It is a personal preference of couse, but I feel the quattro is worthwhile - I prefer it over the prospect of simply gobbing on extra hp on a front wheel drive only car. The haldex is a very sophisticated and flexible 4 wheel drive mechanism, and among other things the advantages are for acceleration/torque transfer - its effective and even easily updated to put more power to the rears(lots of info online if you search on haldex gen 2 controllers). Fwiw they use haldex in the Veyron

 

i dont think of the G35C as a rare exotic, but i like the car a lot and also
like to keep my weekend cars clean... so i have the luxury to drive them
on the days i want to without killing myself over it.

i also have a wife that's fine with that (actually my whole car hobby) and
a son that also likes my cars.

i don't see the point of you being mean.

 

you think? hummmm... i could use the AWD if that's available especially
in the winter time, but considering i'll probably be using my Legacywagon
in the winter more perhaps FF will do fine?

 

well, i talked to the wife about my plan and she's fine with it so the
bottom line is just a matter of when i hit the EXECUTE button.

i think i'll go for a test drive on the dub later on this week...

 

Yo Ken! Welcome to the Family! You're doing the right thing!

 

thats a bold move ken, but completely understandable. before you switch to trying to equal your post counts here to the dub forums, give us some pics of it
(assuming you get it, or whatever car you may get)

 

Thanks, I'm still in the initial hunting stage, so nothing is yet confirmed.

But atleast I have the money side of things ready to go if I choose to go this route.

 

Ken here is some inspiration for you:










I missed the 5 door boat by 2 weeks, regret it. Let me know if you have any questions.

 

And there is always the cousin to consider :

 

berky- that's the color i was thinking about getting too. thanks for the
picts. those bbs works real well with your ride. which springs or c/o's are
you using?

eVal- definitely will look into that too. but probably going with
the dub if i decide. i just like the shape better.

 

To each his/her own of course - I'd be curious to hear your back to back comparison if you do test a similarly equipped GTI/A3. Another consideration you might want to check into is how your local VW and Audi service departments stack up, how people like them and the status of loaners and such. In looking into it a bit around here I definately found differences that favored Audi fwiw.

one more gratuitous pic for the heck of it

 

Ken, the car is on PSS9s and I also have a Neuspeed 25mm rswb at the stiffest setting. I test drove an A3 2.0T for the heck of it, and GTI is sportier, more nimble, and the steering wheel is priceless.

R32 is a car of its own, the new ones are due late summer, i will not consider R32 because next is an S4 Avant. AZMC+ (joel) has the same color but in 5 door, and his car is very pretty too.

 

berky - thanks for the info on the R32... this is news to me and perhaps
i should look into that as well before i make any decisions.

im in no rush to sell my MCS, but that dub is looking real nice. i cant keep
both, unfortunately.

 

Curious if the A3 has sport suspension? And I wonder if your take on its nimbleness was not colored by your modded car - the reason is on one of the boards there was this discussion and it seems that from at least one person who owns both cars they were pretty much identical in handling and such, the GTI putting the driver lower seemed to have an effect on perception of things though. (I'm not sure if actually lower or its just because the roof is higher or something, but this could be the perceived 'sportiness' aspect.) Your remark about the steerign wheel is funny though, I recently heard about people planning to put the cool 08 TT wheel in A3s

In any case, all good drivers cars - we looked at new S4 avants and boy, those seem anything but nimble It is a right size wagon, just a bit too large/long for us at this point - very nice though (the dealer had an Imola yellow that was sooooooo tempting).

 

Thanks for your sarcasm

To your quick comment, I can tell the difference stock vs. stock.
You can get the same power gains form an A3 2.0TFSI as you would from a GTI. They share the same power plant, however, there is couple of tweaks on the A3 motor that makes it quiter. GTI has sportier seats whereas A3 targets comfort. Overall Audi feels a little bit more upscale. FYI, A3 has a sport suspension option with the S-Line Package.

People use a lot of different parts from VAG family in their cars, such as RS4 rswb on regular A4s, so it would not suprise me to see retrofit steering wheels on A3s. Those very expensive items and require a LOT of work.

My conclusion was other than 3.2 DSG AWD, A3 is not worth the money. Period.

Finally, if you have any questions, please ask, I will gladly answer

 

I wonder if they will ever put Quattro into the A3 2.0T... that would be a good deal~ The 3.2 is heavy as *beep* and not as tunable as the 2.0T.

 

Actually I wasn't being sarcastic But thanks, I will ping you if I have any vagging questions

(I wonder if the steering wheel won't be easy, I remember people swapping them on BMWs pretty easily as long as they shared the same platform, had the same airbags and features and such.)

 

The steering wheel swap is pretty complicated, there are so many different modules that each different vehicle has. The actual job should not be super hard, but making it 100% working with all proper functions is a b...ch

Sorry if i got you worng on the previous post

 

You think THAT was mean? haha....It was a joke.

 

I see the GTI, especially the 5 door, as more of a replacement for your Civic. The MCS is unique, and not much like anything else you currently own. The GTI is a comfortable daily driver that does basically everything your Civic can do, but better. Maybe it's not QUITE as reliable, but I've read that they're pretty good in that respect. Plus, if it does need to go in the shop at some point, you have other cars you can drive (that most people use as daily drivers). The Civic is the car you spend most of your time in, yet its the only one that has no character at all. That sacrifice is really worth it to you? Just so you dont have to wash your cars as often?

Again, not seeing the point of owning a Civic, and NOT being mean. I just think you might regret it in the future.

 

The same steering wheel al so found in R8 and the new S3. I'm totally agree with ScuderiaMini that GTI steering wheel is amazingly nice...I dare to say that it's much nicer than the US spec RS4.

 

Plus GTI is faster than the MINI.

 

WOW that's a bold statement to be posted here, but I totally agree.

 

heh heee.....More people will be looking at the GTIs when the R56 arrives, I see that happening, because what is left when the SC whining is gone?

Anyways, they all are wonderful cars, it is a matter of personal preference.

 

I think the GTI is an AWESOME car, but I still dont see it as a viable alternative to the MINI. It's more of a "really fun to drive daily driver" while the Cooper S has something extra.

Of course, that doesnt mean anything. I already said I'm considering trading mine in for the new TT....so I'm guilty as well.