TLU thanks for the comparison to the 2.0TDI, did you have 140ps or 170ps one? I have the 140 TDI A4 at the moment. Not long left for myself now
Hi Robb
I had a 140 TDI with DSG. It was noisy and a little crude but pretty nippy and very economical ... and now I have my A5 I know it handled like a dog. It wasn't my driving after all! I say this because over 3 years I developed a knack of being able to "slew" the A3 around roundabouts, throwing the backend out whilst the front wheels scrabbled for purchase ... and all due to the weight in the nose and its very forward position. It took quite some time to master this and my wife/kids used to hate it (I should point out that I'm talking pretty low speeds here - 30-40mph). I've done one of my local roundabouts about 6 times today and the A5 has much better manners and goes exactly where you tell it to go (at least so far). It
almost takes the fun out of it!
Elaborating on your question about the A3...
When I chose the A3 (not A5) I also tested an A4 S-line 2.0TDI manual and a BMW 320d SE. My company gets extended test drives of 3 days min so I had a good go at each. The bimmer was the best drive by quite a way IMHO but it made my kids sick in the back and the looks of the car inside and out made me sick too. The A4 was good but the combination of the 2.0TDI unit coupled with DSG in the A3, plus the practicality of a hatch with 2 young kids made it an easy choice for me at the time (the A4 was a more refined drive but not as much fun and harder to get 2 pushchairs into). I say all this because my perceptions were that the A3 was a slightly "sportier" car than the equivalent A4 which brings me on to comparisons of the A3 with the A5.
Ignoring the massively superior interior of the A5 over both the B7 A4 and the A3 and focussing purely on the engine/handling, overall my initial thoughts are that the A5 1.8TFSI is a much better car and has the other two for breakfast. The engine is normally quiet but I've had the odd little growl/rasp out of it which has made me grin like an idiot ... I kind of expected it to whine for some reason. Acceleration from a standing start is pretty good and as I've stated above having spent 3 years in an auto I'm still getting used to the gear change ritual so I'm probably labouring the release of the clutch in 1st for several seconds more than I need to (it's like learning to drive again but I feel so much more "engaged" in a manual than I did with DSG ... I feel switched on again, just with a sore left ankle).
Midrange acceleration is good but not to the extent of being great. An example: I live quite close to the M62 (and the M1 and the M621) and there's a bit where I enter the M62 on a slip road at about 60mph and then used to hoof it over to the right hand side at about 85-90mph (sorry officer!). For those familiar with the area it's the bit on the M62 heading East just before the M1 interchange (it's 4 lanes wide and splits into 3 bits: M1 N, M1 S and M62 E). Well, I tried the same trick tonight and found the 1.8T just lacking that little bit. The A5 didn't run out of steam and did what I needed, it just didn't pick up in quite the same way as the A3 used to. So, nothing upsetting it's just that the punch I used to have in the A3 diesel wasn't quite there and coming from the A4 I think you may notice this too. The car afficionados on here will no doubt tell me this is a torque thing.
For me this is not a problem ... it's very rare for me to do this sort of manoeuvre and I can easily adapt my driving style to match the car without feeling in the slightest like I've lost out. I'm pretty confident, however, that others would find it just slightly frustrating.
To all 1.8TFSI owners - please don't take this as criticism as it's most definitely not. I think this car is fantastic with a 1.8 and I'm in heaven, I'm just trying to be honest. If you like properly fast cars that go like the proverbial from a stick and you're operating on a sub £30,000 budget then the 1.8 is not for you (you can go be one of the Subaru knobs that tried to run me off the road today). However, if you like a gorgeous car with a great balance between performance and economy then I think the A5 1.8TFSI is just what you should be test driving.
Erm ... that's almost a review isn't it? Note that I've only spent about an hour behind the wheel so my views may change!
