I’ve had a chance now to have a good drive and poke around and pass my thoughts.
Initially disappointed at having a low spec 1.6tdi however it’s fine, it’s not spectacular in any way but it’s not poor in any way neither.
Engine - noisy would sum it up. Commercial vehicle like in sound reminds me of the old 1.9tdi PD. Vibrations can be felt and the engine can be heard most of the time. However, for a 1.6tdi it performs well enough. It’s not designed for speed, but it picks up well around town, and nipping in out of gaps. It can be laggy on the motorway but nothing drastic. Sometimes can be caught out when you want to accelerate in third, however you need to drop to second. I haven’t done anything economy test wise. Long term average is 46mpg in 2k miles which is a little poor.
Gearbox - clearly the same box as fitted to the 8P just a little slicker. So not as baggy as the 8P. The throw is short enough. I was surprised to find a little bit of a grind when selecting reverse at a slow forward roll. First new car I’ve experienced this in for a while.
Ride - It rides well. A check underneath reveals it to have a torsion beam bar. It feels fairly soft, a good blend really, not to soft nor to firm. Suspension patter can be heard. Body roll exists although nothing drastic - just not sporting.
Handling - to be honest I haven’t pushed it, I’ve driven it normally. The steering has minimal feel to it, although it’s quick to change direction. It feels like an improved version of what’s on the 8P. Weighting is fine and goes round corners fine. No particular gripes. Nothing to excite or complain about.
MMI - it’s quick acting system. I had an issue with car play. It was working fine then it would play. When I pressed play using the mmi wheel the sound came out of my phone. Exited went back in, again no sound although the time wa ms counting up. Turned the volume wheel it said not available. Pulled the usb out and out back in and it worked.
Easy enough to use although the graphics are slightly low res.
Sound quality is okay - can be bass heavy but not in a good way when set high, mediocre in quality - probably best to upgrade sounds similar to the new Corsas I have to use at work.
Build - Not as impressive as I thought it would be to be honest. Plastics on the Lower parts of the doors, centre tunnels, and seat surrounds are scratchy and the same as any run of the mill hatch and not premium. The air vents themselves are really cheap feeling like it’s made out of recycled plant pots. The bonnet release mechanism is the one of the worst I’ve seen. Rattle wise? Mostly none apart from the really rough surfaces roads which a few popped up, which to be fair happens in most car because of the resonance created. It was fairly nice inside albeit nothing special. I would imagine a higher spec model to be better. Design wise it’s nice, if I were speccing one though I think the VC is a must - the car I had did not.
All in all as I said nothing particularly bad or brilliant. What I did notice however is it didn’t feel as quality as the 8P I felt - certain elements felt like it had been built to a cost. There was no vanity lights for example, no LED interior lighting, no fog lights, no parking sensors although strangely it has things like Zenons, sat nav.
A decent specced A3 with a decent engine would definitely make more sense
