How concerned should i be about 2010 TDI a3 issues ? I am concerned i will buy a car like this and deck it out and then have a lemon. I dont know that another car out there fits my needs however. I want something fun to drive, that has great mpg, that is refined. Something i can carry some friends in or that can handle my mountain bike trips. this seems to be the perfect car. How about performance chips to make it faster ? I dont need a screaming fast car as i have had an M3 and STI. But being able to mod it a bit might be interesting. The sti doesnt have the creature comfort or the mpg i am hoping for. the M3 was wonderful and i loved the smg and paddle shifters but it was not a practical long driver for me and certainly couldnt handle snowboards or mountain bikes.

I live in the mountains and will drive in snow.....I dont normally turn on 4wd in my current vehicle and i would imagine a set of snow tires would help the tdi since i wont have a quattro option. If its bad enough that i would need awd on all the time in my current vehicle i dont normally go out. I grew up in the snow and the STI i had did fine as long as i didnt get in deep snow due to the tires. then again the sti is awd. i always thought tire traction mattered more.

I am attracted to the gas mileage of the tdi since i tend to not drive in cities as much but often do 30-300 mile trips in the car.

 

Welcome to Clublexus. There is an A3 owner here, maybe PM him.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/lex...concept-2.html

One thing to keep in mind the next A3 is coming soon, something to think about if having the newest bodystyle is a concern.

 

Welcome to CL....I see this is your first post.

Couple of recommendations on my part. First, forget performance chips. They can void the warranty and, in some cases, put more stress on the engine/drivetrain than the engineers designed it for. Second, Audis, in general, have had below-average reliability, especially in electronics, but several models recently, including the A3, have improved to average, according to Consumer Reports. There isn't much data on Audi TDI's yet, but similiar VW TDIs have shown inconsistant reliability.

Third, if you live in mountains where you get bad weather and snow, check out the AWD Subaru line and see if they make anything you are interested in, especially with the turbo XT Forester and Outback models. I have an extremely high opinion of Subarus, and drive one myself, though, to be honest, there are some changes on the latest-generation ones that I don't care for. True, Subarus won't get the TDI's mileage (upper 20s, with a turbo, is about all you could expect on the road under the most ideal conditions....upper teens to low 20s in town), but you could (maybe) save enough money on a Subaru purchase, compared to an Audi, to buy a lot of fuel with the $$$$$ you save. Turbos, of course, need premium gas, but in many places, even premium gas is cheaper than the low-sulfur diesel fuel that the new TDI and Bluetec diesels have to have. Low-sulfur diesel fuel is notoriously expensive, but at least with the TDI you don't need the periodic urea-solution refills you do with the larger BMW/Mercedes Bluetec diesels.

 

Having owned an 09 STI, i am pretty familiar with what they offer. I would consider an outback sport but i think the audi a3 has the refinement i want. i have always been a luxury sports car guy. But i do alot of outdoor activities and spend equal amounts of time in northern (park city = snow) and southern (st George = vegas desert weather) utah, and doing the drive back and forth is about 5 hours. vegas takes another 2. i feel like the a3 is the only thing that offers all i am looking for. i would likely keep it for 5 years or less. i could see even settling for the gas version and lesser gas mileage (to get quattro) before i would still want the STI which may be faster but still not as refined. i dont tend to speed around, but i have found that a car like the sti has made driving so much more fun. An A3 presents all the items i like in one package: drive-abilty, refinement, gas mileage and multi use.

I thought i could put the regular diesel into this car that is common at most gas stations ? i may be naive but this is the first diesel car i will have owned. Thoughts ? are they that bad on reliability, how much of a gamble am i really taking ? are the new ones coming so much better that i should wait a couple of years and suffer in an SUV instead which is the other direction i could go....x5. in terms of cost...this is not my first concern, i want a vehicle that does what i need, subarus rock but lack the creature comfort and options i think i might be interested in. I really love the concept of a paddle shifter set up. I am in the city i dont have to worry about shifting, i am hitting country roads i can shift it for fun. i am on the phone alot too....so having good bluetooth with a2dp controls for my iphone so i am not as distracted are nice features. the bluetooth on the sti is no where near loud enough to have a conversation not to mention the sound deadening is not as good and the car is not as quiet. Heated seats are also a welcome addition. not sure if i would want the sunroof or not. i hear it lowers the sealing and create some additional noise but i could see dealing with that. i am 5 11". I would imagine i would get one fairly fully loaded meaning close to a 40k sticker price. may not be a bargain but getting what i need that is valuable to me is more important.

thanks for the input in advance folks.

 

According to the latest JD Power long term reliability report, Audi is 3 place ahead of Subrau in terms of long term reliabilty.

http://www.autoblog.com/gallery/2009...ility-study/#2

 

Very interesting.

No AWD. No 6MT, I'd probably get in an HS instead of I were in the market and avoid the expensive fuel.

 

Not having to fill up all the time is of value to me, I am not in the same position as everyone where cost is my first concern. I value a less is more philosophy. eLess time at the pumps factors into that. Getting more per mile. That being said i dont know much about diesel cars and perhaps i am overlooking how much this kind special diesel costs or is to find readily. I did some checking and in Utah it is usually only 10-15 cents more for diesel but perhaps i am looking at the wrong kind of diesel ? I also figured if i want more out of the car speed wise there are exhaust and other mods that can be added gradually ? what is 6mt and hs ? I still need to test drive this car but i have done some extensive reading about it and feel this is what i could be looking for in one vehicle.

 

No. For all newer TDI and Bluetec diesels, It MUST be the low-sulfur fuel. In fact, EPA has mandated its sale for the last few years....the old stuff, for the most part, is no longer available for regular passenger cars.



the new Subaru Legacy and Outback, unlike earlier versions, have paddle shifters.

 

The problem is that the HS does not come cheap. You can buy a lot of fuel for the price difference between the HS and some other cars to consider.

 

HS ? sorry for not knowing. what car is that ?

 

He's probably referring to the hybrid Lexus HS250.

 

Oh ok. my bad. Yeah i considered that. My mother had one and several RX's. I like the X5s more (which i know are not great mpg) or look at the audi diesel suvs before i would get one of those.

 

HS is a small sedan.

http://www.lexus.com/models/HSh/

 

Ahhhh, well i will read up on that but i dont know if i see strapping a bike rack to the top of that....or taking it camping like i would the Audi. but it does appear to be nice.

 

It sounds like you like a car that is a bit more fun to drive. The A3 is a good choice. I had a A3 2.0T for a loaner, that thing handles like a go cart. It is a lot of fun to drive and a lot of car for the money.