Observations after a long trip and a weird AC problem

[sillyuser]

Well, took her on her first long trip -- about 2,100 miles from PA to IA and back in four days with a four day break in the middle. Overall, very impressed with the performance on the road as this was the first opportunity I had for ample driving in a variety of situations (the car is my wife's commuter car, I walk to work and normally only get to drive it on the weekends). Here are a few observations, probably familiar to most people everyone but nevertheless: 1. Dunlop Winter Sport M3's rock (I went for 205/55/16)! Much better than the Blizzak's I had on a GTI a couple years back. Car felt very stable and well-planted in a variety of conditions, including in heavy downpour passing many nearly-stopped vehicles. On ice and snow, ESP works wonders, certainly helpful and makes you feel more secure knowing that you are getting some extra help down there. 2. I dont like the seats in the sport package, not at all. I haven't pinned it down yet--can't tell if it's the lack of lumbar support, or the apparently longer seat base but I felt considerably less comfortable in these seats. I am comparing to my previous two cars - an MKIV GTI GLX, and a B5 A4 w/ Premium Package. I even considered the possibility that my butt is too thick to fit between the side bolsters (I am 5'10" / 170 lbs and not exactly fat) but my wife who is very thin had similar complaints. In both the GTI and the A4 I had done many 11-hour trips (western PA to ME) with no complaints whatsoever. In the A3, my butt really hurt after about 6-7 hours in the driver seat. 3. DSG and the FSI engine rock. Lots of power and quick acceleration, even with the two of us and the car loaded with at least a couple hundred pounds of stuff. My only complaint is the non-linear throttle response, particularly when kicked down and automatically downshifted by the DSG from 6 to 4 or 3-rd. I found that I like it much better to keep my foot on the gas and tipp it down quickly two or three times -- resulting in no change in speed, just RPM's. Then, modulate the throttle as needed. Makes me feel a lot more in control. When kicked down, the DSG seems to be programmed to think that I need all the available power right now -- if you just wanted a little extra torque for a quick pass or catching up, then you find yourself jumping on the brakes almost immediately. The car developed a really weird AC behavior on the third day of the trip and hasn't stopped since. Suddenly, the ECON light on the AC ECON button doesn't want to go away, it stays lit no matter what mode of AC (or defrost) is selected. According to the manual, this is an indication of a fault so I am taking the car in for service after next week. I was trying to "reset" it by turning the engine off and on the first day I noticed this behavior -- weirdly, there was a correlation between the ECON button being illuminated and the fog light switch. Switch the fogs on - ECON light sticks, switch the fogs off - ECON light goes away. It seems to be intermitent failure ever since, and the ECON light goes on and sticks at seemingly arbitrary times and for seemingly arbitrary lenghts of time. AC overload issues? Anyone experiencing anything similar? Despite the quirky AC behavior - a great car inded! Again, no regrets about selling the A4 and purchasing the A3.

[danham]

If so, you may find they break in and become kinder & gentler to your butt. Mine seem to be doing that.

I would rate the A3 sport leather seats as not as good as the best I've ever owned (1966 Porsche 912), but at least as good as my 1998 A4 and better than my old Rabbit GTI.

-dan

[yam]