I have sold my Audi A3 Sportback and bought a Honda Civic FC. This is at a time when COE is supposed to be at its low end due to uncertainty in the economy.
Audi
I have owned the Audi A3 Sportback for 5 years and 9 months. The good thing about the car is a powerful 1.4 turbo engine and a good brake stopping distance. A fantastic fuel consumption of 14km/litre. It also has a reputable brand although its internal parts are from VW Golf. The bad things are :-
1) Lousy Dual Clutch transmission. Noise from its transmission and a total failure of its mechatronic unit. Audi Singapore charged me more than S$4000 plus even though there was dispute on the warranty of the car. I am highly displeased with this service and asserted that I would never buy a Audi car again.
2) Poor battery. Failed every year. They are original battery from Audi. This is not typical for a car.
3) Turbo lagged. The car is either slow or very fast. The smoothness of transmission is missing. Before the turbo kicks in, it is still a underpowered 1.4 litre car. I cannot imagine the new Audi A3 with 1 litre motor.
4) The 7 speed transmission automatic kicks down when slope is detected which makes the journey rather unpleasant, even though there is no necessity.
5) Start Stop function which I think is unnecessary.
Honda
I have driven the Thailand made Honda Civic FC for more than 3 months. It is a reliable car with no noise from its moving parts. Driver has a piece of mind on quality of product as I have driven the Honda Stream for 9 years previously. However, it has its deficiency. They are:-
1) Underpowered car which it is paired with a CVT. The CVT is like a turbo, it needs time to spool up the transfer of power from motor to wheels. As many car expert would say, CVT is like an elastic rubber band. The underpowered car is more severely felt if the fuel is just Ron 95. I have to use Ron 98 to compensate the lack of power and to achieve a smoother drive. This means I have to pay for more for fuel. In fact, the Suzuki Swift is more fun to drive although it is just 1 litre car with a turbo. I was contemplating between a Suziki Swift or Honda Civic.
2) Better fuel consumption than my 1.7 litre Honda stream but poorer than Audi A3. Average fuel consumption is about 12 to 12.5 km/litre.
3) Poor radio reception. The sound from its radio is the worst I have seen in all my life of car ownership. The head unit has other function tied in, eg aircon, car settings which make it difficult to change.
4) Servicing is every 10,000 km. Likely to mean twice a year compared to Audi which is once a year servicing.
There are good points such as brake-hold, spacious car, reliable quality, reasonably price parts, lower insurance etc. It serves well as a point to point transportation car. Honda Civic is commonly seen on road which doesn't make it unique. Hope my simple review is useful for potential buyers.
