Car Hire Lottery
- NotoriousREV
- Posts: 6437
- Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2018 4:14 pm
Car Hire Lottery
Booked: Golf or similar
Got: Audi A3 30 TFSI. Nice looking car. Surprisingly the boot isn’t as big as our 4 series convertible. It’s slow. Below 2500 rpm it’s got zero power and the turbo lag at any speed is dreadful. Turns out it’s a 1.0 litre turbo 3 pot with 116bhp and 0-60 in 9.9. Ruins an otherwise nice car. It does sound quite nice when you thrash it, though.
Got: Audi A3 30 TFSI. Nice looking car. Surprisingly the boot isn’t as big as our 4 series convertible. It’s slow. Below 2500 rpm it’s got zero power and the turbo lag at any speed is dreadful. Turns out it’s a 1.0 litre turbo 3 pot with 116bhp and 0-60 in 9.9. Ruins an otherwise nice car. It does sound quite nice when you thrash it, though.
Middle-aged Dirtbag
Re: Car Hire Lottery
To be fair, as a 'Golf or similar' that's about as on the money as you can get, short of specifying the actual car.
The artist formerly known as _Who_
Re: Car Hire Lottery
So basically you need to drive it everywhere with the throttle pinned to the floor?NotoriousREV wrote: ↑Tue Oct 29, 2019 7:47 am Booked: Golf or similar
Got: Audi A3 30 TFSI. Nice looking car. Surprisingly the boot isn’t as big as our 4 series convertible. It’s slow. Below 2500 rpm it’s got zero power and the turbo lag at any speed is dreadful. Turns out it’s a 1.0 litre turbo 3 pot with 116bhp and 0-60 in 9.9. Ruins an otherwise nice car. It does sound quite nice when you thrash it, though.
- NotoriousREV
- Posts: 6437
- Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2018 4:14 pm
Re: Car Hire Lottery
Yes. But it doesn’t actually accelerate.Beany wrote: ↑Tue Oct 29, 2019 9:21 amSo basically you need to drive it everywhere with the throttle pinned to the floor?NotoriousREV wrote: ↑Tue Oct 29, 2019 7:47 am Booked: Golf or similar
Got: Audi A3 30 TFSI. Nice looking car. Surprisingly the boot isn’t as big as our 4 series convertible. It’s slow. Below 2500 rpm it’s got zero power and the turbo lag at any speed is dreadful. Turns out it’s a 1.0 litre turbo 3 pot with 116bhp and 0-60 in 9.9. Ruins an otherwise nice car. It does sound quite nice when you thrash it, though.
Middle-aged Dirtbag
- NotoriousREV
- Posts: 6437
- Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2018 4:14 pm
Re: Car Hire Lottery
They tried to upsell me to a BMW X2, firstly by asking if we had a lot of luggage (we didn’t) and then by telling me that the BMW came with sat nav but the A3 didn’t. The A3 did have sat nav after all. Lying bitch. The upgrade cost was more than I’d paid for the A3.
Middle-aged Dirtbag
Re: Car Hire Lottery
In principle I like that sound of that engine. It would be great in a wee supermini or even a hybrid. Doesn't make any sense in a car as big as an A3 though.NotoriousREV wrote: ↑Tue Oct 29, 2019 7:47 am Booked: Golf or similar
Got: Audi A3 30 TFSI. Nice looking car. Surprisingly the boot isn’t as big as our 4 series convertible. It’s slow. Below 2500 rpm it’s got zero power and the turbo lag at any speed is dreadful. Turns out it’s a 1.0 litre turbo 3 pot with 116bhp and 0-60 in 9.9. Ruins an otherwise nice car. It does sound quite nice when you thrash it, though.
Car makers are getting too focused on headline numbers and not thinking about how the engine actually makes it's power.
An absolute unit
Re: Car Hire Lottery
You should have played stupid and asked to see what the BMW X2 is, then promptly projectile vomited over it upon laying eyes on it.NotoriousREV wrote: ↑Tue Oct 29, 2019 10:22 am They tried to upsell me to a BMW X2, firstly by asking if we had a lot of luggage (we didn’t) and then by telling me that the BMW came with sat nav but the A3 didn’t. The A3 did have sat nav after all. Lying bitch. The upgrade cost was more than I’d paid for the A3.
How about not having a sig at all?
Re: Car Hire Lottery
I don’t think 0-60 in 9.9 is that bad but maybe if you’re buying a new A3 which costs £20k? Then that’s a bit shit in 2019!
How about not having a sig at all?
- NotoriousREV
- Posts: 6437
- Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2018 4:14 pm
Re: Car Hire Lottery
When I say zero power below 2.5k rpm, I’m not exaggerating. Pulling out of junctions, rolling at 10mph in 2nd gear, push your foot to the floor and NOTHING HAPPENS!
Middle-aged Dirtbag
Re: Car Hire Lottery
So use first.
imagine it's a K12 Micra (it's probably got about the same power to weight).
imagine it's a K12 Micra (it's probably got about the same power to weight).
- NotoriousREV
- Posts: 6437
- Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2018 4:14 pm
Re: Car Hire Lottery
Yes, obviously use first. But you shouldn’t have to in a modern car. A naturally aspirated 1.6 with the same power would be so much nicer to drive.
Middle-aged Dirtbag
Re: Car Hire Lottery
Same engine as in the Up GTi. Even in that you can get caught out off boost.
Slightly less weight to hoof around though I bet an A3 is a good 300kg more than the Up....
Slightly less weight to hoof around though I bet an A3 is a good 300kg more than the Up....
Re: Car Hire Lottery
Quick google suggests you're not far off the mark with that - around 950 vs between 1200-1570kg (although the higher numbers would obviously be quattro, not hire car spec, models)
I can remember having a passenger in the Puma (125hp, 1050ish kg) noticeably blunting performance and being four up - a challenge in the first place - making it feel like it was down a cylinder
- NotoriousREV
- Posts: 6437
- Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2018 4:14 pm
Re: Car Hire Lottery
It’s actually a really nice engine when it’s on boost. Does it still have awful lag in the Up or is it better mapped? There’s like a half second of delay between applying throttle and the power coming in. The 1.4 Multijet Turbo in our old Alfa did a much better job of feeling less like a turbo and more like a bigger engined NA.
Middle-aged Dirtbag
- integrale_evo
- Posts: 4518
- Joined: Thu Apr 12, 2018 5:58 pm
Re: Car Hire Lottery
I'd imagine in the up they can get away with a sportier throttle map because it won't have to be sold so much on its eco credentials.
I can't quite work out the throttle mapping on the Alfa, in dynamic it's almost too sharp, if you're not super gentle from standstill it'll roar away like you're a learner with no clutch control.
Given that it's got no actual throttle to move I wonder if it detects any pedal movement and effectively goes full throttle for a split second to build the boost before pulling it back to where it should be based on actual pedal position. I know it's only a tiny turbo but it'll boost away from idle.
It can still be caught out in the normal modes if you roll into a junction at a crawl in second and need to make a reasonable getaway you have to give it a proper prod of the pedal.
I can't quite work out the throttle mapping on the Alfa, in dynamic it's almost too sharp, if you're not super gentle from standstill it'll roar away like you're a learner with no clutch control.
Given that it's got no actual throttle to move I wonder if it detects any pedal movement and effectively goes full throttle for a split second to build the boost before pulling it back to where it should be based on actual pedal position. I know it's only a tiny turbo but it'll boost away from idle.
It can still be caught out in the normal modes if you roll into a junction at a crawl in second and need to make a reasonable getaway you have to give it a proper prod of the pedal.
Cheers, Harry
Re: Car Hire Lottery
Needs DSG. The throttle mapping on the A2 is poop too, makes hill starts a pita. Wrynose and Hardknott Passes made for a new but infuriating challenge; tc off and abuse isn't how I like to do things (mostly). Still, a fair result for the booking.
Re: Car Hire Lottery
The throttle response is apparently progressive - and gets sharper the more that's applied. Some people have been mapping it out. I don't find it too much of a problem, it's a relatively soft car anyway so it just seems to work.NotoriousREV wrote: ↑Tue Oct 29, 2019 4:28 pmIt’s actually a really nice engine when it’s on boost. Does it still have awful lag in the Up or is it better mapped? There’s like a half second of delay between applying throttle and the power coming in. The 1.4 Multijet Turbo in our old Alfa did a much better job of feeling less like a turbo and more like a bigger engined NA.
- NotoriousREV
- Posts: 6437
- Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2018 4:14 pm
Re: Car Hire Lottery
Definitely not the case in the A3. Floor it, count a beat and it’ll kick in, even at 4000+ rpm.Matty wrote: ↑Tue Oct 29, 2019 7:39 pmThe throttle response is apparently progressive - and gets sharper the more that's applied. Some people have been mapping it out. I don't find it too much of a problem, it's a relatively soft car anyway so it just seems to work.NotoriousREV wrote: ↑Tue Oct 29, 2019 4:28 pmIt’s actually a really nice engine when it’s on boost. Does it still have awful lag in the Up or is it better mapped? There’s like a half second of delay between applying throttle and the power coming in. The 1.4 Multijet Turbo in our old Alfa did a much better job of feeling less like a turbo and more like a bigger engined NA.
Middle-aged Dirtbag