# The first 500 miles!



## Karcsi (Mar 6, 2003)

Picked up the little one at 6.30 on Friday evening. Took it for a little drive over to Cambridge on some A/B roads, and then onto the Midlands via the motorway.

My God, the car is fantastic! Gearbox is smooth and direct (3rd to 4th is best, 6th gear took a bit of getting used to). Corners like there is no end to its grip; and I'd rather not find out where it does end!

Steering is not perfect, but far from bad. It seems much better than the old A3, and certainly better than the A4. Once past the marginal indifference at the straight ahead position, the car seems to turn instantaneously with every input. I haven't toyed with steering feedback yet - don't feel like punishing the car too much at this moment.

The suspension is pretty stiff when on the go - the car riding every undulation in the road. Then again, quite forgiving when pootling about town.

Two thinks are a must on this car. Xenon lights and auto dipping rear view mirror!

The lights are amazing. So bright, the reflection from the cats eyes and road signs are blinding!

The auto dipping feature on the rear view mirror is brilliant. Worth every penny. It's amazing Â how much it darkens when some nutter is using their full beam behind you. On the motorway, it even seems to vary the degree of tinting depending on the ambient light conditions.

Build quality is as expected. Everything is as solid as granite, and there are no rattles or squeaks from anywhere. The BOSE system is just pure quality. Good balance between bass and treble, and lots of detail.

There is only one thing that I find irritating about this car. Drivers refuse to overtake me on the motorway. They approach on the fast lane, and then linger just behind. New A3's are still almost as rare as the dodo, and my car's debadged! I suppose being a quite distinctive blue colour does not help. It's annoying when you are about to be boxed in behind a caravan!

The proof of how good this car is is in what I thought after a couple of miles on the twisty bits: I don't think I want to own any other car!


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## dynamodollishill (Jun 29, 2003)

Good stuff! Looks good in the pictures.

It sounds well worth the wait.

Roll on Sunday which is when I pick up mine!!!


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## aThreeUK (Aug 11, 2003)

Only one word to describe it - EXCELLENT!! I think its a car that looks much better in the flesh and 'real' photographs than in the Audi Brochures.

Can't wait until Saturday when I pick up mine - it's going to be a long week.......


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## vagman (Sep 6, 2002)

Glad to hear you are delighted with yer car, Karcsi.  I knew you would.

It looks good in mauritius blue too ;D. 8)


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## s3_lurker (May 6, 2002)

What's the torque like in real world situations? Third gear at a crawl in town? All the specs indicate the 2 tdi is THE engine to have. Did you test drive the 2FSI petrol as well?


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## Karcsi (Mar 6, 2003)

Thanks Vagman. Mauritius Blue is pretty temperamental colour. Depending on conditions it can look any where between the picture in the brochure (bright, cough syrup blue) and dark sea blue. I'm very glad I choose it. I also love the two tone blue leather seats.










I really should take some proper pictures rather than these snap shots, but you can still make them out.

4th gear running around town at 30mph. 5th at 40. However, 6th is rather tall. 6th is rather redundant until you hit 50-60mph. But once you do hit 60mph, you don't anything other than 6th!

Torque is still phenomenal, but comes in a bit higher in the rev range than with the 1.9tdi. The specs say 320NM between 1750 and 2500rpm. However, I think the rear oomph doesn't arrive until 2000rpm.

Anyway, the gearing encourages you to use them rather than stick it in 5th/6th and forget. The gears are nicely spaced, so that changing at 3000rpm or just above will probably give you the best acceleration, as the next gear is engaged at about 2000rpm.

I didn't bother test driving the FSI. I tried a 1.6 FSI A2 earlier in the year, and didn't find it too engaging. Sounded and felt like a diesel at idle and low revs, and then you had to work it hard to get to the performance. Although, it did sound great and very refined once it was in proper engine mode (as opposed to the diesel like mode when you are cruising).

Plus, I don't really like revving the daylights out of an engine - although the FSI was fun, I'd get bored of having to do it all the time. If I want to own a sports car, then petrol it is. But anything else, only diesel makes sense.


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## Karcsi (Mar 6, 2003)

Oh, there was a thread on the TT forum about fitting LEDs in the interior door handle recesses. The A3 has them as standard!


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## Karcsi (Mar 6, 2003)

Two things I have noticed which I want to query:

- are you supposed to get a first aid kit with the car (at least when you opt for the storage pack)? The "Details" says if should come as standard, but I haven't got one.

- there seems to be quite a lot of, mainly, road noise penetrating the doors as it they haven't shut/sealed properly. Anyone else notice this? The doors do shut flush with the body, so this could be me just being too sensitive or a side effect of wider tyres.


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## spiderman (Jun 7, 2003)

you didn't order the 'Door Insultation' pack then Karsci?

thought that was a no-brainer


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## Karcsi (Mar 6, 2003)

Que?


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## spiderman (Jun 7, 2003)

....winding you up Karsci

(my car is at the dealers now by the way)


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## Karcsi (Mar 6, 2003)

I thought Audi had turned into BMW - did you know that the 4th wheel is an optional extra on a Beemer?! 

The door seals fine - when you open the door, it pops outwards as the rubber seal expands. It is just me!

Plenty of time for the dealer to get it ready then. Make sure they have checked that the engine oil level is correct. I have a feeling that mine has been overfilled a little. Although I will have to check it on ground I know is level, coz my garage does slope slightly to the rear of the car.

The dip stick is really long (oooh missus). About 80cm, and I think it probably ends up in the oil at the back of the sump. That could account for the high reading. I might take a reading in the drive (if I wash it this weekend), which slopes the other way! :


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## spiderman (Jun 7, 2003)

getting it this afternoon (and the car as well hopefully) 

picking it up from Southampton Audi at 2.00 before starting a 300 mile drive north for the weekend

PERFECT timing ;D

what's the advice on running in these days with a diesel?


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## Karcsi (Mar 6, 2003)

I think the manual might say something about this, but I haven't looked. If I remember correctly, my parents manual for their 1.9TDI said something like for the first 1000 don't use more than 80% of full throttle, and be careful with the tyres for about 200 miles (until their have worn in a bit).

I can't remember it saying anything about types of driving or rev limits. I've just (tried to) keep to a max of 3000rpm in any gear, and not use full throttle, and done various types of driving (mainly motorway though - about 300 of the 500 so far).

The Audi dealer didn't say anything (I forgot to ask). But, unless your a nutter I don't think it will really matter how you drive it.

The only think I have noticed with the engine is that it is a little thirsty (comparatively) at the moment. I have averaged about 44mpg according to the DIS, with 46mpg while crusing at 80mph on the motorway. I think this is normal can could last quite a few thousand miles before it starts to behave itself. A similar thing happened with the injectors were changed on my fathers 1.9TDI a year ago.

Although, it could be that the DIS is wrong. I haven't filled it with fuel yet; it's still almost a quarter full!

Have fun! I'll be interested to hear what you think.


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## spiderman (Jun 7, 2003)

44 mpg!!!

hey when you're used to 27mpg, that's a bonus!


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