A5 2.0 TDIe 136 SE Technik or A3 1.6 TDI SE

[sb1234]

Hi,

I'd be grateful if anyone could give feedback on the following two cars please, and which one you believe would be best value for money.

Also, has anyone had any experience with Imperial Car Supermarket?

Thanks,

A5 2.0 TDIe 136 SE Technik

£13,619
69,169 miles

When test driving this vehicle, I noticed the gear stick and clutch was vibrating slightly (especially when car was stationary and in 1st gear) - is this normal or an indication of a problem?

https://www.imperialcarsupermarkets.co.uk/used-car...

A3 1.6 TDI SE - £11,698

£11,698
26,023 miles

This one doesn't come with parking sensors - does anyone know how difficult / expensive these are to fit in afterwards?

https://www.imperialcarsupermarkets.co.uk/used-car...

[Marvtec]

Both very underpowered, amongst the worst engines you could choose for each. Also, do you really need parking sensors on an A3?!?

[thebraketester]

The 1.6tdi is a dog of an engine.

[Cupramax]

£125+vat to allow you to buy their car... FFS. That alone would make me walk away from that dealer.

[sb1234]

Marvtec said:

Both very underpowered, amongst the worst engines you could choose for each. Also, do you really need parking sensors on an A3?!?

thebraketester said:

The 1.6tdi is a dog of an engine.

Thanks for both of your feedback - which engine would you recommend? I'm only 25 years old, so trying to keep the insurance group as low as possible.

Cupramax said:

£125+vat to allow you to buy their car... FFS. That alone would make me walk away from that dealer.

Yeah, would you recommend buying privately or from smaller dealerships rather than the larger "car supermarkets"?

[sunbeam alpine]

I've got an A5 Sportback with the 136 HP engine. It doesn't exactly set the world alight but it goes OK and is great for relaxed long-distance trips. Handles pretty well, sticks on the road well and encourages enthusiastic driving, although the acceleration is glacial.

Never noticed any vibrations from the clutch. Now on about 170,000 km and had it new.

[Marvtec]

If you're happy to spend £12-14k is the cost of insurance really a massive factor? Think sometimes people get hung up on insurance cost/mpg etc when actually the depreciation will be a much bigger loss.

In answer to your question about the engine, it does depend on the mileage you do to an extent, but try some quotes on the 2.0TFSi 208bhp or if you do more miles the 3.0TDi 242bhp. I'm discarding the A3 as I dont see any reason to buy one if the A5 suits you (odd two models to choose between).

[tigger1]

The A5 will be well specced. SE Technik has DVDnav (can be run from SD card), parking sensors, heated seats, decent stereo, phone connections in glove box etc Does NOT do A2DP (music streaming over bluetooth), but 136bhp isn't a lot in such a big car, adequate enough though. It's not "slow", but it's a long way from quick too. Presume 62-plate at latest (think that engine went out of production that year)? Same car, same year could be had for the same money in a 163bhp version I think (TDI, not TDIe) - tax was a bit more expensive. A5 is a very comfy car to drive, good amount of bootspace in sportback-guise, less so in coupe (more a problem with getting stuff in and out than actual space). 50mpg is realistic, 55+ on a decent run. Mine doesn't rattle.

A3, presumably much newer. Smaller, noisier ride. 1.6tdi is reportedly not a nice engine, but not driven one enough to comment. The spec is presumably nowhere near as good as the A5 (given no parking sensors).

Either way, buy from somewhere you trust - neither the A3 nor A5 are rare cars.

[va1o]

Neither, I'd try and find an A3 with the 2.0 TDI engine in either Sport or S-Line trim. That shape A5 feels a little dated now and the SE trim is too basic whatever the model IMO.

[tigger1]

va1o said:

Neither, I'd try and find an A3 with the 2.0 TDI engine in either Sport or S-Line trim. That shape A5 feels a little dated now and the SE trim is too basic whatever the model IMO.

SE Technik is not the same as SE; it includes satnav, cruise, parking plus, MMI, AMI, heated leather front seats - and best of all, no stupidly stiff sports suspension (I'm old, I don't want a stupidly stiff ride in a car like this).

The S-line / sport look sportier, the SE technik is comfier.

As for A5 v A3, I'm biased, but every A3 I've driven was noisy inside, and quite stiff, but doesn't handle better for it. I don't like the newer pop-up centre display either.

OP: Drive both if you can.

[sb1234]

Thanks for all your feedback.

I'm looking for something to replace my 2006 Ford Fiesta with. I'll be doing 10-15,000 miles a year, mostly city driving but fortnightly 260 mile motorway round trips.

How does the following car compare to the A3/A5?

BMW 1 Series 116d EfficientDynamics Plus 5dr - 2015 - 29,677 miles - £13,569

https://www.imperialcarsupermarkets.co.uk/used-car...

[LasseV]

sb1234 said:

Thanks for all your feedback.

I'm looking for something to replace my 2006 Ford Fiesta with. I'll be doing 10-15,000 miles a year, mostly city driving but fortnightly 260 mile motorway round trips.

How does the following car compare to the A3/A5?

BMW 1 Series 116d EfficientDynamics Plus 5dr - 2015 - 29,677 miles - £13,569

https://www.imperialcarsupermarkets.co.uk/used-car...

Meh.

Do you really need a diesel?

What about Lexus IS? Or Mec C-class Coupe?

[sb1234]

LasseV said:

Meh.

Do you really need a diesel?

What about Lexus IS? Or Mec C-class Coupe?

Thanks - probably not, as most driving will be around town.

Hadn't considered either of those - will have a look at the options

[ChrisR99]

You can get nice petrol versions of both those Audis...look at those instead.

[va1o]

I really like my 1-series, interior maybe not quite as nice as the A3 but it's a fun to drive daily

[sb1234]

ChrisR99 said:

You can get nice petrol versions of both those Audis...look at those instead.

Thanks - would you consider Cat C cars from private sellers?

[LasseV]

sb1234 said:

Thanks - would you consider Cat C cars from private sellers?

No when you are buying basic Audis. They are bread and butter cars with quite high running/repairing costs. There are lot of good cars on sale so you can pick a good one. One ph poster did get badly bitten with audi a3 2.0 tsi with not-so-good-history.. It was a total mess and did cost a fortune.

Edit:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

[Paul578]

thebraketester said:

The 1.6tdi is a dog of an engine.

That is a harsh comment, what are your justifications in making that statement?
Yes the older CR 105PS engine was rough and did require an Italian tune-up once a month, but the the newer CR 110PS unit has a massively improved level of refinement. I fail to understand how people can say it's underpowered, in the current gen A3 it does 0-60 in 10 seconds, mostly limited to the gear change / going off-boost at ~52mph, I struggle to see how the price-per-horsepower really makes the 150PS better value - beacuse that'll also be underpowered when compared against the higher spec 2 litre 180PS.
It's horses for courses and I bet that in the real world it would beat an old PD 130PS on the open road. As for economy I've the 'ultra' gearing on my SE Technik and have averaged 58mpg over 25k miles. It's a terrible engine obviously....

[jonwm]

I've got a 64 plate 136hp "ultra" model A5 sportback in S line trim, it is slow, not as slow as you'd think but still very lazy, the 150hp of the same engine feels much more sprightly, on the motorway its fine and keeps up with most stuff when going along.

[thebraketester]

Paul578 said:

That is a harsh comment, what are your justifications in making that statement?
Yes the older CR 105PS engine was rough and did require an Italian tune-up once a month, but the the newer CR 110PS unit has a massively improved level of refinement. I fail to understand how people can say it's underpowered, in the current gen A3 it does 0-60 in 10 seconds, mostly limited to the gear change / going off-boost at ~52mph, I struggle to see how the price-per-horsepower really makes the 150PS better value - beacuse that'll also be underpowered when compared against the higher spec 2 litre 180PS.
It's horses for courses and I bet that in the real world it would beat an old PD 130PS on the open road. As for economy I've the 'ultra' gearing on my SE Technik and have averaged 58mpg over 25k miles. It's a terrible engine obviously....

Because it has no power and feels flat. That coupled with the 5 speed box where it's almost impossible to be in the right gear. Makes it a dog. Driven 2 version. Audi and VW. Both naff IMO.
Also not brilliant economy in my experience. The wife had one for a while (it kept stting its pants so we got rid) never saw more than 45mpg.

She bought a 120D which whilst cramped inside and the seats are crap it's a hoot to drive.

Edited by thebraketester on Saturday 25th March 15:24

Edited by thebraketester on Saturday 25th March 15:26