Advice me on an Audi A3

[Old Merc]

I’ve been seriously ill, unlikely to be able to drive, so my classic and daily Mercedes will have to go.
I would like a premium hatch with room for a wheelchair. It’s got to be an auto for my wife to drive, used, say around £10K
We like the look of an Audi A3, so many variants and engines.though, what’s the best.
Due to my condition our annual mileage will be very low.
Talk to me, A3 owners.

Edited by Old Merc on Monday 13th March 09:27

[p4cks]

Old Merc said:

I’ve been seriously ill, unlikely to be able to drive, so my classic and daily Mercedes will have to go.
I would like a premium hatch with room for a wheelchair. It’s got to be an auto for my wife to drive, used, say around £10K
We like the look of an Audi A3, so many variants and engines.though, what’s the best.
Due to my condition our annual mileage will be very low.
Talk to me, A3 owners.

Edited by Old Merc on Monday 13th March 09:27

Sorry to hear of your situation. I had one a couple of years back, and had the 1.4 TFSI CoD engine which was incredibly frugal.

[CG2020UK]

Sorry to hear Old Merc.

We have used hatchbacks (Golf, 208, Fiesta) for my mother in laws wheelchair. They are quite a pain to lift in and out even as a travel wheelchair and we are quite young and very fit.

Depending on your wife’s age and physical condition it might be handier and worth considering getting something more accessible.

[GreatGranny]

As above, sorry to hear of your situation.

I would have thought a taller vehicle with larger boot and low lip would be more suitable.

Easier to get into and load the wheel chair into.

I know it's not premium but the B Max seems a decent choice.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202302033...





Or a B Class

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202302194...

Edited by GreatGranny on Monday 13th March 13:27

[LunarOne]

No idea about Audi A3s except that they seem too small for lugging a wheelchair about. I've had to hoik mum's manual folding wheelchair in and out of the boot or back seat of an Audi A4 Avant and wished it were bigger. With the wheelchair lying in the boot, there's almost no room for anything else.

Out of interest, what's this old Merc you have to get rid of? I learned to drive in an old Merc (not THAT old but a 1984 W123 230E) and feel the need for something like that again.

[Old Merc]

LunarOne said:

Out of interest, what's this old Merc you have to get rid of? I learned to drive in an old Merc (not THAT old but a 1984 W123 230E) and feel the need for something like that again.

I have two, 2002 C270 CDI Avangard. Average daily driver. 1997 SL320 in show condition, only used in the summer.
Fancy one of them? PM are.

[ZX10R NIN]

I'd say take a look at the B Class is better suited to your needs:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303034...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303024...

[Pica-Pica]

LunarOne said:

No idea about Audi A3s except that they seem too small for lugging a wheelchair about. I've had to hoik mum's manual folding wheelchair in and out of the boot or back seat of an Audi A4 Avant and wished it were bigger. With the wheelchair lying in the boot, there's almost no room for anything else.

Out of interest, what's this old Merc you have to get rid of? I learned to drive in an old Merc (not THAT old but a 1984 W123 230E) and feel the need for something like that again.

With my mum, I could get her folding wheelchair into the boot of my E36 saloon with fixed rear seats. The wheel chair was a helper-pushed one, rather than sitter-propelled (which type of wheelchair are you thinking of?). It folded side to side and the handles folded down. I could manage it, as a fit 60/70 year old, but it would be a struggle for a weaker person. I would suggest an Audi A3 may be slightly easier, but not by much. Perhaps a dedicated site for wheelchair users would have a wider range of views and experience than PistonHeads. I fear you may have to sacrifice the vehicle’s looks for the practicality you need.

Edited by Pica-Pica on Monday 13th March 19:32

[LunarOne]

Pica-Pica said:

LunarOne said:

No idea about Audi A3s except that they seem too small for lugging a wheelchair about. I've had to hoik mum's manual folding wheelchair in and out of the boot or back seat of an Audi A4 Avant and wished it were bigger. With the wheelchair lying in the boot, there's almost no room for anything else.

Out of interest, what's this old Merc you have to get rid of? I learned to drive in an old Merc (not THAT old but a 1984 W123 230E) and feel the need for something like that again.

With my mum, I could get her folding wheelchair into the boot of my E36 saloon with fixed rear seats. The wheel chair was a helper-pushed one, rather than sitter-propelled (which type of wheelchair are you thinking of?). It folded side to side and the handles folded down. I could manage it, as a fit 60/70 year old, but it would be a struggle for a weaker person. I would suggest an Audi A3 may be slightly easier, but not by much. Perhaps a dedicated site for wheelchair users would have a wider range of views and experience than PistonHeads. I fear you may have to sacrifice the vehicle’s looks for the practicality you need.

In my case, mum's wheelchair had full-size wheels. She was quite fragile and weighed only 38kg at the end of her life, so the wheelchair was a children's one and it still took up pretty much all of the boot's floor area when collapsed and with the push handles folded down. I'd definitely not recommend an A3.

[CG2020UK]

LunarOne said:

Pica-Pica said:

LunarOne said:

No idea about Audi A3s except that they seem too small for lugging a wheelchair about. I've had to hoik mum's manual folding wheelchair in and out of the boot or back seat of an Audi A4 Avant and wished it were bigger. With the wheelchair lying in the boot, there's almost no room for anything else.

Out of interest, what's this old Merc you have to get rid of? I learned to drive in an old Merc (not THAT old but a 1984 W123 230E) and feel the need for something like that again.

With my mum, I could get her folding wheelchair into the boot of my E36 saloon with fixed rear seats. The wheel chair was a helper-pushed one, rather than sitter-propelled (which type of wheelchair are you thinking of?). It folded side to side and the handles folded down. I could manage it, as a fit 60/70 year old, but it would be a struggle for a weaker person. I would suggest an Audi A3 may be slightly easier, but not by much. Perhaps a dedicated site for wheelchair users would have a wider range of views and experience than PistonHeads. I fear you may have to sacrifice the vehicle’s looks for the practicality you need.

In my case, mum's wheelchair had full-size wheels. She was quite fragile and weighed only 38kg at the end of her life, so the wheelchair was a children's one and it still took up pretty much all of the boot's floor area when collapsed and with the push handles folded down. I'd definitely not recommend an A3.

With hatchbacks we just put the wheelchairs in vertical and haven’t had any problems.

[georgeyboy12345]

Audi A3s are great cars as long as you go for a mk3 or newer (2013 on), the 1.4 TFSI's are great but if you go for an auto they are paired with the dry clutch DQ200 DSGs that are pretty jerky and can have some issues, especially on earlier cars. I think the late 2016 (66 plate) onward 2.0 TFSI Audi A3's have the better DQ380, so I'd go for one of those.

Unfotunately, these start at around £16k, like this one
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202301253...

I also think they'd be quite bad for lugging around a wheelchair - the boot is nowhere near big enough. I'd pick one of these instead

Honda Civic 1.8 i-VTEC Tourer
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202303125...


Mercedes C180 Estate with FSH and recent timing chain
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202302254...


Saab 9-3 2.8 V6 Turbo Aero Sportwagon
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202302043...


Renault Clio 1.6 Sport Tourer
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202109147...

[Old Merc]

Hi Guys,
Thank you for all the replies, I think I should have worded my topic a bit differently.
My main question is what are Audi A3’s like, what’s the best model, engine and so on.
The “ wheelchair” will be one of those light weight folding 4 wheeled walkers. I assume the A3 rear seats fold.