which would you rather have:

09 A3 2.0t DSG quattro. Options include magnetic ride, s-line titanium, but fewer luxury items (Bose instead of B&O, no drive select, no adaptive cruise, etc...)

09 A4 avant 2.0t tip quattro. Larger, more luxurious B8 platform. No magnetic ride, but many more luxury options. More expensive.

Now if that was the latest 2009 S3..... hmmmmm. But then we don't get the S3 here so that's out of the equation.

I've driven the A3 several times and just prefer the way the current A4 drives. I'm pretty certain that the B8 will be a step up. OTOH we have yet to read an impression... let alone try out the new AT on the Avant.

Heck, I even prefer the handling of the A4 over the two liter TT (an AWD TT two liter might be another matter).

Hence I'd go A4 Avant but in reality (whatever that is) I'll probably end up in the sedan, since the AT is no go for me.

Was planning on an 09 A4. The Tip-only option on the B8 avant is really a quandry. S-Tronic would have been acceptable because of WAF* - she doesn't drive stick.

Which brings us to . . . the A3 2.0T DSG Haldex. Couple issues:


- Is Haldex good enough? (compared to Quattro)
- Can you live with a smaller car (trunkspace)
- A4 B8 is a big step up from B7 (facelift, new chassis, Drive Select, standard options)
- '09 A3 is just an '08 A3 with a facelift
- Not much of a price difference (~$3000 for comparable '08 models)

The B8 A4 will handle better than the 09 A3. Are you willing to live with all of these differences in order to get a DSG?


Of course, grain of salt and all. The '09 A3 order guide isn't 'out' yet.



* wife acceptance factor

When my B5 A4 lease came up, I looked at the A3 and the B7 A4. Couple deciding factors..

Had to be a 2.0T.
A4 was larger, trunk was noticeably deeper.
A3 with the options was getting rather expensive
A3 had no stick shift with the 2.0T and only FWD which basically meant no A3.
Fit/finish seemed better in the A4.
A3 handled better (lighter curb weight)
quattro vs haldex - probably a moot point for the regular drivers and more of a personal preference

So ended up with the B7.

I think in the future we'll see the A3 have the interior space like the B5 A4 perhaps and the A4 now is already as big as the older A6.

They do say that the new Tip is a much faster shifter than the current Tip. I hope so, because you can't do the same thing in the Tip that you can with DSG, such as scream into a corner and while braking, paddle shift down to the lower gears quickly, and then mash the pedal as you exit the turn.

I've tried it on the Tip in our A4 and it just isn't the same. Now with Quattro on the new A3 and DSG, it'll be even more fun to do this.

one is front biased and the other is rear biased,

both have their advocates, but torsen has reliability going for it.