment.

 

[Scottyg]

I have the Floret silver A3 1.6TDi Sport. The colour is great and changes depending on light and angles. It can show stone chips but as above, don't follow too closely.
You may be surprised at the 1.6TDi engine. It's a great wee engine. Pulls great to get you up to motorway speed quick enough in every day driving. I'm averaging 48.2 over nearly two years and 14k miles. I do a lot of town driving with longer ones every week or so. It's also S-Tronic and works very well with the engine. If mpg with a little poke is your need then give it a look.

 

[robby]

Hi
the 1.4 i've seen is the 140bhp model so not the later 150bhp - it's the same as my 2014 Golf GT and it's nippy enough.
The Golf i have is solid tornado red and in the past couple of weeks i've noticed several chips - i drive to work at 5am with no traffic so can't blame cars in front i'm so dissapointed as i take pride in my cars so hope an A3 will be better (probably same paint process as VW?)

I was looking at A1 S-Lines and noticed a lot of ads state they're sat-nav ready which i guess means it'll cost a fortune to get them connected, if the A3 doesn't have it is it difficult to set up? is it same as the Tomtom sat-nav or similar to VWs discover?

Hoping for some firm figures on both cars tommorow to decide which to go see at the weekend - with the 1.4 was the silver car

 

[TDI-line]

I had an A1 S-line before my Glacier A3, never had the Sat nav installed, as i think it was around £500 for the SD card pack, and then extra for Audi setup.

The SD A3 sat nav is very good, and was very pleased with this as a factory option when i purchased the car. It is probably similar price to the A1 install as before.

 

[f1nny]

Having owned a 1.2 TFSI A3 S-Line back in 2013 when it was 105bhp I would say it's nippy for what it is. All depends what you expect from it as it's never going to pull but you do feel a little kick back from the turbo.

I wouldn't call the 1.2 heavish either as the 3dr only weighs 1150kg.

I would say though when I had the 1.2 I did have to drop down a gear sometimes to overtake quickly and sometimes when I'd hit a steep A-road.

 

[Wibbly]

I have a 2015 1.4 COD sline. Lovely engine and to be honest quite enough power and torque for me, especially as the car is just front wheel drive. Most unexpected is the amount of torque available at lower RPM. I actually don't miss my 1.6 diesel Focus, which I liked for its diesel characteristic low end torquiness. I only miss the MPG I could get out of the Ford. But no regrets so far - but also no service bills so far for the Audi!

Mine has the OEM sat-nav. It's only benefits for me are:

• Something actually happens when you use the satnav switch/button, other than an irritating reminder on screen that you didn't have that option fitted!
• It can offer to guide you to the nearest petrol station it knows of when you get low on fuel

Other than that I find it quite hopeless compared with either Google Maps or Waze on my phone because:

• It's dreadfully slow to set up destinations. Embarrasingly so if there's someone else in the car, or you need to leave in a hurry
• It seems to take far less optimal routes than Google Maps or Waze, and traffic avoidance is only based on TMS
• All it's road and POI data is offline/on the SD card, so less up to date than it could be

I think there are various incarnations of the Audi sat-nav so depending on the age of the car you're considering, you may experience something better?

 

[Raul_sbd]

I own a MY15 A3 1.2 tfsi s line.. and all i can say in 1 year is good things. Its enough power on it to use it on the city, and on the motorway is really good also cruising without problems at 70-75 mph.

I do a lot of city driving and short trips so for me this was the best option and i average around 43mpg and when in the motorway on a 100 miles trip I could average 56mpg. Not too bad.

 

[edge]

I have a 2015 1.4 COD sline. Lovely engine and to be honest quite enough power and torque for me, especially as the car is just front wheel drive. Most unexpected is the amount of torque available at lower RPM. I actually don't miss my 1.6 diesel Focus, which I liked for its diesel characteristic low end torquiness. I only miss the MPG I could get out of the Ford. But no regrets so far - but also no service bills so far for the Audi!

This! Its a great engine and more than enough fun.

 

[robby]

Well bought the 1.4 car today - collection a week on saturday
I got a great p/x price for my car so the 1.4 worked out cheaper than the 1.2 so no brainer really as i know i'd regret getting the 1.2 and this 140bhp is the same as the Golf i'm driving now so i know it's a great engine

 

[Wibbly]

Enjoy!

 

[robby]

Will do - hopefully it'll last longer than the 4 weeks i've had the Golf
Doesn't seem to be many options for add ons (bolt on) since it's got almost everything, was thinking of the following
Mudflaps to protect the paint - £80 a set on ebay
Alloy pedals + matching footrest- will take these off my Golf (fitted last week) as i'm 99% sure they're the same fitment
LED bulbs - have quite a few lying around so see what fits
Gloss black mirror covers - just fitted a new pair to the Golf last week

What other extras are popular? remap maybe when the roads dry out?

 

[will_0407]

Mudflaps to protect the paint - £80 a set on ebay

I'd snap these up while you can!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GENUINE-B...148711?hash=item237bfec1e7:g:lDQAAOxyzi9SjhxQ

EDIT: Not suitable for s-line

I have the audi rubber mats and boot mat in mine. I also got a set of genuine rear sun blinds very cheap which I'm yet to fit.

 

[robby]

yeah - saw those then read the description
s-line ones are £80 - cheapest i've found so far, i'll have a word with local dealer next week to see what he'll do them for
wonder if the floormats are the same as the MK7 Golf as i've got a brand new set still in packet ?

 

[Scottyg]

@robby 4 weeks with the Golf??? I thought I was bad keeping a Shogun 6 weeks then getting shot!!!
I bought non-OME flaps off eBay and fitted them myself. Look great in my opinion.

 

[richinsoton]

Well bought the 1.4 car today - collection a week on saturday

We want pictures when you've got it or it never happened!!.

 

[robby]

@robby 4 weeks with the Golf??? I thought I was bad keeping a Shogun 6 weeks then getting shot!!!
I bought non-OME flaps off eBay and fitted them myself. Look great in my opinion.

Prior to the Golf i had a Mokka for 5 weeks and before that a Polo GT for 8 weeks get bored with cars too easily
I looked for oe spec flaps but can't find any tailored ones for the S-Line

 

[robby]

We want pictures when you've got it or it never happened!!.

Will get some as soon as it's home and cleaned
Pic of the Golf -

 

[robby]

Well picked car up yesterday and very pleased with it, it seems a lot quieter than the Golf on the road
When i got into the car a message came up saying change key battery (or similar), i tried the spare and that was the same, of course the garage said the message never came up before? and must be a time thing (car is just over 3 years old), the message hasn't come back today - should i change both batteries?

Spent today giving it a proper wash inc engine, door shuts, etc - fitted rear mudflaps (haven't got the fronts yet), cleaned/ polished rear wheels while they were off, fitted alloy pedals from Golf and also alloy footrest which wasn't straight forward but looks great (had to remove alloy from plastic footrest then fix it onto origional A3 footrest as it has more plastic to it, cleaned leather then conditioned it (Gliptone products), fitted new Golf MK7 mats (perfect fit), cleaned windows inside (poor valet) and all plastic then had a ply with the settings on the display

Was getting dark so didn't get any pics