I currently have a 2006 Audi A3 and am considering a 2009 Honda Fit Sport A/T. (I am also looking at an 09 Civic and an 09 Jetta TDI.) Will I Be Happy?

I am looking for a car that is responsive, reliable, good fuel economy, fun and is SAFE.

I just don't want to regret getting rid of luxurious ride, albeit one that has been in the shop lots and is expensive to maintain (which is why I am hesitant about the Jetta TDI).

 

Yes, you will be more than satisfied with the GE8. It's everything you wanted it to be: responsive, reliable, good fuel economy, fun and is SAFE.

 

i prolly would say no, you wont be to happy but not disappointed.

your comparing an audi A3 which is a turbo/luxurious hatch to a small compact economical car. in you pocket's eyes yes it will be better to get a FIT but as far as performance and luxury the A3 will win. the A3 will surely be more responsive than a FIT but reliability of the FIT will own your A3.

the FIT is economical however the downside is its not as powerful as the A3.

the FIT is surely fun but cant say hot it would compare to the A3.

safety... the A3 is somewhat of a larger car than the FIT but both cars do have side curtain airbags haha

 

the fit is a fun car to drive, but dont compare it to an A3, these cars are in two different classes, just test drive one and see for yourself...its not for everyone, but i really love it and it fitted my needs for fuel efficiency, and cheaper insurance plan, since im young

 

Yeah I agree. I wish I could afford an A3. I love Audis

 

heheh, you my friend, have not driven and a3.



to the OP:

you will be happy that you could find an economical car that feels very upscale and above its intended price point. and it will probably have a more direct feel to its steering than the audi. (and a faster ratio.)

and ofcourse, be reliable like its nobody's buisness.

but that high speed stability? its better than the old fit, but not up to a3 standards. and the torque? nope.

the jetta would be less of a penalty, but you still have expensive basic maintenance. the civic would be ideal if it was a nice ex-l or an lx-s, you would have better highway manners and still have a good handling car, but it wont be as sporty as the fit or as practical in terms of what you can carry around.

 

keep the A3 as a weekend car and the fit for your daily commuter.

 

excellent idea.

 

I used to sell Audis. Plenty of seat time in A3s. I own a Fit.

My impression is that the cars are totally different in feel. The suspension is a lot harsher on my Fit, it seems to pick up a lot more imperfections in the road. The acceleration of the 2.0T A3 is light years better than a Fit. The A3 engine feels a lot torquier over a wider powerband. As far as fun-to drive goes, no comparison, A3 hands down. The DSG in the A3 is far superior to the paddle shift AT in the Fit. A3s have more options available, i.e. Bluetooth, leather, auto up/down not just on drivers window, auto climate control, sat radio avail from factory, open sky sunroof, AWD now available in the US, etc, these are immediate things that come to mind. Really, these cars are in totally different market segments, and serve quite different purposes. The average new A3 probably costs approximately 2 times the price of the average Fit. The only thing they have in common is that they are hatchbacks, in essence.

The Fit has points where it beats the A3. Fuel economy. Rear seat leg room. Cargo room. Price. Likely reliability. Service availability. Repair cost when something breaks. Head room. Resale value as a percentage of original sale price.

My impression is that after being used to driving an A3, you would be bored with a Fit. This assumes that one of the main reasons you went with an A3 was fun to drive with a little practicality thrown in. The Fit is way farther toward the practicality end of the spectrum. This is not to say that I don't enjoy my Fit. The Fit stands on its own merits. But admittedly, the A3 knocks the socks off my Fit in most measures of driving dynamics, in my humble opinion. I prefer to own a Fit when my wallet is involved long term, though. If I won a contest where I got the car free and service for free, I'd pick the A3 without batting an eye, unless I needed to haul a giant box with me or a bicycle inside the car on a daily basis.

 

I'm anti-audi/VW, but i don't have the patience to point out just how crappy they are.
So my vote is for the Fit.
Beware of Jetta (at least your considering the TDI which has the more reliable motor).

BUT, i would test drive a MT Fit if i were you
I'm glad i didn't get an AT after i drove one.

 

There is no doubt that as far as reliability goes, Hondas have it all over the VW and Audi products. In many other areas, though, VW/Audi has it all over Honda. In this particular matchup we are discussing, the A3 has a number of very significant strengths over the Fit. The Fit has some too. They aren't really very comparable on a number of levels.

The TDI cars are more reliable but much more expensive to repair if they need it. I've probably owned 6 or 8 diesel VWs over time, both turbo, non, and direct injection turbo ( TDI ). The TDIs are excellent if they are properly maintained.

In addition to our Fit, my wife and I have a 150K plus mile '96 VW Golf that runs great and has never left me stranded. Our 100k mile plus '98 Golf is equally reliable. I recently drove the '96 to Connecticut and back from Kansas City. No issues. A buddy of mine is still driving my old '86 diesel Golf with 200k plus on it as a daily.

I had a Civic back in the early 90's that blew a head gasket on me 100 miles from home on a winter day and totally screwed me over. One of my coworkers recently had her head gasket go out as well on her 2000 MY Civic that was actually impeccably maintained. My stepmother had an original CRX that rusted so bad it literally fell apart at about 100k miles ( great car otherwise ). My actual mother had a Civic AWD wagon that snapped a timing belt early and destroyed most of the valve train. Point being that if you look at my friends and family, who have owned a lot of Hondas and VWs, in my little sphere the VWs actually look considerably more reliable than the Hondas. Of course, I know my sample size is so small that it is competely crap. I mention this just to illustrate that one's perspective is influenced by a relatively narrow range of experience in many cases, including mine.

These are anecdotal reports, of course. Honda automatic transmission problems, for instance, are quite well known especially among Accords of varying vintages.

I agree with you, though, that VW has a quite spotty past repair-wise. Honda much better, personal experience aside. So edge to Honda there, IMHO. As a counterpoint, I would say Honda has a quite spotty past with generic, boring to drive cars that would put a Librarian to sleep in many instances. Edge to VW/Audi group there. On balance, much more interesting cars to drive from an enthusiast perspective. Edge to Audi/VW, IMHO. Just depends what your priorities are. No car or car line is perfect.

I had a Peugeot 504 diesel wagon for a time. A very interesting car. A complete piece reliability-wise. That was the kind of car that made you wish you had a boring vanilla sedan, gladly. Very love-hate. Mostly hate.

I invite anyone to drive an A3 and a Fit back to back and share their take with us.

 

GREAT POST!
And i agree with everything. TTs are one of the funnest cars i've ever driven (not to mention the darth vader-esque interior) .
However, i don't see how an A4/A6 or a GTI is more fun to drive than an accord coupe V6 or a cheaper Civic Si. Just my $.02

 

A Civic Si is a great car, and I would LOVE to own one. Hmm, would I sell my grandma into slavery to own one...umm, possibly, actually...

This model probably accounts for 1% of Honda's US sales, though. For every Si sold, there are 100 or more regular Civics rolling out the door if not more. Same with the Accord V6 Coupe, probably outsold 100:1 by the 4 cylinder automatic vanilla Accord family-mobile. You raise a good point. Honda indeed from time to time brings out phenomenal, fun models.

I guess my point is about the average. The average VW or Audi sold, IMHO, is a lot more interesting to drive than the average Honda. The average Honda is a hell of a lot more trouble-free than the average VW/Audi ride. Across the model range of the manufacturers, there is a lot more emphasis on performance or driving characteristics in the VW/Audi line than what you find at a Honda dealership. The clientele that is targeted has a different priority set on the whole. Nothing wrong with that. For example, I'd like to compare manual transmission sales penetration rates across VW and Honda. I'll bet VW sells a lot more stick shift cars in the US than Honda, and I'd argue that a motivating factor for people in the majority of these stick shift VW sales is the fun to drive factor. I think fun-to-drive-factor is a higher purchase consideration among the average VW buyer than the average Honda client.

I have three VWs currently and my new Fit. My family has driven Hondas for years, as well as VWs. They both have strengths and weaknesses, IMHO.

If you compare my 1998 VW Golf K2 with our new Fit, some instant impressions pop to mind. If you raise the hood on both cars, the Fit's feels extremely tinny and thin, the Golf's hood feels heavy and solid. The gauge of the steel in the Fit feels a lot thinner and flimsier in general although in reality the stuff in the Fit is possibly stronger ultimately. The Fit's hood just has a cheap tactile feel when you raise it. Is it crap? Of course not. The upholstery in the Golf is a much heavier fabric and feels/looks of a higher quality. Little things--the ten year old Golf has one touch down windows at all 4 positions. Honda cheaps out and only gives me the driver's window. The Golf has much more refined suspension damping. The Golf is a lot quieter at highway speed. The sport seats in the Golf are a lot better than our Fit Sport's. My over 10 year old Golf has 5-way heated seats & heated mirrors, the Fit does not. The Golf's door handles are a better design, and don't feel chintzy like the ones on my Fit. The paint thickness and quality on the VW seems a lot better, more robust.

On the Fit side, the Fit's steering is a lot more sharp than the VW. The cargo volume is light years better in the Fit. The Fit is MUCH roomier for rear seat passengers. The Fit has integrated Navi and the Golf has my Garmin Nuvi. The Fit has VSA, and the Golf does not, a major deficiency. No side airbags on the Golf. The Fit has a way better glove box compared to the Golf's joke of a glove box. The Fit has better fuel economy, but not as much better as one would think given a smaller engine and 10 years of technological progress ( 10% better ). The Fit is much, much cleaner emissions-wise. The Golf has crap for cup holders, totally worthless.

Purely anecdotal observations for the sake of discussion.

 

My last car was a 2006 Audi A3 Sport, with DSG. I owned it for about a year. I got really sick of taking it to the shop. At 500 miles, the front strut tower came undone, and caused some undo noises. At 7000 miles, my dash started to rattle something fierce (and Audi claimed that "settling" is only covered to 5000 miles). At 13000 miles, the seat bolsters started cracking (go to an Audi forum and do some research on this, it was a common problem for this model year). And (of course), the seats were only covered for 12000 miles under warranty. At 15000 miles the transmission dropped dead, and had to be replaced. I could go on and on. My car was just under the limit to require a legal buy back as a lemon. I don't know how reliable your A3 has been, but I've lost trust in the marque.

On plus side, it was a pretty to look at, had a whole lot more torque, and the interior was significantly more refined than my Fit. It was a 10 on the "grin" factor compared to the Fit, which is maybe a 6. The way I drive, the Fit doesn't return THAT much better mileage. I think I was averaging mid 20s on the A3. The Fit returns high 20s for me. (ALL my driving is city driving).

One strange thing: my A3 accumulated door dings like there was no tomorrow. My Fit, not so much. I'm chalking that up to the Fit being so much narrower than the A3. I don't think the doors from cars parked next to me can even reach the sides of my FIt from their spot. So that's worth something.

Good luck with whatever you choose!

 

I sold my Subaru Outback XT Limited to buy a new Fit Sport (manual transmission on both; I prefer to really drive), which new is about twice the price. I moderately miss the performance--the turbo at 250 hp kicked butt, but I rarely opened it up. What I do greatly miss are the comfortable seats, the better ride quality, and an overall feeling of being one with the car. I'm hoping that comes with the Fit, because it's a fun, peppy car to drive with great gas mileage and the iPod integration is great. But so far, at about 1,200 miles, I've still yet to be completely comfortable in the Fit. Headroom definitely isn't a problem; legroom and seat positioning are. I'm 6'5", though.

Like said before, both the A3 and the OBXT are altogether different classes, so don't expect luxury or performance on a similar scale with the Fit.

 

I picked up my '09 Fit Sport on Saturday, and sold my A3 on Sunday. There are a few bells and whistles that I miss, the fit and finish isn't even close to Audi, and the Fit isn't anywhere near as powerful as the A3. But, I am very very satisfied with my Fit. It is fun to drive, zippy, handles the road well, and the fuel economy is loads better.

 

What a surprise to find a few drivers out there in the same boat as I am.....
I have a 2007 A3, and went to test drive a Fit Sport today. I love my A3 - the acceleration is tremendous with the DSG...and the ride is pretty supple. Audi is supposed to be a "luxury brand", but for whatever reason, I don't feel like I am driving a luxury car - feel like I'm paying a premium for the 4 rings on the grille. Also had a bad customer service experience with Audi - entire set of tires completely worn out at 15K miles, and Audi thought there was nothing wrong with that and did nothing - fell out of love with the car since.....
Acceleration in the Fit paled in comparison to the A3, but the steering and ride dynamics felt pretty fun otherwise. Suspension did not feel cheap - ride seemed pretty compliant. Is it true Fits are not coming with leather until later in the year?
Looking to shave a few $$ off my monthly car payment, and the new 09 Fit caught my eye. Are former Audi owners still happy?

 

I am very happy with going from an A3 to a Fit.

I thought I'd miss the leather and heated seats, but the cloth is great!

As far as the acceleration, yeah, it is not as good as the A3, but now that I am out of the 'break-in' period, I have been exercising the engine and transmission in all gears and RPMs and the Fit has pick-up when needed.

I have been getting at least 25% better MPG and only using regular unleaded.

 

Is this a even serious question?

I would take the A3 any day. A luxury sport hatch which can be give you at least 254hp with a simple ECU flash. They don't even compare. I'd say there's a little bias here to be fair. We own a GE8 VTI Jazz and a VW Golf GTI which is comparable to the A3/S3, and I can say without a doubt, the GTI has it all over the Jazz.

 

i agree with the rider: most 'common' vw's are more fun and interesting to drive than 'common' hondas.

the a3 has good steering, but the fits is a little better, and requires less monkey motion behind the wheel to point it where you want to go.

but that teutonic soldiness, effortless acceleration and just the looks and quality of the interior make the a3 a better proposition to me. granted i would stay away from an 06, but 07's and on have a pretty good reliability rate so far. vw/audi has come a long way in terms of this, though still not to honda's caliber.

as far as driving enjoyment goes, its common place to hear people preferring the a3/gti's helm over the si's and vice versa. the si is the better out of the box handler of the two, but in straight line acceleration the gti has it over the si, the a3 is about neck and neck because of the added weight.

and event the si doenst have that heft and solidness to it that makes german cars so distinctive.

its defintely a drive it to understand it type of thing. but both the accord v-6 and si are fantastic machines...just more mainstream i guess.