The Audi A3 has been selected as car of the year by "What Car" magazine.
It is only the second Audi to win the award.
(Full list of class winners here: www.whatcar.com/awards/ )
I must be missing something and I'm sure that the members of the forum will explain it to me, but how is the A3 more highly rated than a VW Golf?
They use the same "MQB" platform underpinnings, same engine, gearboxes, etc. The Golf is cheaper to buy and run, and has a bit more kit IIRC (such as cruise control). So what is it? Resale value? Image? The good old "nicer plastics" argument? Back handers?
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>> I must be missing something and I'm sure that the members of the forum will
>> explain it to me, but how is the A3 more highly rated than a VW
>> Golf?
>>
>> They use the same "MQB" platform underpinnings, same engine, gearboxes, etc. The Golf is cheaper
>> to buy and run, and has a bit more kit IIRC (such as cruise control).
>> So what is it? Resale value? Image? The good old "nicer plastics" argument? Back handers?
The golf is ugly?
It matters not, What Car awards have no cachet.
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The good old "nicer plastics" argument?....
Yes, the motoring press are obsessed with it, a car may be the ultimate all round engineering triumph but if the plastics are remotely shiny and lack the touch feely thing, it will be panned.
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Interesting.
So what makes a car "attractive" then?
If you take the personal needs thing into the equation, for example, it might be the number of potential passengers, economy, cost to run, loadspace, ease of parking, resale value, reliability, length and strength of warraranty or any number of "real life" reasons.
Then again, it could be a style statement, it could be aspiration to a lifestyle signal, it could be a status statement or any number of nebulous reasons.
Looking deep into our souls, what makes a car attractive to the panel. Really now folks, really.
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>> Looking deep into our souls, what makes a car attractive to the panel. Really now
>> folks, really.
Dont ask me, i drive a Lancer estate.
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It is different things to different folk. Some just want a style statement, with the right badge (and soft plastics), others just want white goods on wheels.
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The Audi, of course, is a much better car for tailgating other poor sods in. Maybe that's the decider ?
Ted
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>>.........others just want white goods on wheels.
OO!! My first car was a white Ford, then a green..., then a white Ford, another white Ford and another white Ford which was followed by a silver Ford ( no white available) .
All chosen by me out of my own pocket.
Some folks can be very sensitive :-)
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>> Looking deep into our souls, what makes a car attractive to the panel. Really now folks, really.
The ideal for me is a car that meets both my needs AND my wants. The "Needs" are a car with 5-door practicality and an automatic gearbox. Though I like both cars, I would only feel truly comfortable with something bigger than a Golf, but smaller than a Mondeo.
As for "Wants", I'd just like the car to be aesthetically pleasing to me.
The only car that I can think of right now that ticks all these boxes is the car that I actually drive. I'm luck that ANY car exists that does this, really. If it were better to drive, and was NOT an Audi then it would be perfect!
It's a great shame that the new Mazda 6 won't be coming out as a hatchback. I'd love that.
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>> >> Looking deep into our souls, what makes a car attractive to the panel. Really
>> now folks, really.
Mid size estates would be my ideal, with torquey engines, good supportive seats and good ventilation systems. Floor hinged accelerator. Capable of long journeys and able to handle well around smaller roads too. Strong drivetrain built to last. Good audio as standard, or provision to easily upgrade. Squarish individual looks with small mean looking rear lights. Good ride. Alcantara finish on inside of doors, none of this fancy plastic (it's still plastic at the end of the day).
All this assuming no concessions to emissions and fuel is cheap.
Small estates are thin on the ground, ventilation systems in modern cars are carp compared to the older designs. Cars will never look individual now that efficiency is king. And I don't think they can ever be truly desirable anymore because of that.
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>> Floor hinged accelerator.
??? Hateful things. Had one in a VW Touran, and a sizable stone got caught under it, right in the hinge. Pedal wouldn't move, and it took the skills of a contortionist and the patience of a saint to get it out. I considered myself lucky that the stone didn't wriggle itself in there whilst doing 70 on the M25.
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>>
>> >> Floor hinged accelerator.
>>
>> ??? Hateful things. Had one in a VW Touran, and a sizable stone got caught
>> under it, right in the hinge. Pedal wouldn't move, and it took the skills of
>> a contortionist and the patience of a saint to get it out. I considered myself
>> lucky that the stone didn't wriggle itself in there whilst doing 70 on the M25.
Had the same thing on my Tourvan, (damn thing was an unreliable heap) I just mashed down hard on the pedal and it broke the stone apart!
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I suspected my stone to be a diamond, it felt like the pedal would snap rather than the stone give way. I'd forgotten about the incident till I read corax's post, now that Iv'e recealled it I'm tempted to say that I'll never buy a car with a floor hinged pedal again. Blooming dangerous.
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>> >>
>> >> >> Floor hinged accelerator.
>> >>
>> >> ??? Hateful things. Had one in a VW Touran, and a sizable stone got
How strange to read this here. About 4 years ago now, when I had my MK5 Golf I was coming home from a pub lunch, near Penshurst, when suddenly my car seemed to lose all power and all I could do was creep along at some preposterous speed. I got as far as Chartwell and then decided to crawl to Westerham Hill SEAT garage and present myself fairly late on a hot, Friday afternoon. They took the car straight into their works and removed the pedal assembly and found the offending item, yes, a small stone. Can't remember exactly what they charged but think it was less than £30. I was most grateful for their efficiency and politeness and was on my way again in less than 45 minutes.
I am very careful with my current Golf that when walking on very gravelly surfaces that I don't take bits of grit into the driver's footwell. In othe respects, I lke these hinged gas pedals
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>> I like these hinged gas pedals
>>
Why is that? I can't see a single positive difference in them.
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>>
>> >> I like these hinged gas pedals
>> >>
>>
>> Why is that? I can't see a single positive difference in them.
They act as a footrest - it's stiff enough not to be affected by foot weight. Meaning no ankle ache on long journeys. Conventional pedals are sometimes too light. Meaning you have to hover your foot over the pedal to avoid accelerating which is a PITA.
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>> They act as a footrest - it's stiff enough not to be affected by foot
>> weight. Meaning no ankle ache on long journeys.
Cruise control would be the answer to that, if the car has it.
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>> I am very careful with my current Golf that when walking on very gravelly surfaces
>> that I don't take bits of grit into the driver's footwell. In othe respects, I
>> lke these hinged gas pedals
I used to find a few small stones around the pedal in my BMW when I was cleaning the interior, but nothing that affected operation. Maybe the VAG set up is more prone to it.
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Most Audis are more expensive than the equivalent VWs, but the A3 is only about £100 more. And the A3 will hold its value even better than the Golf, so isn't definitely more expensive overall.
Unsurprisingly any road test comparison between A3 and Golf will be very close - when there's little to choose between them, it isn't unreasonable to give credit to a classy interior, which some customers, not necessarily idiots, do value - after all, they have to sit in it.
So I can see why on balance the A3 just pipped the Golf to the post - but anyone who shops around and gets a better deal on a Golf should go for it.
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Just visit a typical Audi A3 forum and you'll find an answer there. Future or current owners of these new Audis are aspiring, trendy, M&S suited young men who are speccing their company cars upto the hilt to impress, no doubt and so goodness knows what the final cost of some of their new company cars are.
No wonder businesses have such high running costs placating their little boys and girls with their toys.
Do other countries on the continent operate in this way?
Get rid of the company car, or at least only give base models for those who seem to need them to travel the country on, sometimes, unnecessary visitations.
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>> No wonder businesses have such high running costs placating their little boys and girls with
>> their toys.
Ah But - the company car means you can pay them much less, and tax them much more heavily.
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Not all owners of the new A3s are these 'trendy' types. My driving instructor friend has just taken delivery of the new model, and he likes it for the cabin ambience..and reliability and the way it attracts pupils. His previous '09 A3 140 Tdi did 160,000 fault free miles, as did his '06 Golf GT Tdi.
He thinks the A3 cabin is a far, far better place to spend 60k miles a year than the equivalent Golf, or any other similar class of car.
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On a strictly head-over-heart basis the A3 does seem a competetive deal against the Golf.
Little to choose in practicality with the 5 door versions.
For many the higher residuals and 'perceived quality' will tip the balance to Audi.
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Believe me, I like the interior of the new A3 but it is somewhat dearer than the new MK7 Golf but not by that much, i one tries to match the specs.
I sat in the new Golf (GT) the other day. I wanted to sit in the SE as that would be my preferred model and was worried about that metallised finish all over the fascia and door trim.
I was somewhat underwhelmed by it initially, as an owner of the MK6 SE. There is no denying the perceived quality but the interior felt more claustrophobic as the roofline seemed lower and when I lowered the seat the forward vision seemed poor. Also the mirror adjustment knob was at an awkwark angle for operation.
There was an SE version outside the showroom and I peered through the windows and the trim wasn't so garish as I'd imagined it would be, from the photos in the press.
Of course both the A3 and Golf thrust upon us, at an increased price, a lot of gizmos some of which I would be happy to be without or at least available an optional extras.
I would strike of my list, Start/Stop, Tyre Pressure monitoring system and certain other but realise that some of these are so part of the new design it would be impossible to remove them (ebrake being one of these).
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>> Get rid of the company car, or at least only give base models for those
>> who seem to need them to travel the country on, sometimes, unnecessary visitations.
A lot of bitterness in this post.
What difference does it make to you personally whether people have company cars or not? At worst, it ensures a healthy supply of 3 year old cars on the market at a sensible price, and keeps dealer service departments in work.
For us "young men" call it a perk in lieu of a decent pension which no doubt you enjoy, or will enjoy, and which is more than most of us will ever see.
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>> >> Get rid of the company car, or at least only give base models for
>> those
>> >> who seem to need them to travel the country on, sometimes, unnecessary visitations.
>>
>> A lot of bitterness in this post.
>>
Me, bitter? Not not at all and if anything there is bitterness in your reply wrt to pensions etc. I certainly wouldn't want to take possession of a 3 year old car owned by a rep or traveller, as we used to call them in the years before perhaps you were even thought of.
No, I just don't see the point is speccing up a car, such as the Golf or Audi to ridiculous heights. Yes, I don't understand the company car ethic; never have and never will but do realise that there seems to be a lot of caché in having special sound systems and all the other extras that they tempt you with and especially if you want to outdo your fellow colleagues in the workplace.
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>> Me, bitter? Not not at all and if anything there is bitterness in your reply
>> wrt to pensions etc. I certainly wouldn't want to take possession of a 3 year
>> old car owned by a rep or traveller, as we used to call them in
>> the years before perhaps you were even thought of.
Maybe bitter was a tad harsh, but remarks such as "Get rid of the company car" and "placating their little boys and girls with their toys" come across as rather angry when I cannot possibly imagine what negative effect such company vehicles have on you personally.
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Are you M&S suited DP?
Good value no nonsense clothing :)
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I have one suit to my name, which did come from M&S as it happens thanks to my mother-in-law's lifetime discount as a former member of staff.
Worn it twice since the interview for this job that I bought it for 18 months ago. :-)
Very good value at 20% off :-)
Last edited by: DP on Tue 15 Jan 13 at 16:28
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I wonder if you can tick a box to get it to do this:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEh7qIon36s&feature=youtube_gdata_player
I'd buy one :-). Imagine the fun you could have with the parking companies when they write to the registered keeper asking who was driving ;-)
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We should have a C4P COTY award.
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>> We should have a C4P COTY award.
>>
Only if Audi and BMW drivers were disbarred from voting.
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It might be the only award that the Mitsubishi Lancer had a chance of winning. Ever.
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But on here there seems to be a bias towards the Mondeo unfortunately. The Mondeo MkIII is over-rated. And before the internal face-lift was even worse. I got it when they improved the interior. But won't say it's the best Mondeo ever let alone one of the best cars.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Mon 14 Jan 13 at 23:32
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>> It might be the only award that the Mitsubishi Lancer had a chance of winning.
>> Ever.
>
And well deserved, what an unsung hero it is.
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I know it's the later model, but there's a whole page of 'accolades' awarded to the Lancer on Mitsubishis's NA website:
www.mitsubishicars.com/MMNA/jsp/lancer/12/accolades.do
:-)
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Audi - Audi gets COTY Award - Who would have thunk it - Zero
