2020 Audi A3 Review: Pint-sized, Purebred Audi
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 22 ส.ค. 2024
- The A3 is an Audi through and through. With a redesign due next year, is the baby Audi still fresh, or has it been left in the dust? Watch my review, guest starring the S3 and RS3, to find out!
Big thanks to Royal on the Eastside for loaning me the Audis used in this review!
Royalontheeastside.com
Thank you, Tess Fasteen, for driving some Audis in circles for me!
Nice review, and spot-on. I test drove a 2020 A3 Premium Plus (with the 45 engine) Quattro a couple days ago. (First time in an Audi by the way.) Looked exactly like the car you reviewed. Had the “Final Edition” package but lacked navigation. Though it was missing a few things like in a luxury car, I liked the A3 much more than I thought I would. Yes, it’s small, but I like small, fun, zippy cars like this. Size reminds me of the Acura ILX I had for a couple years, though the A3 handles much better, and has a nicer interior, too. The A3 (with 45 engine) is fun to drive, which is the most important factor for me. I could definitely see this being my first German car.
The trick to getting it through a corner is to push the accelerator as you're entering the turn. Causes the ECU to panick and it throws the power to the rears. Makes a HUGE difference in how it goes through a turn.
Treizez34 Thanks for mentioning that. I test drove two of these on Friday - one with sports suspension and paddles, and one with normal suspension and no paddles. I am coming from a Fiesta ST, and I found both cars to be pretty good through sweepers, but not as dynamically immediate as my ST... but if course the A3 makes up for it in a more planted feeling overall. The difference between the sports suspension and regular suspension was NOT that big of a deal, to my surprise. I would say it’s a 15% difference overall, meaning the standard suspension was not far behind the sport one.
@@RoyalFizzbin Can't believe I missed this comment; Glad it helped, I wonder what you ended up pulling the trigger on?
Having driven an A3 s-line with the sport suspension (was my daily for a few years) and then a loaner without, I would never take this car without the sport suspension. I found the car to be very floaty at highway speeds, borderline dangerous if you're trying to drive aggressively.
So cool. I bought this exact car yesterday from Royal on the Eastside. Neat to see my actual car in your video, thanks for the personalized content!
That's really cool, thank you, congratulations on your purchase!
Great review, addressed all the questions I had and thanks for the S3 and RS3 comparison!
No problem! Thanks for watching
Great review. I have had this car for a couple years and really like it. Comfortable and great performance. Rear seats easily fold completely flat so tons of room back there. I actually really like the plastic paddle shifters. Not a fan of metal ones cold in winter/hot in summer.
That is a valid point, I never took that into account. I haven't had much of an issue with the ones on my old oultander, but i don't use them much either. I just love the added size and the satisfying motion of them. The a3 ones just felt like a video game to me. Still, it being an Audi, it has a nice click to it, thanks for the feedback!
awesome review, considering one 4 years later.
A month ago I purchased a used 2020 A3 quattro Premium plus, final edition with sport suspension,navigation and the 19" wheel pkg in Tango red. It had a little over 9000k on it and was used by the dealership. I traded in a 2019 GLI S with a 6 spd manual. They gave me what I paid for it and the Audi was 11000 below MSRP. Nice car with every option.
I'm trying to chose between a brand new 2021 gli autobahn for around 36k and used 2019 a3's with about 20k miles for around 30k.. any advice? Do you miss your gli at all? Which is funner to drive?
@@SupTJay The GLI has much more room. If I bought the GLI again it would be the 35th Anniv Edition because of the DCC suspension and Drive select. The Jetta suspension is too soft. Before I traded mine I installed the APR roll control coilovers, It rode very nice and cornered much better. I installed a larger swaybar, rear only. I would also get the
DSG trans and not the 6 spd. I like shifting but the ratios are too long and the throws are also. The cloth seats are decent, but the other type seats are too slippery in cornering.
Summing it up, I have several GTi's and GLI's. I prefer the 6spd DSG over the Audi 7spd trans. Bothe suspensions are soft and too quit. I had a Neuspeed exhaust for the GLI and it was just right.
I am trying to find a nice and not too loud exhaust for the Audi. I just ordered VW Racing line dampers and sport springs plus a rear bar fr it also. Urotuning is where I ordered it from.
The Audi and the Jetta use the same platform, but of course mine is AWD.
A good place to find the VW is Carvana. I have had three different VW's from them and was very satisfied. I'm a Senior Citizen and have had dozens of vehicles, especially sporty cars. I have driven competitively in Autocrosses, Solo events and on High Performance Drivers Experience events.
If you have any questions just ask?
How’s your experience after few months of owning the A3?
Pretty nice review, happy to subscribe the channel.
This was a great review. Glad I found your channel.
Part of your reviews should be maintenance and service requirements on this A3 model and what a new owner can expect to see here. Information about depreciation on this final edition would be helpful as well. 🦈
Noted the comparison to the Mazda. Drove a new 2021 Mazda 3 a couple days ago, then bought a used 2020 Audi A3 S Line Premium yesterday with only 3K miles on it. The Mazda seating was way less comfortable, the brakes were awful in comparison and it still does not compare to the premium feel of the A3. Did like the engine sound of the Mazda though! The A3 is a blast to drive and as an owner of two Porsches, it is a lot of car for the money. Of note, I am keeping my Porsches, my son who just changed jobs (losing his company car) will be driving the A3.
I love my A3
The best review I've seen.
0-60 in 5.4? Best I could do stock was 5.6 but now I can get a 3.5 out of it
Being a VW I wonder how long that pop up screen mechanism is gonna last🤦🏻♂️
It rolls on hills because Audi put a hill assist mode on the car to help the vehicle roll forward on the engine alone making it so it doesn’t use the dual clutches in traffic when inching forward 😅
compare bmw 330i with best competitor
Tbh you might as well get a jetta gli.
A gli autobahn is a nice car but that is actually approaching A3 money. If someone wants more space or a manual then I'd definitely agree. But the A3 offers a different package altogether. Personally, I'd also jump on a gli autobahn manual!
@@Realistick I got you.. the gli will probably be better to maintain in the long run cost wise since it's not luxury but the quality of the a3 is also tempting.
Had both; If you need a bigger car, you get the GLI. Good car for the money.
If you want the *better* car, A3 quattro all the way (or an S3 if you can swing it)
If you have no class sure!
@@drmanhat4483 i am in your boat my friend while looking out for end of 2020 bargains!
hope you are happy with your choice :)
It’s a pity the US and Canada don’t get the hatchback option. The sedan just doesn’t look as good.
Audi needs to bring back the hatch A3. The A3 sedan looks very generic and reminds me of a Jetta. It’s cramped inside and has a tiny trunk.
It’s the reason why I picked the MK7 GTI over the equivalent A3 sedan.
They never got rid of the hatch. The saloon is actually the rarer A3. What i have noticed tho is that they're making the A3s bigger, and bringing the A1 closer to what A3s used to be.
North america just prefer sedans so they do not even bother to put hatchback there. Only hybrid because looks like it is only way to get it. For Europe you get hatchbacks mostly.
I want one a3