[Fudgefactor]

Festive greetings to one and all

Having signed-out of my Hotmail earlier today, MSN presented me with an article called "The most disappointing cars of 2012"See page 10 here:
http://cars.uk.msn.com/features/the-most-disappointing-cars-of-2012#image=10

What d'ya fink?

Happy New Year!


Edited by: Fudgefactor

 

[reilsab]

An opinion is like a prison, you don't if it's best to give or to receive

My last car was a 3 series which everybody raved about but i couldn't see what all the fuss was about!

I love my q3, had many positive comments about it but i own mine and pay for it with my hard earned. Motoring Journalists go for a quick spin foc and write a load of drivel imo. Been a while since i bought any of the so called expert magazines to decide what i want to spend my money on, owner reviews are much more valuable.

 

[Contrition]

The article is written by CJ Hubbard, read a few more of his pieces and you will get a good feel for him. For me the Q3 does exactly what I want it to do, is just the right size for town whilst cruising happily on the motorway. It's listed as one of the top 10 cars of 2012 for maintaining its value and having had it for 3 months now I think given the choice all over again I'd buy another, how I feel in a couple of years remains to be seen but time will tell.

 

[Jules]

Agreed - I don't take any of them seriously - especially when you explore further from that MSN link and see what cars the Journos have for themselves!
My favourite is the Long-Term tester of the RR Evoque in Auto Express - he's got a £40k car (that he didn't buy) that's doing 30 to the gallon (diesel) - and he still says what a wonderful car it is!
Take the opinions of those who have paid their own cash, and buy their own fuel....
Edited by: Jules

 

[rontheman]

Agreed that it is the day to day drivers who judge. Among his other worst cars is the Citroen C3, which most other reviewers seem to love. Have had my car (Q3 TDi SEStronic)for 4 months now and absolutely love it. Runs well, not the best on fuel (average around 35-40mpg) imho, but handles well and makes me happy when I drive it. Isn't that what it's all about?

 

[Dinkum]

There is a point to what he says though. If you opted for a straight forward Q3 SE, and don't splash out on optional extras, it is a rather dull and basic vehicle. And even then they got some things wrong. Most of us have spend anything between £2,000 and £10,000 on optional extras and it is that which makes the car exciting.

But you can't get away from the mirrors that don't fold on locking, a small glove box for the size of car, limited storage, limited lighting internally and other niggles.

As for build quality, we have seen a number of threads on here that show they are not living up to their reputation on build quality either. And they also seem to be losing the customer service battle at the dealers too.

Audi seems to have lost its way and my experience of buying the Q3 was not matched by my previous purchases from Audi.

 

[SeaBox]

There is a point to what he says though. If you opted for a straight forward Q3 SE, and don't splash out on optional extras, it is a rather dull and basic vehicle. And even then they got some things wrong. Most of us have spend anything between £2,000 and £10,000 on optional extras and it is that which makes the car exciting.

But you can't get away from the mirrors that don't fold on locking, a small glove box for the size of car, limited storage, limited lighting internally and other niggles.

As for build quality, we have seen a number of threads on here that show they are not living up to their reputation on build quality either. And they also seem to be losing the customer service battle at the dealers too.

Audi seems to have lost its way and my experience of buying the Q3 was not matched by my previous purchases from Audi.

I disagree that the SE is dull and basic, it is very well specified for example a Golf Mk7 2.0 TDi SE is nearly the same price when specced up to the same as a base Q3 SE with SD nav. We wanted a quality family car and once we found Q3, little else matched. The S line, although it has some nice details, added nothing of any practical use for a family (half leather we saw as a disadvantage). We only paid just over £24k for our Q3 and when compared with the competition at that price range, nothing else matched for quality, spec and ownership experience.

 

[reilsab]

There is a really basic version Audi sell in other markets which we don't get though, i don't think it even comes with climate, alloys or the pop up screen so we shouldn't complain

Options must be a great money earner for any manufacturer, also dealer encourages you to buy them then tells you they don't add any value a few years down the line.

 

[Daniel TD5]

All I would add is they have to do a list which was based on one writers comments not a true reflection of the car

I have the base model paid for it in full and I can find any fault apart from the spare wheel which I can't under stand why
The space savers are not standard across the range

 

[SeaBox]

All I would add is they have to do a list which was based on one writers comments not a true reflection of the car

I have the base model paid for it in full and I can find any fault apart from the spare wheel which I can't under stand why
The space savers are not standard across the range

I wouldn't want the space saver, I'd rather have the extra boot space, it's good to have the choice.

 

[SteveW]

Totally agree with Dinkum.

The Q3 is a let down unfortunately. Audi has failed to deliver on this one compared to other models IMO. This is my 3rd Audi, the Q5 will be my 4th. Roll on March.... Auto door mirrors, pop up screen gone, power tailgate, luxurious interior, no more fumbling around in the cabin at night due to lack of interior lighting... Sorry!!

 

[SteveW]

Oh and at least some sort of spare wheel as standard!

 

[SemiQ]

Come on guys.. This is getting ridiculous!

I can somehow understand the complaints about the not folding door mirrors - but too small glow box and limited interior lightning..

SteveW, why you didn't opt for led interior light package if you consider that there is not enough light for your needs? I have the led interior light package and I can't possibly consider that I would need any more light!

Same applies for glow box size and limited storage space..

Why you just didn't' go for Q5 at the first place if the storage space is an issue for you? At least I made some considerations, which model suites best for my needs - before I actually made my order. Q3 was clearly the best option for us. There is even enough space for large strollers and child's car seat. No problems at all..

..and the glove box.. It's a GLOVE box – for God's sake!

Furthermore, I'm truly sorry that you didn't bother to read the car specifications and options list carefully enough to notice that you might also opt for a spare wheel (by the way the tyre repair kit is an option instead of spare wheel in some countries).

Finally, what comes to the not folding door mirrors, the information about the actual functioning have been available well before you made your order. Why you just not left it off as an option if you don't' like how it functions.

If I could go back in time I would select Q3 again – no doubt at all!

 

[SteveW]

You would have thought that spending over 30k you'd have enough light to get the baby in and out of the car seat as standard Semi. In my case (and many others), the dealer didn't advise that there was actually no spare wheel at all. As we all know and agree, having an optional spare wheel for a vehicle like the Q3 is absolute nonsense.
Opinions are based on experience. I've owned Audis and the Q3 doesn't live up to them. May I ask what you have owned in the past?

 

[reilsab]

There aint no such thing as a perfect car, every one has niggles and things you wish you could change. You spend a lot of money on these things so if you're really not happy then change it. It's only a car, not something to loose sleep over.

There will be people out there today having to make more difficult decisions with bigger worries than having to press down a screen or god forbid roll down the window to pull in a mirror!

People on here have it tough!

 

[SeaBox]

Come on guys.. This is getting ridiculous!

I can somehow understand the complaints about the not folding door mirrors - but too small glow box and limited interior lightning..

SteveW, why you didn't opt for led interior light package if you consider that there is not enough light for your needs? I have the led interior light package and I can't possibly consider that I would need any more light!

Same applies for glow box size and limited storage space..

Why you just didn't' go for Q5 at the first place if the storage space is an issue for you? At least I made some considerations, which model suites best for my needs - before I actually made my order. Q3 was clearly the best option for us. There is even enough space for large strollers and child's car seat. No problems at all..

..and the glove box.. It's a GLOVE box – for God's sake!

Furthermore, I'm truly sorry that you didn't bother to read the car specifications and options list carefully enough to notice that you might also opt for a spare wheel (by the way the tyre repair kit is an option instead of spare wheel in some countries).

Finally, what comes to the not folding door mirrors, the information about the actual functioning have been available well before you made your order. Why you just not left it off as an option if you don't' like how it functions.

If I could go back in time I would select Q3 again – no doubt at all!

I agree with all of this, there are loads of cars these days with no spare and I would prefer the extra boot space that we get by not having the spare. All the information is available before purchase and we love our Q3 and would buy one again. For us the Q5 is too big, more expensive to buy and run and therefore although we looked at one we dismissed it quickly.
Each to their own but I don't see the point in coming onto this forum to point out the Q3s shortcomings when most who are reading have Q3s - what are you trying to achieve?
Good luck with your Q5, I hope it meets your expectations.

 

[SteveW]

The forum is for Q3 owners to discuss their experiences. It is also for potential buyers to do research.
Apologies for posting the Q3 shortcomings (just in my humble opinion) on this particular forum, I've made a mistake and I should have put these on the Tiguain forum to avoid hurting anyone's feelings. Do you have a link?

 

[reilsab]

I think the problem Steve is you're pointing out flaws and expecting the bigger Q5 to fix them all. It'll have some annoying querks (as dealers like to call them) which you'll also be annoyed at. Sadly some people take strong offence to comments made about things they have spend their cash on.

All cars have their good and bad, just pointing out the bad is easy. Google any car and you can read about the bad stuff, there must be something positive you liked about it. Or mayby not

 

[Jules]

I must admit to holding back from biting on a few comments made here - Such as huge debates about the nightmare that is mirrors that don't fold themselves away, for example...
The Q3 is not a big car, and comes at a reasonably chunky price - but as SemiQ points out, when spending this much money, you owe it to yourself to research the car and make sure the positives outweigh the negatives. If you want a hand-built car that ticks all the boxes, you're in the wrong market when looking at Audi, or most other makes south of Bentley/Rolls to be honest.
I also don't see the point of coming on to a site about Q3s and basically saying that it's no good and I've got a Q5 because I thought the Q3 was a bit small. I believe most People here have a Q3 in their budget, and not a Q5!
There are some valid complaint points - yes the glovebox is a bit small, the boot a bit dark - but I drove upwards of 20 different vehicles when making my choice - and after a few days, each one had a few niggles - I still rate the Q3 as the best choice, for the money I had to pay.
We're not here to criticise, but advise, on the whole.

 

[Mark67]

Hi Steve
I presume you have cranked up the interior lights to Max in the mmi settings?