New Car Time - goodbye FR-V

[frv]

I've been looking into a new car for a while and have considered PHEV's (like the Mitsubishi Outlander I test drove), regular hybrids like a Toyota Auris estate and non-hybrid petrol yet frugal cars.

After much research, this weekend I had a test drive in a manual and an auto Audi A3 Sportback 1.4 TFSI SE 150 CoD and have ordered a new S Tronic version with start/stop. I've been looking for a second hand one for a while and couldn't get the spec I wanted for the right price so I used carwow.co.uk and drivethedeal.com to find out the best price on the internet and used that as bargaining tool! Managed to get £2,500 off list price plus a few extras so now waiting for May/June to collect it. They've even given me a higher Part-ex value than I was hoping for the FR-V.

I've gone back to petrol after 11 years of diesel ownership for a number of reasons - I'm only driving about 7,500 miles a year now, I wanted to steer clear of DPF's and the petrol version was cheaper (about £1400 less than equivalent diesel).

The one I've gone for has Cylinder on Demand technology. "Capable of making a near seamless switch between two cylinder and four cylinder operation in as little as 13 milliseconds, the advanced new petrol-powered models can cruise ultra-frugally, but also immediately draw on 150bhp when required, so despite their dramatic economy gains they remain very much on the pace."

Official combined fuel economy figure is 58.9mpg.

This will also be my first auto and although ultimately I may lose a bit of mpg compared to a manual in a hypermiler's hands I'm hoping it will make for a much easier drive in the traffic I encounter on my commute home and my left knee won't give me as much trouble .
On my test drive in the S Tronic when I lifted off the accelerator it automatically dropped out of gear into a cruise mode and a display showed it was running in 2-cylinder mode - nice!

It will look similar to this one I drove but my wheels are 16" not 17" as I wanted a more comfortable ride than the Sport and a quieter ride than the S-Line:

audi a3 sportback.jpg (128.24 KiB) Viewed 20891 times

[Karl]

Great choice there Gord - you'll be loving the autobox in no time at all.

Interesting to see that you've opted for the petrol, there seems to be another huge swing back as DPF issues, price and increasing MPG figures prop them up.

Look forward to hearing what it can achieve!

[frv]

Cheers Karl

It's amazing, there was even a road side sign in Sheffield this morning saying: "Drive petrol not diesel".

I can't see me beating the NEDC in the Audi like I do in the FR-V as it has stop/start, coasting mode on lift-off accelerator, etc. so a lot of what I do manually is built into the manufacturer's figures but I'll be happy with 50+ mpg.

If I reach the combined figure of 58.9mpg I'll be very happy

For a lot of people diesel will still be the right choice as long as they "do the miles" and have some decent long runs.

[Karl]

It'll certainly make for an interesting read. The headline MPG figures are often unobtainable but I'm sure you'll give it a go. Loon forward to seeing how you work round all the fuel saving tech.

I was looking to change the C for something a bit bigger and really struggled to find anything bigger by BMW, Audi or Volvo with a petrol engine that didn't do 60 in 4 seconds.


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[tighterse]

Next door to the grandweans is the VW Golf Estate version of the 1.4 2/4 cylinder A3 in red. Very nice looking car. The man who drives it claims around 40 mpg but that is mainly driving into and out of Edinburgh including the bypass mobile car park between 8 and 9 and 5 and 6. If it can manage 40 mpg in those conditions the upper 50s should be a doddle for you. He and his wife are keen cyclists and both bikes can fit in the car with the back seats down.

I'll have to do some investigating if he's around this weekend and might even cadge a wee hurl in it.

[frv]

That sounds interesting! Just had a look and it's a bit bigger and heavier than the A3 Sportback so combined figure is 2.4mpg lower (-4%) at 56.5 for the auto (DSG) and even lower for the manual at 53.3 (-10.5%) and car tax is £30 for auto and £110 for manual instead of £20 in the A3.
I'm hoping I can get my bike in the back without taking the front wheel off, I can do it in the FR-V but it's a bit wider.
Do you know which gearbox he's got TE?

[tighterse]

All I know is that it is the VW version of the one you are getting. Last weekend I noticed him putting the bikes in the car but he took the front wheels off (quick release). He also has a net stretched over the bikes to keep them secure. If I am down there this weekend and he's about I'll be nosey.

[IanLorenc]

The one I've gone for has Cylinder on Demand technology. "Capable of making a near seamless switch between two cylinder and four cylinder operation in as little as 13 milliseconds, the advanced new petrol-powered models can cruise ultra-frugally

Now, you know I'm very interested in things like that!

[Smithsk71]

That's a great choice Gordon, if I was going to change our Touran that's the sort of thing I'd look for. I really like the Golf but to get the CoD engine you have to go up the spec to a GT with 17" wheels and lose the comfort, whereas Audi have it on the SE which is plenty enough on the trim front.

Will be very interested to read your review.

[frv]

Thanks guys, just waiting for a firm delivery date.....