[siddheshb]

As I mentioned in an earlier post , I got delivery of my Misano Red Audi A3 Technology Diesel on the 10th of March.

Having done around 2200 kms in the last months, with experiences within Pune city limits, on the Pune-Mumbai Expressway and a trip to Goa, here is a detailed owner's report I hope will help you make an informed decision, if you decide to go with the Audi A3 yourself.

In the post, I will also cover buying experience with the Audi Pune dealer, both during the sales process and the after-sales, and the positives and negatives of the A3 as I see them.

First, The Buying Experience

The Dealer: Audi Pune recently underwent a transformation from the old owners, Pashankar Auto, to the Chennai-based Jubilant Motors. Along with the change in management, Audi Pune also shifted from a small outlet on SB Road to a very large 3S facility in Baner, on the highway.

When I got my car, they were still in the city. Everyone at Audi Pune were awesome! I did 2 test drives, the cars came home, and Arun, the sales rep, was happy to let me really push them to the limits without wincing. I went ahead and booked the Premium Plus variant, because it was the lowest version with DRLs and leather upholstery. Went for Diesel, since the waiting time for Petrol was way beyond my tolerance level.

However, the next day, I called up Audi Pune and had some interesting discussions (which I am constrained to not divulge in detail ) after which they upgraded me to the Technology variant. This was a fantastic development for me, since I would have really hated to have non-functioning options and buttons on the car!

A lot of folks have asked me whether I evaluated any other car, especially the new C Class. Frankly, no. It was always going to be an Audi, although I had TDed the 3 series beemer 5 years back, and felt completely let down by the experience. The 3 pointed star has never appealed to me; always made me feel it's one for the oldies. Yes, the new C class does look sporty, but still doesn't cut it for me.

The Bank: As always, my bankers, HDFC, were absolutely brilliant, providing me an unbelievable offer on the loan, and documentation was a breeze.

The Insurance: I went with the insurance provided by Audi Pune (Bajaj Allianz) - it was one of the promises I made them during my earlier "interesting discussions". With bumper to bumper, including tires, 0 dep insurance with consequential damage included, I think I got a pretty good deal, especially when I factor in the NCB I enjoy.

I also went for 5 year extended warranty, although I opted out for the total service plan, which seemed quite expensive.

The Delivery

I booked on the 21st of Feb, and I had a Goa trip coming up on the 5th, and Audi Pune promised to try and deliver her before that. Unfortunately, a combination of holidays and other factors meant I could only take delivery on 10th. But I guess it was destiny - after all, that was the day Ravi Shastri had won his Audi 30 years ago, and fired up the dream in me!

We went to the showroom at 630 pm, and a few min later, we set our eyes on Myra for the first time! She looked so stunning in Red! Audi Pune helped us with breaking a coconut and doing a little puja, and a photo session, before seeing us off with a very cute flagging off ceremony! The drive from the showroom on SB Road to my home in Aundh, through the late evening rush hour traffic rates almost as scary as the first time I brought my Endy, Samara, home 5 years back!

40 Days, 2200 KM - Experiences Driving my Audi A3 Technology Diesel

In the last 40 days, I have driven Myra in Pune's searing heat and heavy city traffic, let her loose on the Pune Mumbai Expressway and pushed her to the limits in heavy rain and mud on a Pune - Goa - Pune trip. And apart from having to put in hours of my time washing her up after her adventures, Myra definitely gets a big thumbs up from me, and more importantly, from my very discerning daughter!

A Big Thumbs Up - All The Awesome Things!

Haven't regretted buying her, even for a minute!

1. She absolutely glides in traffic, cabin noise is non-existent. More often than not, I tend to switch off the music, open the sun roof and roll down the windows, just to be able to hear the purr of the engine. Absolutely a delight! My daughter gave a big vote of confidence in the comfort of the back seat after an almost non-stop dash from Pune to Goa. On the way back, my wife took it one notch higher, curling up and going to sleep almost through the entire journey.

2. The kick when you press on the pedal is such a high, setting off at traffic signals with tires squealing is so hard to resist! My daughter keeps complaining that she can't sit up close to us, because every time I hit the throttle, she gets pushed back into the rear seat.

3. She glides effortlessly over rough patches if you keep your speed, and that's the best way to handle bad stretches - don't slow down. I found the ride quality so much better than what I have experienced in the Beemers with their RFTs. Of course, my Endy would win hands down on the uneven and rough detours that pop up every now and then on NH4 with all the construction work in progress, which is one reason I took the longer Belgaum-Chorla route into Goa, rather than my usual one through Azara and Amboli.

4. She absolutely hugs the road on tight corners, and with the stabilization program active, I find it hard to drift - although she does allow you to switch off the stabilization. My Ikon used to give me a similar feedback on curves, and I missed that in the Fiesta and of course, in the Endy. The Audi absolutely loves it when you throw her at curves, and is rock solid. Body roll is also almosty non-existent.

5. And yes, we hit the expressway a couple of times. Respecting the rules of this forum, I will not talk about high speeds here, but let's say, hypothetically, if I wanted, she would come within sniffing distance of the 215 the brochure mentions, without much of a bother.

6. So far, with full AC and all the tire squealing, she's delivering between 12-15 kmpl. On long drives, put it on cruise control, and the mileage shoots up.

7. Oh, and yes - very important - I have not yet hit the underbody on any speed breaker yet, which is a big relief as far as ground clearance is concerned. This involves every giant speed bump on the NH4 detours, and some monstrous ones in Goa, where I have seen the Hondas grind hard every single time. I have maneuvered through them with a full load of 5 adults and a child, and it's been effortless.

8. Braking is also fantastic, and a big confidence booster. On the way back from Goa, we were doing a pretty good clip when the car in front slammed on the brakes to avoid a speed bump, and for just a split second, I imagined slamming my car into the one in front. The surface was pretty gravelly, but the car responded beautifully; no harm done!

9. A special note on air conditioning. Even in Pune's scorching 39 degrees today afternoon, with the sun roof shades off, the cabin easily stays at a very cool 20 degrees effortlessly. Unlike my Endy, which really needs a long time to cool down, especially if it's left in the sun for a few mins.

The Negatives - Although I Am Really Picking Bones Here!

Cabin Space: Yes, she is tinier than her cousins, and 5 is a close fit, especially on long journeys. The rear AC vents and charging station encroaches on leg room for the 5th occupants. Headroom at the back is problematic for tall persons, although leg space is more than enough. Frankly, I love her compact sports car-like built. And for large family occasions, of course, my Endy steps in well!

Random Squeaks: After the first week or so, the front passenger seat started giving out some squeaky noises, which went away after I adjusted the seat position a little bit. On rough surfaces, sometimes, the "fins" inside the AC vents tend to resonate.

Blind Spot: The car has a definite blind spot at the driver's 5 o clock, especially if you adjust your rear view mirror to capture the side of the vehicle, as I do, worried as I am always about bikes standing too close to Myra at traffic signals. Surprised me a couple of times, and now I am just a tad more careful when turning right.

Useless Spare: The Continental spare tire is pretty useless, half the width of the Pirelli OEMs and god forbid, you blow one of your main tires on a long drive, it will be pretty difficult to get back to town on the spare. Wonder how it will even feel to steer with that combination! Check the after-sales experience later on in the article for more on this.

The Small Things That Matter

1. Absolutely awesome integration with the phone over Bluetooth, including reading SMSes. Very easy to dial using the call list. Crystal clear reception, and voice pickup is great!
2. Very nice navigation system - better than the MapMyIndia system in my Endy. Anyone knows which one this is? Tom Tom? Garmin?
3. Beautiful ambient lighting with some really special touches - foot well lighting, auto vanity mirror lights etc
4. The red body looks especially good in combination with the black sun roof, the black paneling around the sun roof and the grills (not so in the White variants, for example)
5. Electronically adjustable seats including support for the back
6. Auto fold mirrors on locking - so convenient!
7. Auto electronic parking brake in start stop traffic - absolutely delightful!
8. Voice commands activated from steering wheel, navigation control on steering, and a special driver-set button (I use it to switch to next song in the list, or the next radio station!)
9. A nifty handwriting recognition pad which really picks up my left handed scribbles very well! More over, it's the feature that gets the biggest wow when I show the car off to friends and family - especially since they never get to drive it anyway!

One thing missing from the international version, sadly, is the 3G/4G SIM card in the card with Wifi zone But I guess I can live with that.

A Tire Problem - And Experiences with Audi After-Sales

Already had my first after-sales experience too! On reaching Goa, I was washing Myra up when I realized one of the tires had a small bulge in the sidewall. Barely half a centimeter, but I didn't want to take chances. Unfortunately, being the weekend, Audi Goa was closed. I called them on Monday, but there really was no time to take the car all the way to Verna, where the service center is. Audi Pune looked at the pictures, and assured me it was OK to drive, as long as I didn't hit high speeds.

As I mentioned earlier, the spare is no use for long drives, so I put faith in the Pirellis holding up and drove back. As a precaution, I switched the tire from the front to the rear.

First thing on coming back to Pune, I took an appointment (which I only got for Saturday). After taking pictures of the tire, to send to Pirelli for analysis, Audi Pune assured me they would replace it for free, even though, as most tire manufacturers would claim, it is probably due to hitting a pothole hard, rather than a manufacturing defect. The tire wasn't in stock, so I am waiting for it to be delivered sometime this week.

As an aside, I also got my plates replaced (free of cost, again) - the earlier ones had dropped the leading 0, and a cop actually pulled me over to tell me to ensure all 4 digits were on the plate!



After her Sunday morning spa in the garage, seen with the sun roof open. Photobombing her is my 9 year old Fiesta, Reona!





The controls for the seats - 6 way movement, plus extra push/support for the back and legs through the circular control.



A very generous dead pedal!



Lots of details and information on the dash. Notice also that temperature and fuel indicators are nifty leds. Also, interestingly, the dash lights go dark in the late evening, as a reminder to the driver to switch on the lights!



Rear view camera and display factors in the position of your steering wheel too!



Vanity mirror auto-switches on a tiny light, which has delighted every lady passenger who has ever tried it out



Most of the car's functions can be controlled through the steering wheel - notice the voice command button on the right side.



The AC vents and charging point between the seats makes it a tad uncomfy for the 5th passenger

[Shanksta]

Nice car there ! This particular red shade suits the car perfectly combined with those alloys looks absolutely fabulous. Wishing you loads of (s)miles in ze German!!!

[Turbo_asd]

Congrats on you new evil red machine. I too am a big fan of the red + black on the roof look. Simply fabulous. Equally good photos, I must add.
I'm glad to hear that your experience at Audi was a pleasant one. I hope they uphold this quality service for the years to come.
Were any other options shortlisted beforing zeroing in on the junior Audi? Or was it just straight to the Audi showroom and back?

[moralfibre]

Spotted your car while you were enjoying icecream at Rajmandir a couple of days ago. I believe there aren't too many A3's in Pune as yet making this car quite unique.

Congrats on your purchase and wishing you many more miles of happy motoring. Drive safe.

[siddheshb]

@Turbo_asd, there was only one possible competitor brand in my mind, and that would be the Beemer, but I had TDed a 3 series 5 years ago before I settled on the Endy at that time. It didn't impress me much with its looks and drive experience then, and there are far too many of them on the road now anyway, and it doesn't seem to have changed much. And then we have the whole Ravi Shastri story! So, straight to the showroom and back it was

@moralfibre, would have loved to catch up! Sorry I didn't see you - were you with the big gang at the entrance? I was too focused on my ice cream, I guess :(

@Shanksta, thank you!

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing!

[Tushar]

Sweet ride there, congratulations! The red black combo really works perfectly. Always found the A3's look more classy than that of the CLA. I've been waiting for an ownership report on the A3, especially because I haven't seen many of them around. Pleasantly surprised by your verdict on the ground clearance.

[petrolhead_neel]

Congrats on buying the German beauty. The red color with blackened roof looks too hard to resist. Nice and crisp ownership thread out there. Please update this thread regularly.

As you have owned the Fiesta and Ikon in the past, how would you rate the steering feedback of the Audi when compared to the Fords? I read a review where they criticised the steering feedback and weight of this Audi to the fullest extent. Inputs on this are very welcome.

Finally, here's to wishing you many happy and safe miles and smiles on this cute beast

Keep revvin'
petrolhead_neel

[madnish30]

Congratulations on your new ride! It indeed looks great.

Planing to get an A3 myself. Could you please shed some light on the fuel consumption as well as the engine clutter, if any?

While test driving, I did feel slight lack of raw power, when I floored the pedal. Do you also feel the same? or was it the TD car which I was given...

[Gannu_1]

Originally Posted by siddheshb

Also, interestingly, the dash lights go dark in the late evening, as a reminder to the driver to switch on the lights!

That’s because of the ambient light sensor in the cluster located here (the round patch, look closely):



High-end clusters (maxidot and such) on the VAG lineup have this feature.

Nice car! Drive safe.

[siddheshb]

@Tushar, yes, the ground clearance is a very pleasant surprise for me too, given the really terrible ones in Goa. Especially with the plastic/fibre underbody cladding on the A3, a brush with the tarmac won't be much fun!

@petrolhead_neel, glad you asked this question! I can't get much technical here, but I always rated the feedback of my Ikon (manual steering, heavy, but the car just responded so beautifully to it, and was rock solid) very highly compared to the Fiesta (felt too light and scared the hell out of me sometimes, felt I might just topple her - but maybe it was because it was my first power steering!). The steering of the Audi A3 is amazing. Totally hugs the road, makes you super confident that no matter what, it will not lose traction. Very light on the arms, but yet, the way the Audi hugs the road, it inspires super confidence even at high speeds.

@madnish30, I am getting 12-13 kmpl or so, irrespective of where and how I drive her I have done 1000 km trip to Goa and back on the pretty nice NH4, I have hit the expressway, and the rest 50% has been in city, with AC on and a LOT of kicking the throttle. I am expecting this to go up at least to 15-16 if I drive more sanely. Interestingly, the fuel indicator shows 1/4th tank used up (out of 50 liters) for almost 200 kms, expecting me to believe I can hit almost 800 on one tank, but 600 is what I have extracted so far. Somewhere between 1/2 and 1/3 the tank seems to get gobbled up much faster!

Engine clutter - not sure what you mean, but it takes a lot of hard work to even hear the purr of the car inside the cabin!

When I push the throttle hard, yes, it does seem to take half a second before the engine responds - but raw power, I have never seen that to be a problem!

@Gannu_1, thanks for that interesting insight!

Adding a few pics from my Goa trip...

[siddheshb]

My friendly neighborhood 3M service center suggested I wrap Myra in their new transparent vinyl sheets for protecting the body against dust and scratches, including from unruly bikes and cycles in traffic.

I will get the specs of the film in the evening... but any quick suggestions on whether it's worth it? Does it afford good protection, and more importantly, does it have any negative effects?

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by siddheshb

My friendly neighborhood 3M service center suggested I wrap Myra in their new transparent vinyl sheets for protecting the body against dust and scratches, including from unruly bikes and cycles in traffic.

I will get the specs of the film in the evening... but any quick suggestions on whether it's worth it? Does it afford good protection, and more importantly, does it have any negative effects?

Wrapping the full car will cost almost as much as repainting about 7 panels, and the film will not look great over time. You chose whether its worth it then

[madnish30]

Originally Posted by siddheshb

My friendly neighborhood 3M service center suggested I wrap Myra in their new transparent vinyl sheets for protecting the body against dust and scratches, including from unruly bikes and cycles in traffic.

I will get the specs of the film in the evening... but any quick suggestions on whether it's worth it? Does it afford good protection, and more importantly, does it have any negative effects?

Please don't wrap/coat the car with any sort of protection. The paint is meant to take wear and tear and has a natural life, just take the car for a spa day once every 45 days and she shall remain prestine.

Plus, the money spent on the wrap is way too much, may as well spend the same over the years on detailing and good cleaning agents.

[PlatzdaTurbo]

Congrats ! Pretty little thing

The 12/15 kmpl you mention....i assume that is specifically inside city limits ? Coz on highways and even combined you should be getting a lot higher with that 2 litre diesel.