New Wheels

I still remember how a certain someone, let's call him Mr. K., was highly annoyed by me posting countless pics of my (then) new (used) A3, which could be considered my first car, even though I didn't outright own it, but was the main user. This time, I'll just post these three pics at once, and then probably won't bring it up again (perhaps).

So, this is it, our new car that we picked up at the Audi factory in Ingolstadt yesterday, which is 510 kilometers (317 miles) from where we live. Last time we were here to pick up mom's new car, we came by train and then drove home. But since my aunt is visiting, a train ticket for three would have cost much more than the fuel we used to drive there with one car and back with two cars. But to be honest, if I were ever to do this again, I'd take the train. Driving over 1000 kilometers in one day does count as somewhat bothersome in my book. Just 200km more and I'd be in Budapest!

Anyways, the car is quite spectacular in just about any respect. It's an Audi A3 Sportback (4-door) with a 1.6 liter TDI engine and the ultra package. This is similar to the TDIe version of the previous car, basically a special version that has been optimized for maximum fuel economy. It's equipped with sports suspension and side skirts (normally only available on S-Line cars) to improve aerodynamics, and can only be ordered with the smallest 16-inch wheels, which have special fuel-saver tires with higher than average air pressure. It also only comes with a 6-speed manual gearbox with lowered ratios on the upper gears, allowing you to cruise at lower rpm than with the standard gearbox.

It has a highway mileage of 3,1 liters per 100 kilometers, which would translate to almost 76mpg. Let's see whether that holds true, as the engine still has to be run-in properly.

In all other aspects, it's just astonishing how much better it is. Despite the hard suspension and tires, it's not uncomfortable, the steering feels very precise compared to the previous car, the gearbox is fun to operate, the clutch feels good and the brakes are very nicely boosted (more so than in the old car). Whether cruising over long distances or snaking my way into a car park in overcrowded Cologne, the car always felt well-suited for the job.

And finally, the interior is much nicer. Since we got the previous one used, we had to take whatever the previous owner ordered, which was a very horrid beige that nicely showed even small amounts of dirt. This time, I was very creative and varied when it came to interior colours. Black, black and black. Black carpets, dash, black seats, black headlining. Oh yes. Mom wanted a leather steering wheel, which I don't care about, but I didn't object, and we also went for the more advanced radio, rather than the baseline one (though calling it "radio" is a bit of an insult). It has a copious number of speakers, a flatscreen that disappears into the dash when you turn the car off, and it quickly knew all of the contacts I had on my phone, allowing me to call someone without having to take my hands off the wheel (as there are many buttons and scroll wheels on that as well). I can now finally do away with my ten foot stack of scratched CDs and instead load all my tunes onto an SD card. Yay!

All in all, I feel like the most spoiled child in the universe, despite the fact that I spend a lot of time and effort at work, since I'd never be able to afford a car like this. But mom was able to get huge discounts, so it was now or never! And I'm quite happy that we decided on now. For the next three years at least, this will be my commute car, as well as our general long-distance car for vacations and trips etc.

And yes, I kept the class 110 plates.

Strangely enough, Audi doesn't sell this car in the US. They only sell the sedan version of the A3, and only with the larger displacement gasoline engines. They even offer it with a 220hp 2 liter TFSI engine that, conversely, isn't available for that car in Europe, not even for the sporty S-Line models! I wonder whether it's Audi's marketing people being jerks, or whether US drivers are really that opposed to compact and economical cars that aren't needlessly overpowered. But with gas prices being about half what they are here, it's certainly logical that fuel economy isn't the biggest selling point.