Faults:

Side bolster of drivers seat has slightly chaffed from my leather belt when getting in/out. Leather was fitted locally, so not sure if it's a quality issue or just lack of conditioner from me.

Watch oil consumption in early engine life (<15,000km 'running in'). And that's it. Nothing else in almost 3 years.

General Comments:

DSG gearbox: An absolute blast if you get the wheel paddles, but you need to get used to NOT using both feet brake/accel like a regular auto - DSG will neutral with near-stationary braking - problem only if you need to escape in bumper to bumper traffic + turbo lag. Once she launches, you can outrun most other cars except the dedicated boy racers/V8's.

Factory sports suspension is awesome, it runs on rails.

Skyroof opening could be larger, 1 press-action open would have been nicer vs. 3.

Despite user manual spec., I didn't get particle filter, so it can be embarrassingly smokey if you blast off, normal driving is OK.

Some torque steer under heavy turbo boost.

My lease is almost up, not sure if I pay it out or trade up for new (lease) look A4 2.7L diesel touring (new A3 looks same as mine).

If you are looking for a 2006 A3, forget the 2.0L multitronic spongecake, try the DSG turbo diesel, or maybe a 2.0TFSI in quattro. Just treat the turbo right with some cool down time before switch off - probably mostly not needed, but I'm old school. You'll pay a premium for Audi badge vs same drivetrain in a VW, but I have no major regrets.

P.s. mileage: highway, between 4.4-5.0 L/100km (up to 55mpg) @ 100-110km/h (~2000rpm); daily 70km mix of equal city/suburban/short freeway blast is rock steady 6.8L/100km (35mpg). 0-100km/h is low 9 seconds... in a DIESEL.

My native instinct would be normally to go 6.0L Chevy in a Commodore (= Vauxhall GTS coupe / Pontiac GTO), but with this A3, I can be 'green' (I hate trains) and still have some fun... p.p.s this is my 16th 'regular' vehicle, so I feel 'qualified' to call it as it is...

Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

I only had my A3 up until a month ago, I owned it from new for a year and a half, and it never gave me any bother.

The 2.0 diesel was a strong performer and returned a very respectable 53MPG on long trips.

The interior in my opinion is best you can get for the price. I do wish I had gone for the more expensive Nappa leather as the standard leather had a rather hard wipe clean type finish.

I only serviced the car once at 18,000 miles and I think the Audi dealer did take advantage when it came to servicing. My first service was over £300 for an oil change, not much else. The brake pads didn’t need changed for another 40,000 miles I was told and the wiper blades for another 30,000 miles. The car was a good example in quality.

My relationship with this car came to an abrupt end, when driving home from a friend’s house with my girlfriend on the M6. A foreign truck sideswiped our car as we were overtaking it in the middle lane, our car hit the safety barrier and bounced back onto the motorway before getting hit passenger side full on by another car, sending our car spinning into another safety barrier protecting a motorway bridge. All 6 airbags had deployed. I was able to escape using my driver’s door, but my girlfriend was trapped until the fire service came. I spent four nights in hospital, and my girlfriend spent 3 weeks in recovery. But I was told by the fire service later that when they approached the scene they didn’t expect anyone to be alive in the vehicle. They were surprised at how well the passenger compartment remained largely intact. I owe our lives to safety technology in my old A3. I get my new Audi A6 in a few weeks time.