[iliketurtles]

Originally Posted by noopster

Hey I asked nicely- what you trying to blind me?

Don't mind me, I was too lazy to type out a summary

Originally Posted by noopster

Parking Aid Plus (you get rear parking aid instead-not sure what the difference is)

My guess it's only the audible noise you get on the Jetta/Octavia with a display of how close the sensor is to an object. So in other words, the Park Distance Control system! (part number 7x1)

Originally Posted by noopster

Auto-release function(?)

I reckon that's the Hill-Hold Function going by the part number (UH2).

Originally Posted by noopster

A nice thing is that pan sunroof is optional on every variant excluding the Attraction. No idea what Audi charges for it but a Premium with pan sunroof would be a nice car to drive!

It would be something really nice to have, the AC on and you protected from the elements while the sun still streams in.

According to Autocar, the sunroof can be had for Rs 1 lakh on all trims except the Technology variant, on which it costs Rs 1.5 lakh. Attraction misses out on it entirely, even as an option.

Originally Posted by noopster

To be honest, except the Bixenon headlamps, the Premium variant has everything you'd look for in a luxury compact sedan. Problem is it nearly touches 32L on the road which seems a bit high. The Attraction at 28L is definitely...well "attractive" but is it loaded enough?

Yup, Premium seems to be where the action is at, although missing out on Bi-Xenons can be a biggie for some. The Attraction variant simply is too light where it matters. I pity the guys that buy the base variant as much as Audi loves them, they could have a Jetta or Octavia with more features and space at a lesser price. Brand affinity could see them blinded to this simple fact though!

[apurva512]

Fantastic review and a fantastic car priced wrong as seems to be normal with cars in India(Or at least wrong to my expectations). However, this is likely to sell more than the entry level A4's(which make up the bulk of sales). Hence this should be a great pre-owned deal a year or two down the line. I am already drooling at the thought of replacing my aging 1st gen corolla automatic with a used A3 when the time comes.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by noopster

Here's a quick summary for the lazy...
...
...

Navigation and MMI touch is also reserved for the Technology variant.
I had this screenshot of the Audi Price Calculator is the previous thread. The red box is the add-on features in Premium+ (compared to Premium), and the blue box is what Technology gets above Premium+. And the interesting bit about the price calculator: (1) there is no Attraction variant listed, and (2) sun-roof is mentioned as standard for all variants, and is included into the ex-showroom price (with an addition of around one lakh rupees).

[StarScream]

Some of the fittings look so much like the Vento - power window switches, door lock/unlock, boot release lever and the key fob. Not to mention with the Vento TSI you even get the same transmission. I'm feeling very good about my decision right now.

[B747]

Audi brand name in A3 is good for pampering the ego but Jetta and Octavia owners can be very happy as its the same engine with more space and features with few lakhs less. Feeling happy with my decision of Octavia , but definitely I envy that gorgeous headlight with super DRL.

[Hells Bells]

I am now so much looking forward to the new Passat as I am guessing it will be priced very close to A3 premium +. I love its new form factor and A3's pricing is a bit of a downer for me. But will be looking forward to A3 test drive in this month for a first hand experience.

[84.monsoon]

I am in California for 2 weeks and seeing a lot of A3s here. The car does not look small, even by US standards. Very hard to tell an A3 from an A4. The A4 is a bit wider and has a form factor that makes it look low slung. The blue color and the red color seem to be the most popular here. The base variant here is the 1.8 TFSI but the higher variants get a 225 hp 2.0 TFSI - for just a couple of thousand bucks more... It is unfair how cheap the cars are here. The fully loaded 2.0 TFSI comes for way less than what we pay for the base TDI variant back in India... dreaming about driving that 2.0 TFSI. ;>=)

[adi_petrolhead]

Audi can't justify the price tag on this machine. Although, yes, it is an AA OO DEE, reeks of luxury, well sort of, has all the gadgetry from Star Trek, safety wise its a wee bit better than the Octy III as it has a Knee Airbag as well, and all 7 airbags are standard across all variants, Panoramic sunroof is optional on any variant which is again good.

But, if you go for the full blown 35TDI, what extra do you get over the Octavia? A few LED bulbs here and there, a larger infotainment system, Reverse camera, a colour screen MID, one extra airbag, less rear space, less luggage space, less stowage places, one extra powered seat but no memory even for the driver is a shock 17" Wheels are drool worthy, S line package again is optional I guess, with the black interior. All in all, built to cost, I don't see how the A3 is 13 lacs more expensive than the Octavia or the Jetta. That roughly calculates to almost 18 lacs expensive than the OTR price of an Octavia TDI Elegance, to a spectacular 40 Lac price tag on the 35 TDI Technology, and this does not include the sunroof. And since we are mentioning, the "sunroof" opens way less than that on the Octavia, although they appear to be identical units. I still assume that it will sell crazy numbers, at least till the CLA or 2 Series hits the market, and then it will be offered with a huge discount, coming down to almost 30-32 Lacs on road. Current gen A4 2.0 TDI is being offered to me at 36 Lacs on road.

[GKR9900]

Originally Posted by adi_petrolhead

Audi can't justify the price tag on this machine. Although, yes, it is an AA OO DEE, reeks of luxury, well sort of, has all the gadgetry from Star Trek, safety wise its a wee bit better than the Octy III as it has a Knee Airbag as well, and all 7 airbags are standard across all variants, Panoramic sunroof is optional on any variant which is again good.

But, if you go for the full blown 35TDI, what extra do you get over the Octavia? A few LED bulbs here and there, a larger infotainment system, Reverse camera, a colour screen MID, one extra airbag, less rear space, less luggage space, less stowage places, one extra powered seat but no memory even for the driver is a shock 17" Wheels are drool worthy, S line package again is optional I guess, with the black interior. All in all, built to cost, I don't see how the A3 is 13 lacs more expensive than the Octavia or the Jetta. That roughly calculates to almost 18 lacs expensive than the OTR price of an Octavia TDI Elegance, to a spectacular 40 Lac price tag on the 35 TDI Technology, and this does not include the sunroof. And since we are mentioning, the "sunroof" opens way less than that on the Octavia, although they appear to be identical units. I still assume that it will sell crazy numbers, at least till the CLA or 2 Series hits the market, and then it will be offered with a huge discount, coming down to almost 30-32 Lacs on road. Current gen A4 2.0 TDI is being offered to me at 36 Lacs on road.

Its true, but sadly that's where the Indian market seems to be heading.

Honestly, I did expect Audi to price it a bit more competitively,maybe at 35-36 lakh (on road) for the technology variant. Guess Audi wants to cash in on the fact that there are presently no direct rivals to the A3.

Even with the introduction of CLA and hopefully a 2 series gran coupe , pricing might not come down to expected levels, as the next gen C class, A4 will be priced higher than the current ones, resulting in lesser price overlap between the sister models.The same applies for higher segments as well.

Despite all these, I believe A3 is going to find some good number of Indian homes. People preferring A3 over Superb/Passat can be equated to those preferring Q3/X1s over Fortuner/CRVs. The brand name speaks for itself :P

[W.A.G.7]

Wow! Attractive Audi at an attractive price. Looks great in the red colour. If I had the money I would maybe buy it. I am still wary of the DSG gearbox and if they had got the A3 in a manual transmission variant (at-least for the base variant), then it would have ticked the boxes for many more people.

Still a very nice car and looks and feels really good. I just hope they have sorted out those DSG issues. Overall a highly impressive review. 5 stars for the review.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by adi_petrolhead

But, if you go for the full blown 35TDI, what extra do you get over the Octavia? A few LED bulbs here and there, a larger infotainment system, Reverse camera, a colour screen MID, one extra airbag, less rear space, less luggage space, less stowage places, one extra powered seat but no memory even for the driver is a shock 17" Wheels are drool worthy, S line package again is optional I guess, with the black interior. All in all, built to cost, I don't see how the A3 is 13 lacs more expensive than the Octavia or the Jetta. That roughly calculates to almost 18 lacs expensive than the OTR price of an Octavia TDI Elegance, to a spectacular 40 Lac price tag on the 35 TDI Technology, and this does not include the sunroof. And since we are mentioning, the "sunroof" opens way less than that on the Octavia, although they appear to be identical units. I still assume that it will sell crazy numbers, at least till the CLA or 2 Series hits the market, and then it will be offered with a huge discount, coming down to almost 30-32 Lacs on road. Current gen A4 2.0 TDI is being offered to me at 36 Lacs on road.

We as an informed group compare the Audi with a VW or a Skoda, and we know that the internals and engines are shared; infact its exactly the same car as the Octavia with slight variations in comfort features. But for many buyers out there, their immediate reference point / comparison will be with the entry-level cars from the other two rivals – BMW and Mercedes. The 1-series top-end diesel is priced almost identical to the Technology variant of the A3. Yes, the former has the advantage of being a RWD, but A3 scores with the body type (sedan). Mercedes A and B lose out on the diesels with lesser power, and full-blown feature set is only provided on the petrol variants. So as an entry-point to the German trio, the A3 fits the bill, especially with the Premium+ variant.

And in the upcoming rival options, the CLA will not come cheap, and as far as space is concerned, its not any better than the A3.

[ajaypjayaraj]

Why do many feel that the pricing is great? Take any one of the German trio entry level cars... I am talking about their best offering in the so called entry level model. The fully loaded versions only because that is the real car, how it is meant to be.

Be it the A class, 1 Series or A3, I feel all of them are very much over priced. I'm pretty sure CLA is not going to be cheaper from the rest either.

Sure the lower price tag of the lower trim makes the brand more reachable but those entry level trims don't offer the bells and whistles that those brands are famous for, apart from basically just the engine performance. But driving the A with the power marginally above the Honda Amaze , I just felt pity.

So basically for the crowd to whom the entry level models are reachable now, you stretch your budget and reach out for something these makers offer without much of what they really have on offer in their real cars. What is the point in reaching out unless you are interested only in the badge and the engine (even engine not applicable in some cases but oh yeah they offer a high quality interior in lieu). Is that really worth it?

[Jaggu]

Excellent review and detail oriented one at that. Thank you!

I loved the car, the size and the looks something i would love to own. Will it sell at this price range? esp with such a pathetic rear seat area? Few youngsters might look at it but the ones with more than 2 in the family would run towards a 3 series which could offer more flexibility with space. But then again Indian pricing has been always way off at the "luxury" spectrum of things.

[n_aditya]

Brilliant review there Kiran. The A3 does look a lot like the other siblings (A6 as stated and illustrated) except for cosmetic changes like bumper design and in a much smaller size.

Looking at the pics, it does look very cramped at the rear. The headroom is a complete let down and rightly said, suited for kids only.

I feel this car would attract young buyers who prefer to drive/commute alone or at the most with a passenger.

Brilliant review, rated 5 stars. Thanks for sharing.

[balajird]

I always enjoy reading the Official new car review threads, the reviews are so detailed and narrative that it feels like we are walking through the review along with the reviewer. Hats off to the quality of the reviews and Thanks a ton.

However, I have one query, In the below image, is the light "Blind spot" indicator? I have seen Lexus and Accords (here, in Canada) with "Blind spot" indicator on the ORVM which lits up when there is a vehicle in the "Blind spot" zone.