AUDI A3 Rant

BurtReynolds · 03-11-2012, 04:02 PM

Full disclosure, I am an '06 2.0T A3 owner who bought new and have almost 100K miles on my vehicle. I have been extremely satisfied with my A3.

Are all of you A3 owners out there as dissapointed as I am in how Audi is handling this model for US customers? I can't believe that it will have taken Audi 7 YEARS to bring a new A3 to the states and when it does show up it will be a SEDAN with no 5 door offered! I know numbers don't lie and if it were not for the TDI A3, Audi probably would have stopped selling the A3 here all together but it's so frustrating to think that Audi may never sell a new A3 5 door here in the states!!!

2011A3QUATTROSLINE · 03-11-2012, 07:21 PM

Extremely pissed about how they are handling the hot hatch market only to protect the stupid TT. no one likes the TT here i have NEVER seen one. i realize the A3 is equally rare but its only so b\c they refuse to market it. Most people who know about an A3 were in love with it long before they had bought one. I am an Audi enthusiast bc of the A3 yet i cant get anything done to the car. There is one STaSIS dealer in the south east and to get anything done to an A3 seems to be extremely discouraged from a dealership perspective. Service managers are loath to give up any information on whats available particularly in the south east. i managed to get my hands on an 2011 quattro Premium plus sport package ( s line/ S tronic) and i think it has to be the most bad *** a3 you can get in NA. certainly the single most attractive A3 south of Nashville and east of the Mississippi.

iamthewalrus · 03-12-2012, 06:53 PM

My concern is that the US-market A3 is going to be an Audi-fied version of the current, US-only VW Jetta. I'm one of those people that my friends come to when thinking about a new car.
I always thought highly of the GTI and Jetta, but with the new, US-only, larger, softened-up Jetta (with drum brakes?!?), I've been telling them to stay away. My friends Chris and Paul each bought A3s after my strong recommendation and many conversations. Recently, I've been telling friends to go for the current GTI or to look elsewhere altogether.
Audi USA, understand that we don't want a Camry; we want an Audi. Dumb down the product and appeal to the mass market at your own risk...

-James
San Francisco, CA
2006 BMW X3 3.0i (manual, m-sport, premium, xenons) -- bought a BMW, because Audi didn't and still doesn't offer a manual-transmission SUV.
1998 A4 2.8Q (loaded)

EurosportAMG · 03-12-2012, 08:42 PM

too many overlaps and not enough sales, current a3 wouldn't have been able to continue for a few years now if it were not for the tdi version imo. too many other options available from VAG like the golf plus manual tranny, and now even though not real quattro the golf r.
a3, imo would have been a good choice if you wanted xenon and leather, now you can have those on the vw versions np.
a3 sedan is perfect choice to bring here, it'll be a big hit just watch...i love the b5 a4 type size on it not to mention new tdi with the increased mpg and hp/tq over current one. early estimates are 35mpg city/48mpg hwy.
now where the rant really should be is lack of rs3, always get shafted on special models...

Sundowner · 03-13-2012, 03:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EurosportAMG

too many overlaps and not enough sales, current a3 wouldn't have been able to continue for a few years now if it were not for the tdi version imo. too many other options available from VAG like the golf plus manual tranny, and now even though not real quattro the golf r.
a3, imo would have been a good choice if you wanted xenon and leather, now you can have those on the vw versions np.
a3 sedan is perfect choice to bring here, it'll be a big hit just watch...i love the b5 a4 type size on it not to mention new tdi with the increased mpg and hp/tq over current one. early estimates are 35mpg city/48mpg hwy.
now where the rant really should be is lack of rs3, always get shafted on special models...

The a3 Sedan will probably be a big hit,
IF it's priced right,
IF it's built in Germany or the US (I have a sneaking suspicion that it will be built in Mexico with the Jettas),
IF the car looks like the sweet red one we saw last year and not the dullard they put up at Geneva. and
IF, for once, the car will actually have more power than a pedestiran Golf. We will see.

That being said, there are a LOT of satisfied A3 customers out there that Audi left flapping in the breeze by not continuing the sportback model. This truly left me shaking my head. VW sells those terrible little Jetta wagons by the truckload. Would a sportback A3 really have been a bad idea?

ArcticA3 · 03-16-2012, 07:57 AM

I love the a3... used to own a AW 2.0T a few years back. Moved on to a 135i because Audi did not bring the S3 over. The A3's low sales is due to its price. By the time you loaded it up with Ti package, Nav, etc it is over $40K... as expensive as an A4, which has much better materials and fit/finish.

The idea that American's don't like 5 door hatches is bull****. All of the German brands refuse to properly market and equip their wagons. We're stuck with the plain-jane versions. I'd love to buy the new S4 Avant, or a 335i wagon. The RS3 would have been a great option.

Audi/BMW/Merc are all obsessed with small SUVs at the moment.

ben721364 · 03-18-2012, 03:44 AM

The current generation A3 shares it's platform with the VW Golf. Yours is the first I have seen indicating that the next generation A3 will be built on the larger platform?

Quote:

Originally Posted by iamthewalrus

My concern is that the US-market A3 is going to be an Audi-fied version of the current, US-only VW Jetta. I'm one of those people that my friends come to when thinking about a new car.
I always thought highly of the GTI and Jetta, but with the new, US-only, larger, softened-up Jetta (with drum brakes?!?), I've been telling them to stay away. My friends Chris and Paul each bought A3s after my strong recommendation and many conversations. Recently, I've been telling friends to go for the current GTI or to look elsewhere altogether.
Audi USA, understand that we don't want a Camry; we want an Audi. Dumb down the product and appeal to the mass market at your own risk...

-James
San Francisco, CA
2006 BMW X3 3.0i (manual, m-sport, premium, xenons) -- bought a BMW, because Audi didn't and still doesn't offer a manual-transmission SUV.
1998 A4 2.8Q (loaded)

Mark83 · 03-17-2012, 08:42 PM

I own a 2012 A3. It's my first Audi and every day I love this car more and more. There is a "rightness" about it that takes time to really understand. It will be a really disappointing for me if this is the last A3 hatch to come to the USA.

As for them being too expensive, yes I agree. I found a 6-speed "stripper" model and got it for $28,500, which I thought was a pretty good value.

ben721364 · 03-18-2012, 03:47 AM

I think that we would see greater variety in the A3 offerings in NA if the marketplace were more accepting. Vag generally does a good job tailoring it's slate to it's markets. The A3 line has not been well received in NA.

MikeSS · 03-18-2012, 07:28 AM

The new A3s will be based on the MQB platform. The current Jettas and Golfs (and A3s) are A6 platform.

03-11-2012, 07:21 PM	#2
2011A3QUATTROSLINE AudiWorld Newcomer 2011 Audi A3 Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 3	HECK YESS Extremely pissed about how they are handling the hot hatch market only to protect the stupid TT. no one likes the TT here i have NEVER seen one. i realize the A3 is equally rare but its only so b\c they refuse to market it. Most people who know about an A3 were in love with it long before they had bought one. I am an Audi enthusiast bc of the A3 yet i cant get anything done to the car. There is one STaSIS dealer in the south east and to get anything done to an A3 seems to be extremely discouraged from a dealership perspective. Service managers are loath to give up any information on whats available particularly in the south east. i managed to get my hands on an 2011 quattro Premium plus sport package ( s line/ S tronic) and i think it has to be the most bad *** a3 you can get in NA. certainly the single most attractive A3 south of Nashville and east of the Mississippi.

03-12-2012, 06:53 PM	#3
iamthewalrus Audiworld Junior Member 2006 BMW X3 Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 31	New A3 = dressed up Jetta? My concern is that the US-market A3 is going to be an Audi-fied version of the current, US-only VW Jetta. I'm one of those people that my friends come to when thinking about a new car. I always thought highly of the GTI and Jetta, but with the new, US-only, larger, softened-up Jetta (with drum brakes?!?), I've been telling them to stay away. My friends Chris and Paul each bought A3s after my strong recommendation and many conversations. Recently, I've been telling friends to go for the current GTI or to look elsewhere altogether. Audi USA, understand that we don't want a Camry; we want an Audi. Dumb down the product and appeal to the mass market at your own risk... -James San Francisco, CA 2006 BMW X3 3.0i (manual, m-sport, premium, xenons) -- bought a BMW, because Audi didn't and still doesn't offer a manual-transmission SUV. 1998 A4 2.8Q (loaded)

03-12-2012, 08:42 PM	#4
EurosportAMG Audiworld Junior Member Garage is empty, add now Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 47	too many overlaps and not enough sales, current a3 wouldn't have been able to continue for a few years now if it were not for the tdi version imo. too many other options available from VAG like the golf plus manual tranny, and now even though not real quattro the golf r. a3, imo would have been a good choice if you wanted xenon and leather, now you can have those on the vw versions np. a3 sedan is perfect choice to bring here, it'll be a big hit just watch...i love the b5 a4 type size on it not to mention new tdi with the increased mpg and hp/tq over current one. early estimates are 35mpg city/48mpg hwy. now where the rant really should be is lack of rs3, always get shafted on special models... __________________ audiworld lurker since 1999

03-18-2012, 07:28 AM	#10
MikeSS AudiWorld Super User Garage is empty, add now Join Date: Mar 2000 Posts: 2,346	The new A3s will be based on the MQB platform. The current Jettas and Golfs (and A3s) are A6 platform. __________________ Now: 2012 A3 2.0Tq Then: '06 M3 '06 A3 2.0T '76 Beetle '99.5 A4 1.8T qms '92 Corrado VR6 '87 GTI 16V '83 GTI '79 Rabbit '77 Rabbit '75 Beetle '65 Beetle

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03-16-2012, 07:57 AM	#6
ArcticA3 AudiWorld Member Garage is empty, add now Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 102	I love the a3... used to own a AW 2.0T a few years back. Moved on to a 135i because Audi did not bring the S3 over. The A3's low sales is due to its price. By the time you loaded it up with Ti package, Nav, etc it is over $40K... as expensive as an A4, which has much better materials and fit/finish. The idea that American's don't like 5 door hatches is bull****. All of the German brands refuse to properly market and equip their wagons. We're stuck with the plain-jane versions. I'd love to buy the new S4 Avant, or a 335i wagon. The RS3 would have been a great option. Audi/BMW/Merc are all obsessed with small SUVs at the moment.

03-17-2012, 08:42 PM	#8
Mark83 AudiWorld Newcomer Garage is empty, add now Join Date: Feb 2012 Posts: 5	I own a 2012 A3. It's my first Audi and every day I love this car more and more. There is a "rightness" about it that takes time to really understand. It will be a really disappointing for me if this is the last A3 hatch to come to the USA. As for them being too expensive, yes I agree. I found a 6-speed "stripper" model and got it for $28,500, which I thought was a pretty good value.

03-18-2012, 03:47 AM	#9
ben721364 AudiWorld Member Garage is empty, add now Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 172	I think that we would see greater variety in the A3 offerings in NA if the marketplace were more accepting. Vag generally does a good job tailoring it's slate to it's markets. The A3 line has not been well received in NA.