New A3 S-Tronic, petrol or diesel?

Vote 4 Pedro

I'm changing the car soon and looking for some advice please.

Due to losing a leg (getting mowed down by a drunk) I'm on the Disabled drivers scheme so I'm lucky enough to be able to change every two years,
but we are really skint and the new car is the only luxury we have.

I need an Automatic and I can claim the tax back on the fuel so I'm not to bothered about the petrol costing more than the diesel side of things as it's nearly the same it the end.
I like auto's and I had them before I needed them.

We have had Audi A3's for the last couple of cars, the 1.6TDi S-Tronic 110 BHP but the Diesel drone/clatter almost drives me mad, the S-Tronic gearbox is really good though.

So I am thinking of getting a petrol A3 this time round, either a 1.0 TFSI 115 BHP 7-Speed S-Tronic or 1.4 TFSI 150 7-Speed S-Tronic,
The 1.0 engine has me worried it will be slow, no power for any overtaking etc.
The 1.4 seems a better option but I have no experience of any of the two engines so I'm only guessing.
I know the Audi diesel engine is OK but I have no idea what the Petrol TFSI in the Audi's are like, anyone have any info.

I plan on keeping the new car for a long time so I'm not to bothered about it been nearly impossible to sell anything other than diesel in Ireland but at the same time you never know what's around the corner so it's still in the back of my mind that "I'll be stuck with it" although with it been a small engine I imagine it would sell if I needed to ?

I do around 31.000 Km per year, about 95% of the milage is from Galway county into Galway City a couple of times a day and mainly on the R roads.
Is this more suited to the petrol or diesel ?

There was a reasonable sized price increase on the Audi since we last changed and that is also one of the reasons i'm asking about the petrol,
If it turned out the Audi is a non runner this time what else that is similar sized and maybe a little less cost could you suggest.

I will be keeping the car this time and we plan on keeping it for a long time so I want to make the right choice.
My mileage will hopefully reduce after another 2 years.

Any thoughts / help greatly appreciated

colm_mcm

A golf or Leon would be an obvious choice if you want something that's basically the same as the A3 only cheaper.

The diesel kinda makes more sense given your driving.

bazz26

Of all the VAG cars with the same platform as the A3, the current Golf is by far the best spec for the money. You would get a Golf Highline DSG for less money than a similar spec'd A3. Leather heated seats, sat nav, adaptive cruise control, apple carplay/android auto, etc.

This 1.4 TSi has a bit more poke than the 1.0 TSi engine too:

http://www.driving.ie/used-cars/Volkswagen/Golf/Highline-1.4TSI/7700411012359394798/

There is also a facelifted Golf about to be launched so I'd imagine there might be a good deal to be got on the existing model as long as you were happy to buy something already in stock.

Vote 4 Pedro

bazz26 wrote: »

There is also a facelifted Golf about to be launched so I'd imagine there might be a good deal to be got on the existing model as long as you were happy to buy something already in stock.

Do you know when the facelifted Golf is due to be launched ?
any idea on the new one.

bazz26

March/April time frame afaik.







Not hugely different to the current model, redesigned LED lights, virtual cockpit and new infotainment system if you like your gadgets. You might not get the same level of standard spec with the facelifted model though.

Vote 4 Pedro

Vote 4 Pedro wrote: »

...............

Due to losing a leg (getting mowed down by a drunk) I'm on the Disabled drivers scheme so I'm lucky enough to be able to change every two years,
but we are really skint and the new car is the only luxury we have. .....................
I will be keeping the car this time and we plan on keeping it for a long time so I want to make the right choice.
My mileage will hopefully reduce after another 2 years.

Any thoughts / help greatly appreciated

If you are really skint changing every two years and avoiding any depreciation & having a car under warranty would surely be a better idea than keeping this next car for years and years and experiencing depreciation?

Vote 4 Pedro

Augeo wrote: »

If you are really skint changing every two years and avoiding any depreciation & having a car under warranty would surely be a better idea than keeping this next car for years and years and experiencing depreciation?

I know what you mean and I am in a great position and appreciate been able to to do this.
I would be basically passing this car to the wife and she would hopefully keep it until it dies, that is why I what to be sure.
We have been saving for a good while and still have 2 more years to save some more but I would be buying a different smaller car on the scheme
as my milage will be really reduced after two years.
Without the VAT and VRT I think I could get a smallish automatic on the scheme for reasonable money but that's 2 years away so I'm not thinking too much about that yet but it will probably a Honda Jazz for around €14,500 or there abouts, or maybe a Yaris or i20 type car.

Vote 4 Pedro

@ Bazz,
The Golf has great spec, the A3 is very basic compared to it.

bazz26

I was actually comparing the spec of a prefacelift Golf with a facelift Golf. The bumped up the spec of the Highline Golf to include leather heated seats and a few other things last year. They may lose them in the facelift model.