Audi A3
Audi A3 Sportback 35 TFSI and EribaThis is the first petrol towcar I've used with a caravan and I was a bit concerned with making the swap form diesel. After a diesel Touran and Yeti the Audi A3 petrol is a revelation. towing a 1200kg Triton [not 1000kg as above] I get the same economy figures with a lot more go. 37mpg running light down to 32mpg fully loaded are typical figures. The car [manual] will sit in 6th on cruise control with the van no problem. My previous diesels with the same torque could not manage this. The petrol engine is far more flexible. The boot is deceptively large, even with a spacesaver wheel. As a towcar it is suprisingly stable and solo good fun to drive, but if you are sensible/boring high 60's mpg are possible on a long motorway run sticking to 56mph. The interior is a very nice place to be in, although the leather seats did take a few thousand miles to break in.
If you have a lightweight van then this car has to be a car to consider that you would easily have ignored.
Audi A3 Sportback 2.0 TDI and EribaI bought the Audi as a replacement for a 1.8 TDI C-Max. Children have flown and we wanted a compact car with enough power to pull the van. On that score it doesn't disappoint, very economical both solo & towing compared to the Ford. I am a little worried about the robustness of the clutch. It had to be replaced at 17,000 miles. I bought the car with 14000 miles on so have no idea how it was driven before that & I hadn't towed the van more than 200 yards with the car before it went so I'm confident it wasn't towing that caused it.
As a compact tow car it appears (clutch worries aside) excellent. For the two of us it's a comfortable car to drive and you can almost forget you're towing something (but so could you with the Ford C-Max).
The only downside is that after a few of the higher 'family' type cars like the C-Max the Audi is very low so getting in and out took a bit of getting used to (it's OK now I've got used to it, but perhaps it's designed for younger folk than us).
I won't be getting another one, but that's not because of it's towing ability, which is absolutely great. The Audi main dealer experience was so terrible & expensive I don't really want to support the brand.
Audi A3 Sportback 2.0 TDI [DSG] and AvondaleThe Audi A3 tows very well with the automatic coping well with most situations, although it is sometimes handy to manually change gear at roundabouts and steel declines.
The Avondale Dart is usually fully loaded but I find running the tyres at 50psi reduces the tendency to pitch. The Audi is run at 39 all round. Seems a good match.
Audi A3 2.0 TDI and Acehonestly no complaints about this outfit. Towed all the way from salford to manchester and no trouble apart from when i picked the mother in law up who was thumbing a lift well this changed things the whole outfit shook and it made the engine spragg and splutter but who cares a good tow
Audi A3 2.0 TDI and CoachmanI have been really pleased with the Audi A3. Lots of power and good fuel consumption - when towing and with a couple of bikes on the roof.
I was initially concerned at the low kerb weight of the Audi as stated on this site but in the boot of the car is the Audi's actual kerb side weight with optional extras and this states the weight as being 1444kg. This brings the percentage to 83%.
The sports suspension and low profile tyres also give very good stability.
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