Audi A3 sedan: WIN

[JulesMaximus]

No, THIS!

No, THIS!!!

 

[JulesMaximus]

In my daily commute and for the 10+ hours I spend in my car every week going anywhere between 0mph to maybe 45mph I'm beginning to care less about performance and brand whoring and more about fuel economy, comfort, and technology/entertainment. What good is AWD, 150mph top speeds, and lap times around some ancient road course in Germany when you're spending most of your time stuck in traffic averaging 23mph? Maybe the knowledge that your car can go that fast, if you ever had clear roads of course, and the high sticker price offsets the frustration of the daily commute? Plus it is fun to pack tons of miles on an unreliable expensive German car! Kind of like Russian Roulette! I sure see a shit load of these cars for sale on autotrader.

I've also seen a bunch of those Honda CR-Z's on the road here lately and, of course, this is the land of the Prius so I think Americans are shifting from big heavy gas guzzling land barges toward smaller more fuel efficient cars. I see a guy commuting in rush hour traffic in a CR-Z and think, now that's where the smart money is.

 

[punjabiplaya]

In my daily commute and for the 10+ hours I spend in my car every week going anywhere between 0mph to maybe 45mph I'm beginning to care less about performance and brand whoring and more about fuel economy, comfort, and technology/entertainment. What good is AWD, 150mph top speeds, and lap times around some ancient road course in Germany when you're spending most of your time stuck in traffic averaging 23mph? Maybe the knowledge that your car can go that fast, if you ever had clear roads of course, and the high sticker price offsets the frustration of the daily commute? Plus it is fun to pack tons of miles on an unreliable expensive German car! Kind of like Russian Roulette! I sure see a shit load of these cars for sale on autotrader.

I've also seen a bunch of those Honda CR-Z's on the road here lately and, of course, this is the land of the Prius so I think Americans are shifting from big heavy gas guzzling land barges toward smaller more fuel efficient cars. I see a guy commuting in rush hour traffic in a CR-Z and think, now that's where the smart money is.

yeah, a hybrid dd that can be a little fun

and then something to destroy neck muscles for fun

 

[Sid59]

In my daily commute and for the 10+ hours I spend in my car every week going anywhere between 0mph to maybe 45mph I'm beginning to care less about performance and brand whoring and more about fuel economy, comfort, and technology/entertainment. What good is AWD, 150mph top speeds, and lap times around some ancient road course in Germany when you're spending most of your time stuck in traffic averaging 23mph? Maybe the knowledge that your car can go that fast, if you ever had clear roads of course, and the high sticker price offsets the frustration of the daily commute? Plus it is fun to pack tons of miles on an unreliable expensive German car! Kind of like Russian Roulette! I sure see a shit load of these cars for sale on autotrader.

I've also seen a bunch of those Honda CR-Z's on the road here lately and, of course, this is the land of the Prius so I think Americans are shifting from big heavy gas guzzling land barges toward smaller more fuel efficient cars. I see a guy commuting in rush hour traffic in a CR-Z and think, now that's where the smart money is.

how does it go?
Better to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow?

I agree with you.

 

[Dr. Detroit]

In my daily commute and for the 10+ hours I spend in my car every week going anywhere between 0mph to maybe 45mph I'm beginning to care less about performance and brand whoring and more about fuel economy, comfort, and technology/entertainment. What good is AWD, 150mph top speeds, and lap times around some ancient road course in Germany when you're spending most of your time stuck in traffic averaging 23mph? Maybe the knowledge that your car can go that fast, if you ever had clear roads of course, and the high sticker price offsets the frustration of the daily commute? Plus it is fun to pack tons of miles on an unreliable expensive German car! Kind of like Russian Roulette! I sure see a shit load of these cars for sale on autotrader.

I've also seen a bunch of those Honda CR-Z's on the road here lately and, of course, this is the land of the Prius so I think Americans are shifting from big heavy gas guzzling land barges toward smaller more fuel efficient cars. I see a guy commuting in rush hour traffic in a CR-Z and think, now that's where the smart money is.

Yep - Commute 90-miles RT in bay area traffic. I'm out of the car game. Driving a stick is punishment. I'm lucky to open it up for a 1/4 mile to 75mph and then be dragged down to 40mph when the traffic comes.

I commute with a coworker most days in his 2nd Gen Prius, sold his G35 for a Prius with car-pool stickers, we average 42mpg and could give a crap less about our "looks" just about fuel economy and how fast we get to work and home.

I'll be giving up my sports-sedan with its 6spd manual trans and moving on to a 2nd gen Versa hatch or Hyundai Veloster that can get me a combined 33mpg or better with regular unleaded, $20 oil changes, tires that cost $75 instead of $150............

If I keep up this job a Prius Plug In may be in order so I can qualify for car-pool stickers till 2015. Too bad the CNG stations are not practical.

 

[Excelsior]

In my daily commute and for the 10+ hours I spend in my car every week going anywhere between 0mph to maybe 45mph I'm beginning to care less about performance and brand whoring and more about fuel economy, comfort, and technology/entertainment. What good is AWD, 150mph top speeds, and lap times around some ancient road course in Germany when you're spending most of your time stuck in traffic averaging 23mph? Maybe the knowledge that your car can go that fast, if you ever had clear roads of course, and the high sticker price offsets the frustration of the daily commute? Plus it is fun to pack tons of miles on an unreliable expensive German car! Kind of like Russian Roulette! I sure see a shit load of these cars for sale on autotrader.

I've also seen a bunch of those Honda CR-Z's on the road here lately and, of course, this is the land of the Prius so I think Americans are shifting from big heavy gas guzzling land barges toward smaller more fuel efficient cars. I see a guy commuting in rush hour traffic in a CR-Z and think, now that's where the smart money is.

Unfortunately, you're pretty much right.

Excep the CR-Z is pretty lame. I'd rather drive a Prius. It doesn't seem to have the whole package.

Edit: I do love the A3 sedan and the A1 TFSI s-line though. Would I replace my DD with either? No, I'd put my money elsewhere because my DD is doing the job just fine.

 

[brblx]

good post, that quoted one. ^

i DD'd V8's when i was 16 and was done by the time i was 18.

now my sporty 150hp FWD econocar is plenty adequate. fast and nimble enough to perform any traffic maneuver i could generally want. now, i used to work on mostly 300hp RWD's, and cornering a little harder at speed, and being faster than most cars on the road (or at least faster than their drivers...) definitely has its perks. for bad drivers, fast cars get them into bad situations. having upgraded power, handling, and brakes over most also helps get you out of those situations, though. only taking a couple seconds to accelerate from 35 to 70 sure is nice when that's the speed a lot of the idiots around here like to get on the interstate at. ect ect.

basically i could make perfect due with a 75hp car- if i didn't hate everyone so much because of their bad driving. i can see WANTING a 250-300hp+ car, and that's fine if you can afford it. but i laugh at the people in 40k+ sport/luxury/sportluxury cars that wouldn't even fully utilize a 3cyl geo metro. it's a 35mph offramp, and i'm doing 50 in a FWD. why are you going 20 in your 3 series/IS/G/whatever?

 

[Excelsior]

basically i could make perfect due with a 75hp car- if i didn't hate everyone so much because of their bad driving. i can see WANTING a 250-300hp+ car, and that's fine if you can afford it. but i laugh at the people in 40k+ sport/luxury/sportluxury cars that wouldn't even fully utilize a 3cyl geo metro. it's a 35mph offramp, and i'm doing 50 in a FWD. why are you going 20 in your 3 series/IS/G/whatever?

This shit right here drives me crazy. These are the same folks who don't merge at proper speeds on the highway.

 

[Zen0]

Unfortunately, you're pretty much right.

Excep the CR-Z is pretty lame. I'd rather drive a Prius. It doesn't seem to have the whole package.

Edit: I do love the A3 sedan and the A1 TFSI s-line though. Would I replace my DD with either? No, I'd put my money elsewhere because my DD is doing the job just fine.

Lexus CT200 is a good choice for a daily driver. Sportier (still just as slow) as a Prius and better looking.

The mid-cycle refresh should be interesting, though it just came out (and is unavailable everywhere with a 6 month waiting list)

 

[alkemyst]

good post, that quoted one. ^

i DD'd V8's when i was 16 and was done by the time i was 18.

probably not very good ones then.

 

[Eli]

Um, yea.. I'm not liking that at all..

 

[brblx]

probably not very good ones then.

yeah, i was 16 and my daddy gave me a brand new sports car.

of course i was driving dilapidated muscle cars. that's exactly the point- i would much rather have a slow reliable car with amenities as a daily driver than a modified 60-70's muscle car.

if you want a 'good' RWD v8 car now, you need to shell out 40 or 50k (known exceptions: camaro, mustang...and 'good' is debateable). if it's worth it to you to have that v8 for idling through traffic, whatever, but most of use would just do the logical thing and get something more suited to the task.

 

[amdhunter]

This is going to be in the high 30's to 40's I bet.

 

[Viperoni]

So they took an A4 and chopped off the nose and trunk?

 

[PhoKingGuy]

Lexus CT200 is a good choice for a daily driver. Sportier (still just as slow) as a Prius and better looking.

The mid-cycle refresh should be interesting, though it just came out (and is unavailable everywhere with a 6 month waiting list)

You must be the new forum resident Lexus fanboy. I dont know where you are, but they aren't selling at all in OC. Lexus of Newport has a parking lot full of them, same with the HS. Hell i've seen like 4 paper plate Lexus cars in the past 4 months or so since I started commuting (driving about 2 hours and change a day on different freeways in OC and LA).

 

[PhoKingGuy]

good post, that quoted one. ^

i DD'd V8's when i was 16 and was done by the time i was 18.

now my sporty 150hp FWD econocar is plenty adequate. fast and nimble enough to perform any traffic maneuver i could generally want. now, i used to work on mostly 300hp RWD's, and cornering a little harder at speed, and being faster than most cars on the road (or at least faster than their drivers...) definitely has its perks. for bad drivers, fast cars get them into bad situations. having upgraded power, handling, and brakes over most also helps get you out of those situations, though. only taking a couple seconds to accelerate from 35 to 70 sure is nice when that's the speed a lot of the idiots around here like to get on the interstate at. ect ect.

basically i could make perfect due with a 75hp car- if i didn't hate everyone so much because of their bad driving. i can see WANTING a 250-300hp+ car, and that's fine if you can afford it. but i laugh at the people in 40k+ sport/luxury/sportluxury cars that wouldn't even fully utilize a 3cyl geo metro. it's a 35mph offramp, and i'm doing 50 in a FWD. why are you going 20 in your 3 series/IS/G/whatever?

Stolen from insideline RE the 5.0

"Here's what I find most remarkable about the 5.0: it's totally indifferent to class conventions.

Sure we all daydream about the Italian, German and old Detroit metal we'd fill our 10-car garages with. But goose the Mustang throttle in fourth gear for an open lane blast, and you're pretty much impervious to badge envy.

That guy in the 335i might scoff. Might even hang on your tail a little bit. But deep inside, he knows he paid too much for a pretty shell, a lusty keyfob and probably more car than he can handle. While your 5.0 never looks out of sorts at a gooch sushi-ya or steakhouse, his car just can't get comfortable parked in front of a rock club on Sunset Boulevard.

The guy in the CR-V meanwhile, he'll give you a haughty glare. He's responsibly trying to lessen his impact, but there you go lumbering past him with your loud V8, flouting the new reality. You may as well go do some donuts in a strawberry patch and slalom through a litter of kittens.

And that old fella there, driving the S65 with the 11-99 Foundation plate frames? Yep, he makes more money than you. Wants you to know it, too. But don't mind him; he's just bitterstones because you're having the fun of the unwashed and your girlfriend does things his wife won't.

Yep, one day I'd love to house a 911, a 356 and almost anything from Maranello in my garage. And like I imagine those machines also do, the 5.0 never leaves you wanting."

Totally agree, I drive a 2010 Jetta TDI with the GLI suspension swapped into it. Its mindnumbingly boring, and a complete chore to drive. I can't wait to get rid of this thing and into something more suitable.

 

[sjwaste]

Nice looking car. Too bad it's a VW product, which I will never again purchase. It's one thing to buy a somewhat unreliable car as a commuter, but it's an entirely different act of my own stupidity if I ever do it again with such a lousy dealer support network.

Seriously, VW/Audi are the perfect storm of frequent, nickel and dime repairs matched with a horrible set of dealers.

 

[KentState]

yeah, i was 16 and my daddy gave me a brand new sports car.

of course i was driving dilapidated muscle cars. that's exactly the point- i would much rather have a slow reliable car with amenities as a daily driver than a modified 60-70's muscle car.

if you want a 'good' RWD v8 car now, you need to shell out 40 or 50k (known exceptions: camaro, mustang...and 'good' is debateable). if it's worth it to you to have that v8 for idling through traffic, whatever, but most of use would just do the logical thing and get something more suited to the task.

Yeah, it's worth it having a V8 idling in traffic when that's not all I experience with it. I tried doing the two car thing and it cost me more and was a bigger headache than it was worth. I picked a single car that will get me to work safely and comfortably, will be fun at the drag strip, can take a back country road or be flogged on a road course.

 

[OptimumSlinky]

Until Toyota learns what steering feel is, I will never own a Lexus. The IS350 might be dynamically great on paper, but driving it might as well be a video game. Zero steering resistance, zero feedback, zero emotion.

I am hoping Audi will keep it priced in the low to mid-30s, since the A4 now runs low to mid-40s. Just have to wait for the production model.

 

[Imported]

Until Toyota learns what steering feel is, I will never own a Lexus. The IS350 might be dynamically great on paper, but driving it might as well be a video game. Zero steering resistance, zero feedback, zero emotion.

I am hoping Audi will keep it priced in the low to mid-30s, since the A4 now runs low to mid-40s. Just have to wait for the production model.

I also feel the same with Mercedes.. atleast the C350 I drove. Also hoping low-mid 30s for the A3.. wouldn't mind mid-upper 30s for a A3 TDI though.

 

[Zap]

"That guy in the 335i might scoff. Might even hang on your tail a little bit. But deep inside, he knows he paid too much for a pretty shell, a lusty keyfob and probably more car than he can handle. While your 5.0 never looks out of sorts at a gooch sushi-ya or steakhouse, his car just can't get comfortable parked in front of a rock club on Sunset Boulevard."

"Lusty keyfob" LOLOLOL!

 

[BrownShoes]

I like the pics but what I want is the A5.