Which A3 should I go for?

[BH1983]

Hi guys, I need your help!

I currently own a Citreon DS3 Dsport Plus putting out 155bhp. I've decided I want a new car and have up to £20k to play with and have decided I want a A3 saloon, ideally 3-4 years old.

I have a few questions and would appreciate peoples opinions:

• I want something that feels as punch as my DS3 - what would be the best engine(s) to go for? I'm looking at the 150bhp and 190bhp
• Would you recommend petrol or diesel? I only do about 3,000-4,000 miles a year so assume petrol is a no brainer?
• What trim level do people think offers the best value? I'm leaning towards S Line
• Would a 2017/18 S Line have Apple Car play?
• Is there anything I need to look out for when buying a used A3?

Thanks is advance!

 

[The Cardinal]

The standard A3 is a fine machine and I agree petrol is the way to go. With that budget and such limited use, I recommend you also consider a slightly older S3 and c.10% budget to address any imperfections.

 

[Duncs]

Not sure if this will help, but:

I purchased my A3 1.5 TFSI SLine (150BHP) in Magnetic Blue back in April 2018 (67 plate - ex demo 3k miles on the clock) and here I am enjoying the final days/weeks before the new one finally gets here - 42k miles later - never had an issue.

The performance is adequate/good - but the trade off is 44mpg on normal commuting, or 47+mpg on long distances. Build quality and comfort are superb, MMI faultless.

Will be sad to see it go - however the factory order delay woes mean I have it for a little longer.

 

[BH1983]

Not sure if this will help, but:

I purchased my A3 1.5 TFSI SLine (150BHP) in Magnetic Blue back in April 2018 (67 plate - ex demo 3k miles on the clock) and here I am enjoying the final days/weeks before the new one finally gets here - 42k miles later - never had an issue.

The performance is adequate/good - but the trade off is 44mpg on normal commuting, or 47+mpg on long distances. Build quality and comfort are superb, MMI faultless.

Will be sad to see it go - however the factory order delay woes mean I have it for a little longer.

That's the one thing that bothers me, is the 150HP nippy enough, my current DS3 is 156 so I would imagine it will be in the same ballpark. I'm going to test drive one on Sat.

 

[Duncs]

In sport mode (or Dynamic as Audi has it) it can shift OK - but you have the best idea - only driving it will answer the question!

 

[BH1983]

In sport mode (or Dynamic as Audi has it) it can shift OK - but you have the best idea - only driving it will answer the question!

Absolutely, looking forward to getting behind the wheel on Sat. The interior is going to feel like a massive upgrade compared to my DS3!

 

[NevMan]

Absolutely, looking forward to getting behind the wheel on Sat. The interior is going to feel like a massive upgrade compared to my DS3!

It will indeed

 

[nothingness]

Hi guys, I need your help!

I currently own a Citreon DS3 Dsport Plus putting out 155bhp. I've decided I want a new car and have up to £20k to play with and have decided I want a A3 saloon, ideally 3-4 years old.

I have a few questions and would appreciate peoples opinions:

• I want something that feels as punch as my DS3 - what would be the best engine(s) to go for? I'm looking at the 150bhp and 190bhp
• Would you recommend petrol or diesel? I only do about 3,000-4,000 miles a year so assume petrol is a no brainer?
• What trim level do people think offers the best value? I'm leaning towards S Line
• Would a 2017/18 S Line have Apple Car play?
• Is there anything I need to look out for when buying a used A3?

Thanks is advance!

Personally I would buy an S model, so S3 (8P at this budget?) or an S1 if I were you, doing just 4k miles a year. Such little miles you want a FUN car, right?
This coming from someone who's had 2 S3's, 7 A3's, a mix of diesel / petrol models. I also wouldn't buy a 2wd car ever again. I don't know about car play as I never use it.
My last car was a 190 A5 and it was "punchy" but then the dealer did the two interim "EU updates". These updates ruined it. It went from punchy/nippy to what felt like ~120hp. Even when it was punchy it had zero power / torque in M7. You would have to drop 2 gears to overtake people. Whereas my current S3 I can just sit in M7 on the motorway at pretty much all speeds and it has plenty of torque to go. As a result I get better MPG!

 

[nothingness]

edit: you bought one, congrats!

 

[BH1983]

Personally I would buy an S model, so S3 (8P at this budget?) or an S1 if I were you, doing just 4k miles a year. Such little miles you want a FUN car, right?
This coming from someone who's had 2 S3's, 7 A3's, a mix of diesel / petrol models. I also wouldn't buy a 2wd car ever again. I don't know about car play as I never use it.
My last car was a 190 A5 and it was "punchy" but then the dealer did the two interim "EU updates". These updates ruined it. It went from punchy/nippy to what felt like ~120hp. Even when it was punchy it had zero power / torque in M7. You would have to drop 2 gears to overtake people. Whereas my current S3 I can just sit in M7 on the motorway at pretty much all speeds and it has plenty of torque to go. As a result I get better MPG!

I wouldn't have an S3 simply because I'm too tight to pay the insurance! Ha! I'm going to test drive the 150HP on Sat and if it's comparable to my DS3 then I'm good to go, it's just down to finding the right one.

I've seen a 2018 Black Edition with 25k miles for £21k which is taking my fancy right now!

 

[The Cardinal]

Break out a spreadsheet and make sure you look at the difference in all costs - including depreciation especially. You might find that an S1/3 doesn't cost as much as you think, maybe even cheaper depending on age!

 

[nothingness]

Same with insurance. I live in a high crime area and my 2019 a5 190 was somehow £6 a month more expensive to insure than my current S3...go figure. Especially since these S3's in this color are getting stolen constantly. If I drive normally I get 350-400 miles to a tank, in the A5 maybe 500. Both on Vpower. IIRC tax is the same.