Its time to move on..

[richtung]

With our wedding just round the corner and casting our minds into the future and thinking about kids, the Mrs and i have decided we need an daily family car.
Naturally, i insisted im keeping the ED30 and it was agreed we were trading in her 2 Door POS 1.4 Corsa. 

My Mrs isnt the best of drivers and doesnt feel confident in driving a large car - Passat/A4 /Mondeo sort of size.
We do less than 20 miles a day to/from work so cant really justify the cost of a diesel.
I want to stay in the VAG family but dont want another Golf - nothing wrong with the ED30 but faniced something a bit different.

We have a budget of perhaps £12k (inc her Corsa as trade in) so was looking at:

2009/ 2010 Audi A3 Sportback - (am i right in saying these are ever so slightly bigger than the Golf?)
1.4 TFSI
S-Tronic - The Mrs doesnt get on with manual gearbox plus i love DSG too much!
S-Line

Does anyone own the A3 with the 1.4 TFSI engine? Is there any major problems know about this engine? Whats the real world fuel consumption like?

Also, i'm open to suggestions from fellow members - maybe point me in the direction of something i hadn't considered..

Thanks in advance!

Rich

[Frenzy]

a quick look online suggests that an A3 sportback is a bit bigger than a golf, at least in the luggage department, with boot space on the A3 sportback coming in at 380 litres vs the golfs (mk5 & mk6) 350 litres.

However the new Mk7 Golf GTI has an equal sized boot space of 380 litres.

dunno about any of your other points, other than i wouldn't be seen dead driving a mondeo (as decent a car as they are) 

[cobz]

My missus parents have an A3 Sportback. Side by side to my Mk5, it's definitely slightly bigger in the boot and it feels like there is more leg room in the A3 at the back (although I sit very far back so might not be a fair comment for the GTI).

I have driven a 1.4TFSi and it isn't something that you will be dissapointed with. Especially over a 1.4 Corsa! Good choice for your money anyway

[rdfcpete]

...(am i right in saying these are ever so slightly bigger than the Golf?)

Check this out Rich.

I wouldn't be so sure, in that - in my MK5 Golf GTI I could fit my golf bag with clubs in, into the boot nicely, whereas in my MY10 A3 Black Edition it's the tightest squeze possible which suggests the boot is an inch or two shorter. Mine is a 3 door though, bear in mind but certainly check the dimensions with a little test to ensure you're happy based on what I've found  

P.S. I've heard you have to drive the 1.4 TSI very very gently to get anywhere near the VAG claimed MPG combined figures - you might be lucky.
Check out the oil usage too which was an issue on some blocks.

[richtung]

However the new Mk7 Golf GTI has an equal sized boot space of 380 litres.

dunno about any of your other points, other than i wouldn't be seen dead driving a mondeo (as decent a car as they are) 

Would love a MK7 GTI but way over our budget!
No Mondeo for us either!! I would even sau the A3 S-Line is a step up from the ED30 (interior wise).

My missus parents have an A3 Sportback. Side by side to my Mk5, it's definitely slightly bigger in the boot and it feels like there is more leg room in the A3 at the back (although I sit very far back so might not be a fair comment for the GTI).

I have driven a 1.4TFSi and it isn't something that you will be dissapointed with. Especially over a 1.4 Corsa! Good choice for your money anyway

I am the tallest in our household at 5'6 so leg room is very rarely an issue!
Good to hear about the 1.4 TFSI! From my initial research the 1.6 (NA) engine should be avoided as it feels underpowered.

...(am i right in saying these are ever so slightly bigger than the Golf?)

I wouldn't be so sure, in that - in my MK5 Golf GTI I could fit my golf bag with clubs in, into the boot nicely, whereas in my MY10 A3 Black Edition it's the tightest squeze possible which suggests the boot is an inch or two shorter. Mine is a 3 door though, bear in mind but certainly check the dimensions with a little test to ensure you're happy based on what I've found 

I think the 5 Door Sportback's boot is longer than the 3 door A3 but will definitely compare the 2 - Have to think about a boot with pram and shopping (for the future).

Thanks for the input guys!

Rich

[Janner_Sy]

get a VW Touran. 

Would touch a 1.4TFSI if you want reliability

[tony_danza]

If you're having a family, I'd seriously consider a bigger A4/3series sized estate - you'll struggle with a hatchback.

Modern buggies are huge, then add associated baby tat, shopping etc. It's staggering!

[WolverineMAc]

Wife has a touran loves it. It's does not feel much bigger than the golf to drive however is massive on the inside

[Frenzy]

If you're having a family, I'd seriously consider a bigger A4/3series sized estate - you'll struggle with a hatchback.

Modern buggies are huge, then add associated baby tat, shopping etc. It's staggering!

Hmm not necessarily. Our lad's buggy fits fine plus all our stuff and his toys, balance bike, etc he needs to take with him if we are going away. There's also a 2nd car seat in our GTI now as our 2nd child is due any day now.

So far no struggle. Obviously in 6 months time i'll be on here looking for advice about buying a Touran 

 

[Tortaruga]

Why do people need so much crap when they have a kid? It's madness...what has changed since the 70's??

[rdfcpete]

Does it have to be petrol Rich?

A 1.8T A4 avant or similar might give you plenty of space with 40mpg and a bit of poke.

Personally I'd take the 2.0TDI of any flavour over the smaller petrol units that VAG offer, unless it's a particularly smaller/lighter car which doesn't seem to be what you're looking for 

[TANNER]

I'll be interested in following the replies on this. My missus is after exactly the same in red!
Also having the tdi/petrol unit debate with myself!

[tony_danza]

If you're having a family, I'd seriously consider a bigger A4/3series sized estate - you'll struggle with a hatchback.

Modern buggies are huge, then add associated baby tat, shopping etc. It's staggering!

Hmm not necessarily. Our lad's buggy fits fine plus all our stuff and his toys, balance bike, etc he needs to take with him if we are going away. There's also a 2nd car seat in our GTI now as our 2nd child is due any day now.

So far no struggle. Obviously in 6 months time i'll be on here looking for advice about buying a Touran  

 

Ok, what I should have said was whilst you can cope with a hatch, an estate makes life sooooo much easier. Bigger rear doors for manouvering kids into, loads of legroom so they don't kick your seatbacks, not having to play boot Tetris and unpacking half to retrieve something they want half way through a journey... big, comfy, eat motorway miles for holidays and generally depreciate like a rotting peach years 0-3 so can be had very cheap for what is usually a very plush high spec car.

I've got a 2.5 year old and an 8 week old, we can fill an A6 Avant with ease!  

As much as I love my M135i, if it's a family day, I walk straight past it to the Audi.

[Beddie]

I'm with Mike on having a 'longer' car is a big plus where kids are involved, I'm 6' and the wife is 6'2" so one of us is always in line for hours of seat kicking from our little cherub 

[sub39h]

I had an A3 with the 1.6MPI engine and it wasn't totally awful but I drove a 1.4T courtesy car and it was much better. There's only 15bhp or so different, but the 1.4T is a much more modern engine and it feels it - far more torquey and responsive. The down side is that it is very diesel sounding, more so than a 2.0T I think.

Both of my A3s have been 3 doors, but my fiancee has a Sportback at present. I'm not overly convinced you'll feel much of a difference in practicality between an 8P A3 Sportback and a 5 door Golf Mk5/6.

I really love 8Ps but I'm genuinely not convinced that they are better than a Mk6 Golf. The interior is definitely better in terms of fit and finish than a Mk5, but the Mk6 runs it much closer. The real advantage of the Mk5/6 however is the infotainment systems. FIS is better than Audi's DIS, the multi function steering wheel is far better in terms of functionality and RNS-510 is leagues ahead of RNS-E. RNS-E is also far more stealable because it comes out with 4 keys rather than needing to unscrew the top of the dash in the Golf. 

Additionally, if the 8P is meant to be a family car it's worth considering that the 8P only had a 4-star NCAP safety rating to the Mk6's 5 star.