Magpies Rides: VAG you look at that? New wheels enters the fray from, Skoda?

MagpieRacer

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England
Wymondham, Norfolk
MagpieRacer
For anyone who has seen my previous car thread (https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/threads/my-suzuki-swift-sport-zc31s.412036/), you may know that I had continuous issues with this Suzuki Swift and the time came to get rid, I put it up for sale or trade and got a good deal on an exchange for this Audi A3. Audi A3 was at the top of my list, in either hatchback or sportback variation. Something about them was appealing to me and wanting something bigger and (hopefully) more reliable than the Suzuki. Even then, reliability on older cars is always a tough one to guarantee, so at least something with good and affordable part availability, which these have, and relative ease to work on so that I could do some things myself a not rely constantly on my mechanic (father-in-law, Renault, Volvo and Honda tech by trade). This is the 2.0TDI PD140 variant (pre-DPF and pre CR). Fundamentally identical to the legendary 1.9 PD130 but bored out to 2.0.
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So, it is a very late 2006 registered car, it is classed as a MY2007 but that doesn't affect much as the facelift on the 8P didn't come until 2008. It is the S-Line trim, the S-line cars had more sporty looking trims, like the front lip, different grill, skirts and roof spoiler, it sat a little lower than the standard A3 (about 15mm I believe). At the time it was the highest spec before getting into the S3. Interior wise they got lovely S-Line specific sport seats (very similar to the S3 seats of the time), and some other sporty trim pieces that mimic the S3 and TT of the era. Standard S-line trim also featured heated mirrors, traction control, climate control and ISOfix.

This particular one had a few options thrown at it from new, including heated seats, and something I understand to be called the exculsive pack or "exclusive line packaging" as it's named in the brochure. Comprising of black dashboard and carpets, black cloth headlining, exclusive door sill trims, brushed aluminium inlays and a 3 spoke leather sport wheel.
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Naturally, since it rolled off the factory floor on 2006 it has had some additions (which mid 2000s VAG hasn't). The main things being a RAMAir Sport Intake upfront, Allard EGR delete (supposedly the Rolls-Royce of EGR deletes) and a Milltek exhaust system (believed to be a cat-back). Combined with a remap of unknown origin or spec, these were 140hp standard (104kw) 236ft-lb (320nm) with a 0-60 of around 9.2-9.5 seconds. I don't know what it delivers now, but it's more than that. Some members of various owners clubs have suggested anything from 185hp (137kw) to 200hp (149kw) and around 300ft-lb (405nm) of torque. Without plugging something in or going to a dyno, I won't know for sure, but it certainly isn't standard power.
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It also has S3 wing mirrors and the alloys are from a 2014 Audi S1.

I have had it for almost a month now, and it has proven already to be more reliable than the Swift which gave me a very tumultuous first month of ownership. It is also much more usable as a daily, and while it isn't as rally car like on a country road vs the Swift, it makes up for it in big loads of torque and power.

To drive, I don't know what I was expecting, so many reviewers talk about the lack of steering feel that most Audi's have, this one included, and it isn't as bad as I was expecting. Yes, compared to the Twingo RS and Swift Sport it feels a little less engaging, but it's far from bad and there is enough feedback and feel there to be able to turn in with a good amount of confidence that the car is going to respond. It isn't as sharp and crisp as those other cars but not totally devoid of feel. The power delivery is strong and it pulls extremely well, again a far cry from the Twingo and Swift which are weak until they get to 4k. There is some turbo lag there and as said earlier, I don't actually know what power it is making, but it isn't bad at all and is definitely one of the faster cars I have owned. But it is surprisingly dynamic for a larger car and a lot of fun on the more flowing A and B roads. Ride quality is ok, it sits lower and on stiffer springs than a standard A3 and they were never lauded for their ride quality so it can feel a bit rough on more challenging roads, but it's not uncomfortable. That probably isn't helped by the fact it sits on 18" wheels from an Audi S1 with relatively average rubber on them. Yes the A3 S-Line could come with a set of 18s, most came with 17s and all will have had good quality tyres on them.

Inside is a very nice place to be, even though it is nearly 16 years old, it feels extremely well put together and still feels quite contemporary. Of course, buttons for every function, as was the norm then, betrays it's contemporary feel. Seriously, the HVAC controls are insane compared to what I'm used to in previous cars, which have typically had 3 dials, one for fan speed, one for temperature and one for adjusting where the air is coming in, you then usually have a button for recirculation and that's about it. This has a button for recirculation, a button for automatic recirulation, an economy button (which turns the AC off), an auto button for the auto climate, separate button to aim the air at the windows, you or your legs, 2 buttons for fan speed adjustment AND 2 dials to adjust the temperature, one for the passenger and one for the driver (dual zone climate), plus controls for the heated seats for driver and passenger.. If I hadn't found a manual for the car, I wouldn't have had a clue. It seemed excessive at first but actually works really well once you understand each button. Little touches like the vent surrounds being rotatable to shut them instead of having a seperate wheel underneath keeps everything looking clean and the interior just feels well thought out and still feels good today. The seats are excellent, really supportive, very comfortable and look excellent with the S-Line etching in the leather, the Swift Sport always felt like I was sitting too high and never quite in the seat properly because they were so tight and sat very high in the car, in this I feel like I am in the seat, encompassed by it and quite low in the car which really adds to the driving experience and makes it feel even more sporty.

The modifications are well done, these cars are known for EGR faults so the fact that the delete has already been done on this was a nice weight off the mind, and the fact that it is a high end kit adds to the peace of mind. The RAMAir intake is effective and gives some nice turbo whoosh noises, because no, I'm not 33, I am a child and they entertain me greatly. The Milltek, I'm unsure of the exact model or how far back it goes, previous owner didn't know either. Based on my research it is most likely a cat back. It sounds pretty good for a diesel, the PD engines are quite agricultural and getting them to sound 'good' by any sporty car standards is a challenge, it's a challenge for any diesel but not impossible. So with that taken into account, it takes what is a very tractory sounding engine and does give it a bit of grumble, and elevates the intake and turbo noise a bit as well.

So, what's the plan? Well, firstly, iron out a couple very minor issues. Rear fog light error message won't go away so I will code that out imminently. It's a bit reluctant on cold mornings to start, it has never failed to start and once it is started has no issues. Given that the car came with no service history or any paperwork (other than paperwork for the cam position sensor, cambelt and front springs/top mounts which were done on day of collection), it's no surprise that it may need some basic service level maintenance. So I have new oil filter, new fuel filter and new glow plugs ready to go in, cabin filter I've already done. Hopefully that will alleviate it's cold start reluctance (most likely glow plug related). I also want to find out how much power it is actually putting out so I can tailor it's maintenance accordingly.

Once basic maintenance is done and established, I will then look at some vanity parts to start making it my own. It needs some attention to the rear wiper, the motor doesn't work and it didn't come with a wiper or anything. For £4 I bought a wiper blanking kit to just tidy it up for now, combined with a good clean and hydrophobic cleanse it should be sufficient for now. I would like to do the black honeycomb grill, I really like how they look and gives it a nice lift. Black S-Line badges, respray the B-Pillars (driver side has faded and the passenger side looks very rough) and touch up the gear surround which looks pretty scuffed up. Also need some interior mats (can't stand not having carpets) so will look for some good quality bespoke mats to fit the car well.

I think it is on it's way to needing some love around the rear suspension, couple light knocks coming from there, nothing bad but will need doing. When that time comes I will need to decide if I want to sit it on lowering springs or coilovers or just keep it simple and stay standard. The wheels, whilst I don't hate how the S1 wheels look, I don't love them, so will probably look at doing something different with the wheels and dropping a size to 17s or maybe even 16s depending on what's out there.

Thanks for reading if you made it this far and keep an eye out for future updates.
 
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First service under my ownership complete. Figured as it had no history anyway I'd give it a go myself did everything except the oil change and filter due to lack of access to the bottom. Father in law took ot to work and did that for me and checked over a few other basic areas like battery and brakes. Good clean bill of health now.

Still slightly hesitant to start, especially in the cold but is fine once running. Plugged a OBD scanner in and got a fuel pump relay error so that could be a cause, nothing else comes up. Though we will change the glow plugs anyway as they have likely never been changed. Those 2 things should solve that issue.
 
So I've compiled myself a little to do list to stamp my mark on this car and make it my own. Mostly cosmetic with some tidying up and a couple of technical and mechanical bits.

Mechanical:
Glow plugs
Timing needs to be sorted
Fuel pump relay

Paint and body:
Gloss black B-pillar trims (current trims see flaking and faded).
Gear surround (aluminium effect has started flaking)
Driver A-pillar needs respray/T-Cut
New rear wiper assembly

Cosmetic modifications:
S3 style rear valance/diffuser
Gloss black Honeycomb RS style front grill
Side skirts, either S3 style or a universal trim
RS style roof spoiler
Black S-Line badges
Wind Deflectors

Interior:
Tailored mats front and rear
Centre arm rest
In vent boost gauge
S3 style pedals and footrest

Longer term I want to look at maybe a Maxton front splitter and changing the wheels.

Here's some pics I took today in beautiful surroundings. Shame it was filthy.
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Nice motor 😎. I own a 1.9 PD and love it. Many people prefer them to the later CR diesels.

You are probably already aware of this but the PD engines are strict on oil specs (VW 505.01 or 50700) as the cam lobes take a lot of abuse from having 3 lobes (intake, exhaust, injector) in the space normally needed for just two.

Cam timing, "torsion angle" in the software, can lead to rough starts, so you're right to check that.

Also the VNT turbo (on 1.9s at least) can gum up with carbon so at service time I pull on the actuator rod by hand to ensure full range of movement. And an Italian tuneup once in a while helps keep it moving.

You may wish to look at a company called Darkside Developments if you're ever looking to tune her up more.
 
Nice motor 😎. I own a 1.9 PD and love it. Many people prefer them to the later CR diesels.

You are probably already aware of this but the PD engines are strict on oil specs (VW 505.01 or 50700) as the cam lobes take a lot of abuse from having 3 lobes (intake, exhaust, injector) in the space normally needed for just two.

Cam timing, "torsion angle" in the software, can lead to rough starts, so you're right to check that.

Also the VNT turbo (on 1.9s at least) can gum up with carbon so at service time I pull on the actuator rod by hand to ensure full range of movement. And an Italian tuneup once in a while helps keep it moving.

You may wish to look at a company called Darkside Developments if you're ever looking to tune her up more.

Thanks, good advice there. I'm quite lucky that my father in law is a mechanic of 30+ years (primarily Renault, Volvo and Honda but also a wealth of others) and my brother is a newly qualified VAG technician, so I'm pretty good hands when it comes to a lot of the detail 😁.

I've definitely had more than a few looks at Darkside, seem like the place to go for PD tuning. It's in a relatively good position to take more power as well I think, I heard they need stronger turbos once you start going past 200-220hp and I also don't know how safe more power will be on a 163k car with no history other than what I've done 😆. But it may be something I'll look at, with the parts it already has, it isn't far off being able to be taken further. I'm also fairly sure the map it has currently is just a bolt on map, so even just getting them to do a custom map would likely yield a strong return.

Finally gave her a good clean up, weather's been poor so had to just seize a day that was a nice temperature and no rain.
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Came up real nice, obviously the downside of detailing is it highlights all the poor parts a lot more. A machine polish is in this cars future for sure.

The wheels didn't come out too bad, but again, the need for a refurb is clear, I'm not sure if I will spend the money and time needed for that though as I'm still not completely sold on how these wheels look.
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And finally, for Christmas I was given a set of iSpeed wind deflectors. I love deflectors as they just get rid of that uncomfortable noise you get with the windows down over 40mph. It's also quietened the wind noise a bit inside as well.
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It's great that you've got relatives in the trade, like a personal pit crew!

I've considered getting mine mapped but have similar safety concerns. I'm getting a used oil analysis done when I next service her. Maybe a compression test too. If there's not much wear metal detected and the comp is good then I'm probably going to go ahead.

As you say, a Darkside map is gonna be better and safer than a generic.

Your motor looks proper tidy after the clean 😎, it will thank you for the wax what with all the grit and **it over the roads in the winter.
 
Starting to get some bits in the post to start tweaking the visuals to what I want.
Black badge for the rear, black Honeycomb grill, black S-Line badges. Have a black badge coming for the front and replacement B-Pillar vinyls in gloss black to tidy up the horribleness of that part.
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Once basic maintenance is done and established, I will then look at some vanity parts to start making it my own. It needs some attention to the rear wiper, the motor doesn't work and it didn't come with a wiper or anything. For £4 I bought a wiper blanking kit to just tidy it up for now,
I would hazard a guess that it came with no rear wiper because 90% of the time a leak in wiper wash/spray leads to water damage in the wiper motor and it just seizes. I had an 8P Sportback up until a couple of years ago and mine failed on me. It's not unusual to see an 8P with the rear wiper either deleted or left at a seemingly weird angle. The little pipe that feeds water to the washer more often than not splits where it joins the wiper mech and drips water down onto everything below - wiper motor, rear hatch lock mechanism etc. On mine it got into the electrics of the lock mech and left me with a permanent warning light that the hatch was open (when it wasn't). You can fix and replace it all easily enough, but if you can do without a rear wiper, a blank will be the cheapest route. It would be worth checking inside the hatch cavity, behind the interior trim which is easy enough to dismantle, to check for water damage because it can start to rust from the inside. I'd also tie a knot in or crimp closed the water pipe whist you are in there for piece of mind if i was you.
 
I would hazard a guess that it came with no rear wiper because 90% of the time a leak in wiper wash/spray leads to water damage in the wiper motor and it just seizes. I had an 8P Sportback up until a couple of years ago and mine failed on me. It's not unusual to see an 8P with the rear wiper either deleted or left at a seemingly weird angle. The little pipe that feeds water to the washer more often than not splits where it joins the wiper mech and drips water down onto everything below - wiper motor, rear hatch lock mechanism etc. On mine it got into the electrics of the lock mech and left me with a permanent warning light that the hatch was open (when it wasn't). You can fix and replace it all easily enough, but if you can do without a rear wiper, a blank will be the cheapest route. It would be worth checking inside the hatch cavity, behind the interior trim which is easy enough to dismantle, to check for water damage because it can start to rust from the inside. I'd also tie a knot in or crimp closed the water pipe whist you are in there for piece of mind if i was you.

Really good to know, thank you. It's going in to my father in laws garage in a week or so for new glow plugs, timing, and he was going to have a look at the wiper. I do have a blank that will fit so I might just suggest to him what you've said and check the inside for rust and water damage etc and chuck the blank in.

It's a car thata putting up a bit of a fight with little bits, lots of stripped screws, some completely broken screw heads, other annoyances. I know some of that will be the cars age but there is also a feeling of lack of care as well. Someone at some point in its life has spent a lot of money on this car, only for it to then end up with someone who didn't really care about it. Hopefully I can give it new life, slowly, but it's getting there.
 
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Big job (for me anyway) ticked off today. I'd been told the grill was a 3 screw and pull thing but it definitely wasn't. Previous owner had stripped screws and lord knows what else. So an afternoon spent fighting the car to get the bumper off (yes I know it would be easier jacked up but I don't have the space or means). 3 and a bit hours of work and it's all done.
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Very happy with how it looks, really has made a huge difference to the front of the car. Weirdly the wheel arch linings were the hardest thing to fight with and 1 annoyingly placed 10mm which, even with the car in the air and wheel off would be an absolute pain to get to. But got there I did.
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Also added the black S-Line badges and black Audi badge on the rear, front badge swapped for a black one which went on with the grill, and also some vinyl pieces I ordered from Germany for the aging and grey/chipped B-Pillar trims. Apologies for how painfully dirty the car is. I live in rural Norfolk and its impossible to keep clean at this time of year.
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That wiper leak fault happened on my Octavia. Corroded the lock connectors but luckily the loom was ok. My wiper spindle has the two little washer jets on it, and these constantly move themselves to where the spray won't come out of the central cover, no matter how often I reset them using a pin. A mate with a VRS had the same, apparently it's just one of those weak points.
 
Great car! I've always loved the A3's, just wish we got the 2-door here in the states.
 
So, as seems to be the case with me and cheap cars at the moment, it's all starting to unravel. Got some work done to it a month back, new glow plugs, timing was slightly out and a a few relays. We had hoped the new plugs would have solved the laboured starting issue but, if anything, seems to have made it worse, now it fails to start first time 2/3 times.

I'm also now becoming familiar with the VAG Christmas tree. Lots of lights coming on and going off on the dash. One of which has actually manifested into a more problematic issue, power steering. It's gone from working, to taking a few seconds for the light to go off and kick in, to just working when it wants. Yesterday's drive to work was very labour intensive indeed, but did get some PAS on the way home.

As I understand like a lot of VAG cars of this age and era, it has electromechanical PAS. So there's no fluid or anything powering it so it can't be a lack of power steering fluid, my research has led me to it needing a rack, servo/module on rack and coding. Estimated prices between £600-£1200 depending on condition of parts. But it seems the electric parts have to be got from Audi directly and isn't cheap.

This may be the end of the road for the A3.
 
Funny story but I also almost ended up in a sorta-cheap A3 as well. Kinda glad it didn't come along until right after I was already committed to paying off my current car.

Now I know about what I'd have to be saving up for when things go wrong.
 
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I'm gutted you've got the steering fault. Is there any chance of a bad connection/earth somewhere that might be a quick fix vs rack removal?

Just seems a bit weird if you've had other electrical type faults concurrently.

Good luck mate and it'd be great if you could fix her. I'm a self confessed glutton for punishment on older cars but that's partially my stubbornness and partially my fear of what faults a replacement car could have lying in wait.
 
I'm gutted you've got the steering fault. Is there any chance of a bad connection/earth somewhere that might be a quick fix vs rack removal?

Just seems a bit weird if you've had other electrical type faults concurrently.

Good luck mate and it'd be great if you could fix her. I'm a self confessed glutton for punishment on older cars but that's partially my stubbornness and partially my fear of what faults a replacement car could have lying in wait.
It's gone into the garage today to be looked at. Hopefully it is an easy fix like you say, the other electric faults have been there since I've owned the car, the dash just cycles through each one, so the more there are, the worse it looks!

The research done beforehand with this steering issue though points to a more serious problem than a bad connection. My father-in-law wondered if it might be the lower column seizing, which is common, but if that was the case then surely it would be a permanent flaw and might not trigger than PAS warning light. If it's neither of these slightly less serious issues then it must be the actual electromechanical part (which is what my VAG tech qualified brother thinks it is as well), and aside from that being a pain to do, it's also very expensive and likely wouldn't be worth doing.

I used to not mind this sort of thing on older cars, I have had my fair share of old bangers and cars needing some love, which most of them received, but now I work for my wife with flexible hours so I can look after our kids and do school runs etc, I kinda need the car to work without going to the wreckers or a garage every other week 😆. Plus as my mum has just out of hospital after a fairly serious procedure, it would be nice to go and see her and my family in Brighton, but I need to know the car is going to be safe to drive with my kids in it as my wife would have to stay home for work and it would be unfair to take her Scenic and leave her with a car she might not be able to physically drive..

If it is uneconomical to repair, I may have to start acting like a 33 year old dad of 2 and actually buy something modern and somewhat sensible. I know my wife would appreciate that! (She's not really liked the last 2 cars, finds the Audi a bit yobbish and a bit fast/unpredictable on the back roads of Norfolk and the Swift was just uncomfortable and twitchy for her).

It's a shame because I really like the A3 generally. It's comfortable, quick, has some nice comforts like heated seats, decent boot for a 3 door and still looks good 17 years on.
 
... For some dads that ends up being a 2 seater sports car. GT86 would look nice!
I can dream! Maybe when they girls are older 😁. For now, 4 seats is essential. Aston V8 Vantage?

In all seriousness, car is back from the garage, and it isn't good news, because of how the electronics in the column and rack work alongside the immobiliser and such, down to the electro box in the rack itself, it's basically uneconomical to repair (early figures put it at 1200-1400 before coding), and unsafe to drive as both me and my father in law have discovered by both almost putting it into the scenery as the power steering came back in mid corner.

Good news though, he happens to have a spare Renault Clio MK2 1.6 initiale on his driveway so I have an immediate temporary replacement being dropped off tomorrow. Audi will get sold as spares and repairs, has a lot of desirable parts so should shift it quick enough.
 
So a temporary replacement is here! And it's a mad little nugget (to quote my favourite YouTube car channel). It's a 2000 Renault Clio Initiale 1.6. My father in law has had it on his driveway for months after he picked it up through work for £100 or some nominal sum of money as Renault can't really give much to the customer for these.

I don't think I've ever seen a Clio of this generation like it, all leather interior, leather door trims, wood effect bits, wood gear knob, electric sun roof, air con and a cool little leather pouch in the parcel shelf. Very far removed from the 3 other Clio 2s I've had. It's only done 66k as well.

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So I've run around in the quirky Clio for a few weeks, but I have now purchased my full time replacement for the Audi. Welcome everyone to my quirky little nugget, the Skoda Roomster!
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Should be a bit more sensible as a second, small family car to the Scenic. Incredibly versatile seating and boot makes it super practical, it's a Roomster 3, so has a surprising amount of kit for a 2007 car. Panoramic roof, heated seats, cruise control, heated mirrors and a really good audio system (Skoda call it Dance, seems to be the top spec radio you could get at the time).

Powered by the mighty 3 cylinder 1.4TDI PD80, with a whopping 79bhp, but nearly 200Nm torque (144ft-lb) means it actually feels surprisingly sprightly. It has surprised me dynamically as well, steering feel is in the light side but it's responsive and the car feels quite fun to drive.

That'll be helped by the platform, which is an unusual blend of 2 platforms from VAG, the front is the PQ24 platform, shared with the MK4 Polo, MK1 and MK2 Fabia and MK5 Golf, whereas the rear is the PQ34 platform, used by the MK1 A3, Octavia, Jetta and new Beetle. Incredibly, despite its cavernous space in side and excellent boot, it's actually shorter than a Ford Focus, you really wouldn't think that when you look at it.

It's super quirky to look at, very much a design where the designers of the front and rear didn't know eachother or what they were doing. But that gives it character and it stands out in a sea of bog standard hatchbacks.
 
Great that you've got another PD engine!

What does the engine feel like in 3-cylinder guise? I don't mind my 4cyl diesel chugging in general but 3cyl are meant to have more inherent imbalance.

Decent miles per gallon?
 
Great that you've got another PD engine!

What does the engine feel like in 3-cylinder guise? I don't mind my 4cyl diesel chugging in general but 3cyl are meant to have more inherent imbalance.

Decent miles per gallon?
Surprisingly smooth and sounds quite raughty. Funnily enough my father in law drove me to pick up the car, he has a non turbo petrol 3-cylinder Polo with about 60bhp, and the Roomster sounded very similar and felt smoother.

From Newmarket to Norwich (45ish miles on the A11, roundabouts and roadworks aplenty) I averaged 54mpg. Cruising at 70mph saw between 60-70mpg at times. So super good on fuel, surprisingly sits at quite low RPM at 70, considering it's a little engine with not a lot of power it was barely at 3k, compared to the 1.6l 110bhp Clio which sat at 4k. Very impressive.
 
That Clio looks almost identical to the Clio automatic my other half used to have (yours was higher trim though). Shame about the Audi. My 'sensible' motoring has basically meant keeping my first car (a crapped out Corsa) that refuses to die while being cheap enough to allow me some stupidity leeway on other cars :D

Any mods planned for the Roomster? Would be kinda cool to see one decked out in the kind of subtle S-line trims you were aiming for on the A3
 
That Clio looks almost identical to the Clio automatic my other half used to have (yours was higher trim though). Shame about the Audi. My 'sensible' motoring has basically meant keeping my first car (a crapped out Corsa) that refuses to die while being cheap enough to allow me some stupidity leeway on other cars :D

Any mods planned for the Roomster? Would be kinda cool to see one decked out in the kind of subtle S-line trims you were aiming for on the A3
Nothing major, just minor tweaks or adjustments. The badges front and rear are faded so I'm gonna upgrade those to a newer style with a matt black and green finish, turn the chrome on the grill black to look a bit sleeker and refurb the alloys which are all a bit scuffed and scratched up, so taking them to a nice metallic black should make it look quite sleek overall with the other tweaks.

Other than that, there isn't really anything out there to do to Roomsters, quite an unloved machine really, can get a remap and some cheap lowering springs, but on a 79bhp 3 cylinder, not a huge amount to gain really.
 
My old 1.3 van went from 75-95bhp on a cheap eco remap, the difference was night and day. You'd be surprised what you can get out of it. Could always try and get a Leon cupra R splitter fitted, they'll fit just about anything.
 
So I've run around in the quirky Clio for a few weeks, but I have now purchased my full time replacement for the Audi. Welcome everyone to my quirky little nugget, the Skoda Roomster!
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Should be a bit more sensible as a second, small family car to the Scenic. Incredibly versatile seating and boot makes it super practical, it's a Roomster 3, so has a surprising amount of kit for a 2007 car. Panoramic roof, heated seats, cruise control, heated mirrors and a really good audio system (Skoda call it Dance, seems to be the top spec radio you could get at the time).

Powered by the mighty 3 cylinder 1.4TDI PD80, with a whopping 79bhp, but nearly 200Nm torque (144ft-lb) means it actually feels surprisingly sprightly. It has surprised me dynamically as well, steering feel is in the light side but it's responsive and the car feels quite fun to drive.

That'll be helped by the platform, which is an unusual blend of 2 platforms from VAG, the front is the PQ24 platform, shared with the MK4 Polo, MK1 and MK2 Fabia and MK5 Golf, whereas the rear is the PQ34 platform, used by the MK1 A3, Octavia, Jetta and new Beetle. Incredibly, despite its cavernous space in side and excellent boot, it's actually shorter than a Ford Focus, you really wouldn't think that when you look at it.

It's super quirky to look at, very much a design where the designers of the front and rear didn't know eachother or what they were doing. But that gives it character and it stands out in a sea of bog standard hatchbacks.
I wish small MPVs like this were more of a thing where I'm from. These kinds of vehicles don't really exist here.
 
So I've run around in the quirky Clio for a few weeks, but I have now purchased my full time replacement for the Audi. Welcome everyone to my quirky little nugget, the Skoda Roomster!
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Should be a bit more sensible as a second, small family car to the Scenic. Incredibly versatile seating and boot makes it super practical, it's a Roomster 3, so has a surprising amount of kit for a 2007 car. Panoramic roof, heated seats, cruise control, heated mirrors and a really good audio system (Skoda call it Dance, seems to be the top spec radio you could get at the time).

Powered by the mighty 3 cylinder 1.4TDI PD80, with a whopping 79bhp, but nearly 200Nm torque (144ft-lb) means it actually feels surprisingly sprightly. It has surprised me dynamically as well, steering feel is in the light side but it's responsive and the car feels quite fun to drive.

That'll be helped by the platform, which is an unusual blend of 2 platforms from VAG, the front is the PQ24 platform, shared with the MK4 Polo, MK1 and MK2 Fabia and MK5 Golf, whereas the rear is the PQ34 platform, used by the MK1 A3, Octavia, Jetta and new Beetle. Incredibly, despite its cavernous space in side and excellent boot, it's actually shorter than a Ford Focus, you really wouldn't think that when you look at it.

It's super quirky to look at, very much a design where the designers of the front and rear didn't know eachother or what they were doing. But that gives it character and it stands out in a sea of bog standard hatchbacks.
These are incredible cars much missed in the UK marketplace. My close friend has had 2 and I have driven both many times. They ride well, go well and have that fantastic versatile interior.
 
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