Shopping for a Volvo C30 and I want a well equipped one. Realizing my price range is now into the Audi A3 territory. I hear newish Audis are actually fairly reliable. But i think the C30 might win in overall reliability?
Shopping for a Volvo C30 and I want a well equipped one. Realizing my price range is now into the Audi A3 territory. I hear newish Audis are actually fairly reliable. But i think the C30 might win in overall reliability?
The A3 is basically an upmarket VW Golf with available Haldex AWD. I would skip the AWD because all the Haldex cars I've driven/worked on seemed like more trouble than the system was worth, but opinions may differ there. Basically if you want a Golf with Audi badges, it's the car for you. That being said you can option a Golf up to be just as nice as the A3, so AWD is really the only reason to have one.
Ahh, ok. Well all the Golfs I've known have really fallen apart over the years. Maybe my friends have been unlucky, put unfortunately it's the impression I got.
We replaced Mrs. motomoron's B5 A4Q manual/2.8 30v w/ a '12 A3 FWD manual 2.0 TFSI. It's a fun car to drive, build quality is nice, but not old school Audi vault like.
They seem nice. Just drive one.. Is this DSG prne to failure like the VWs? Consumer reports say Audi is like the third most reliable car maker. That makes me want to get one over the c30.
In reply to Coldsnap:
The DSG is exactly the same as one you would find in a VW. Same company making them. Also, you will find Consumer Reports isn't very well trusted on this board. I would go with the Volvo because they don't have the DI carbon fouling issues that the VW/Audi TSI motors are known for developing with repeated short trips.
pointofdeparture wrote: In reply to Coldsnap: The DSG is exactly the same as one you would find in a VW. Same company making them. Also, you will find Consumer Reports isn't very well trusted on this board. I would go with the Volvo because they don't have the DI carbon fouling issues that the VW/Audi TSI motors are known for developing with repeated short trips.
Yea, that's sound advice. Volvo keeps winning. I like the c30.. think that's the one. I even turned my friend around on one, he was pinning for the BMW 1 series or a G37. But after test driving all three back to back he said the C30 was a lot more fun than expected and it's the best car for where I'm at..
In reply to Coldsnap:
I test drove a C30 before buying an A3 (manual/sport)back in '11. The Volvo drove like a Volvo - slow steering, mushy pedals & heavy feeling; not sporty at all. I wanted to like the Volvo but found it lacking.
Neither is as fun or sporty as a MINI Cooper S, which you may want to consider as well.
As far as reliability - the A3's been decent over 95K. Had the intake manifold replaced under warranty at ~60K, a coil at ~75K and a valve cleaning at ~85K. Not perfect but not terrible either.
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