Faults:

Within 24 hours an engine warning light came on. Had to kick up a real fuss with Audi, and my complimentary Audi recovery.

At 53000, a turbo pipe fell off. After 2 further breakdowns and 4 people looking at it, it was diagnosed as a crack on the connector to the intercooler.

Seems to drink oil.

General Comments:

This is a great car, handles well, and is a match for most diesel hatches. It's quick, has great torque, and can sit and do 90 in 6th comfortably, and do 40mpg.

Disappointed in the faults I've had in a low mileage car, which being German, I would have expected a bit longer hassle free motoring.

Having been driven in the back (3 door model) - it's not very comfortable, probably OK for kids, as long as they don't get car sick.

The ride is quite low, so some of my "more mature" colleagues struggle to get in and out, but generally I find it fine. I'm 6ft and find my knee starts to seize up at about 2 and half hours.

It's a good looking car, and has put up with me doing 1000 miles a week lately.

Big down side - Audi after sales, have dealt with two Audi dealers; neither were very helpful.

Faults:

I brought my Audi A3 2.0 TDI DSG Sport in July 2007.

After about two months of owning it, the problems started. The car won't start when the engine is cold; it takes about 10 to 15 minutes to start. It will tick over but won't fire up, so I took it back to the Audi dealership (down south in the UK) and they had it for 3 days.

They cleaned the wires, which up didn't work, and they tried all sorts. The sixth time they changed the ECU, which still didn't work.

I am now taking legal advice a year later after the problem started. The dealership manager will not accept the rejection, he has not been no help whatsoever. The rudest man I've ever known.

General Comments:

Apart from the problem, it's a nice car but I would never pay for another Audi.

Faults:

Nothing wrong with it.

Previous owner had headlights and foglights changed because they build up fog. All sorted on warranty. Fog in lights occasionally still there, but disappears after 10 minutes of driving.

Previous owner had it serviced at 16.000km when he bought it from the VAG dealer.

General Comments:

Wonderful car to drive. Due to the S-Line suspension it has a firm setup, but it is not too harsh in any way. Bodycontrol is perfect for a hatch. No specific body roll either. If I drive along bad roads, I feel the bumps etc. but it's just the way it's intended.

The engine is a little weak, but then again it is a 1.6 litre, so what can one expect. It's quite revvy and picks up nicely. A little too noisy though.

Mileage is quite good on highway/expressway, about 15 km / L petrol. In the city or you feel inspired it can go as low as 10 km / L petrol.

The interior is rather nice, with a snug feeling to all switches etc. Audi sure know what they're doing.

Sport seats with good side support, but the seats are a bit too short, I think. I'm 1.84 tall and I have little support for my thighs.

My car is the Ambition and S-Line, so there's enough luxury added to the well built interior.

Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

The car was immaculately presented when new, and after 1 year still looks the same as it did that day.

The interior is comfortable, classy, and well put together.

The engine has plenty of torque. Overtaking is accomplished swiftly and safely, and many other so-called performance cars are left in it's wake.

The DSG gearbox - all cars should be like this. Somewhat faster and just as economical as manual, but smoother, and a lot less effort. If you want to play at Formula 1, there are the "flappy paddles" on the steering wheel! So far totally reliable. Definitely recommended!

The combination of cruise control and the DSG gearbox works particularly well.

Economy - well, an average of 52.4 mpg over 14,000 miles says it all! If you play at Formula 1, you can get down to the low thirty's if you really try!

Servicing - the computer tells me that I'll be due the first service in another 4,500 miles. At 18,500 miles. I don't expect it will be cheap, though. So far I've used 3 litres of Audi's expensive special oil (£13.40/litre). Audi will provide a free insured courtesy car when mine is in for service, I believe.

The downside? Well, it's expensive to buy, but should hold on to its value much better than average.

Left to its own devices, at maximum throttle the DSG geabox will change up at about 4,500 revs which is about 1000 revs too high for this diesel. No performance advantage, just more noise.

But my main complaint - road noise and harshness. Audi say my car meets specification, but I think this partially spoils an otherwise excellent machine. Fortunately, Audi's excellent Concert radio / CD comes to the rescue!

Faults:

After nearly 2 months with the car now, nothing has gone wrong.

General Comments:

The car is seriously quick, the 6-speed gearbox is brilliant.

140BHP is great for pulling away and overtaking on the motorway, this car is great for motorway cruising.

I added the option of an stereo upgrade to the BOSE sound system and trust me, this is great.

The dealer was very helpful when I took the car for its 1,500 mile check, only problem was with the price £155 for a check.

I am 22 and the insurance is pretty cheap for my age.