air conditioning vs climate control audi a3

hollywoodhoppy

Hi all, I'm in the process of buying a 2004 audi a3 with climate control and am wondering if there is a huge difference between the two? (bear in mind i've been driving a bog standard work van for two years and wouldnt have a clue about such luxuries )

any help would be great. Thanks a million

colm_mcm

i think the climate control on the A3 is dual zone

R.O.R

Not sure there was an option for standard air con on the A3 - it was generally Dual Zone Climate included in a pack with either Alloys or ESP depending on whether it was Attraction or Ambition/Ambiente spec.

ciarsd

Climate control is the better of the two. You have more control over function/temps etc and if it is dual zone then you can set temps independently of each other.
It also features an auto function so that it varies temps/fan speeds/direction to keep you at a constant temp of your choice and/or keeping steamy windows at bay

Good luck with the purchase!

Dwilly

I have the dual zone climate on my 04 A3. It's the bizniz.

hollywoodhoppy

awh cheers for that, puts my mind at ease. Been on the lookout for a high spec a3 for a while now, its actually the AMBIENT model, anybody have one of them or have any comments?? Its either this or an ambition, its hard to chose!!

Anan1

I've never seen manual a/c in either the current or previous generation A3 - AFAIK it was always either climate or nothing.

JoeA3

There's no standard air-con option in the A3, its either climate control or nothing at all... as the others said, it's always been an optional (and pricey) extra on them, usually as part of a "pack" (bundled with ESP or Alloys). Its dual-zone too, meaning you can have separate temps on driver/passenger sides. Its a great feature!!

Attraction - base spec.

Ambition is the "sports" spec, so you get lowered suspension, 17" alloys, sports seats, 3-spoke leather wheel, etc... Looks the part. I had one of these for a couple of years. Just beware, the suspension pretty stiff.

The Ambiente is geared more towards luxury/comfort, in my opinion doesn't look as well, with its smaller wheels, and its also got some awful fake wood in the dash (think Ford Ghia style!).

hollywoodhoppy

yep, thats the one i'm looking at, i do like the features tho, has leather interior, cruise control and the all important central arm rest, def not gone on the alloys tho!! the ambition sounds like a novel idea but dont think the roads around the midlands are geared towards that kind of driving!

Anan1

hollywoodhoppy wrote:

the ambition sounds like a novel idea but dont think the roads around the midlands are geared towards that kind of driving!

On many Irish roads, big wheels and lowered sports suspension will slow a car down. If you're just into floating along then fine, but if you drive in any way hard then you really don't want to go above 16".

hollywoodhoppy

Anan1 wrote:

On many Irish roads, big wheels and lowered sports suspension will slow a car down. If you're just into floating along then fine, but if you drive in any way hard then you really don't want to go above 16".

oh ye, i agree totally, a few of mates have evo's skylines and cars like that, they have to drive very slowly around majority of roads or else face damaging somethin! dont think i'll be driving this around mondello somehow, i do like my comfort!!