2018 Audi A3 Sportback S-Line 150PS

I live a fairly simple life. I don’t buy many clothes, I don’t frequently splash out on expensive things and any money that I do have at the end of a month I put into savings. The only large outgoing that I tend to have is my annual 2 week holiday. Today however I picked up my brand new Audi A3 Sportback 150 TFSI S-Line.

Out with the old

Recently I started to see issues arising with my 5 year old Seat Ibiza FR.

Seat Ibiza FR 1.4 TSi DSG 2013 White
My current car, a Seat Ibiza FR

Back in February the engine failed costing me £2500 for an engine rebuild (yep, that hurt. That hurt a LOT.) and then as the heatwave of 2018 kicked in, during June the air conditioning compressor packed up with a quote for £600 landing on my lap. Worst timing ever. I figured that this was getting to that stage with the car where I could pay the £600 but then within the next year the exhaust would probably develop an issue. I would say or worse but I don’t think things get much worse than engine failure!

Rather than throw more money at the Ibiza I decided I wanted to buy a brand new car with all of the associated warranties and so I headed down to Jardines Audi in Milton Keynes to look at part exchanging the Ibiza to buy a new car that I have always dreamed of owning – an Audi A3.

Choosing the right model and trim

When you buy a brand new car you basically have 2 options – buy a ‘stock’ car from a list that is already manufactured to a standard specification or alternatively, go through the brochures and create the exact specification that you want.

There are of course pros and cons to each approach as buying a stock car with no customisation means that you can have your new car in a matter of weeks but you have to make some compromises on your perfect specification and pick a vehicle from the list that are available. You may not get quite what you want, or the colour that you want for example.

With a custom build you get exactly what you want in and around the car however with the order being sent to the factory it can take several months before the car comes off the production line. You’ll end up paying more this way and if like me you’re not particularly patient, the long wait will be somewhat unbearable!

With it being August I figured that I didn’t need a heavily customised car from Audi and so could pick something that was available in a matter of weeks. The timing of my visit meant that if I ordered a new car I would pick it up today, on the 1st September 2018 under the new 68-plate registration.

2018 Audi A3 Sportback 150PS TFSI S-Line

The Audi A3 comes in a number of different options including a 3 door, a saloon, a cabriolet and the 5 door Sportback. It also has a number of different trims including Sport and S-Line and of course different engine sizes. Getting the right combination for personal style and affordability was key.

Audi A3 Sportback

2018 Audi A3 Sportback S-Line 150PS

Having lived with a 3 door Ibiza for 5 years the practicalities of owning a 3 door car were getting a little frustrating. Getting things in the back was a bit of a pain and with such large doors the tight spaced car parks of Milton Keynes meant getting in and out was always a bit of mission not to ding other people’s doors. I figured a 5 door would be the perfect solution to this problem and not only that but the Sportback looked pretty smart too.

2018 Audi A3 Sportback S-Line 150PS

Audi A3 S-Line trim

When it came to the trim as I like the sporty look of cars and had compromised on the look of a 3 door with the Sportback, I wanted to maintain the sports look by getting bigger alloy wheels, a bodykit that enhanced the lines of the car and an interior that offered bucket seats. Within the Audi range this is effectively what the “S-Line” is and so for me this was an easy choice. I then opted for the pearlescent grey paintwork which has an amazing shimmer to it, especially in direct sunlight.

2018 Audi A3 Sportback S-Line 150PS

The trim basically makes the car look like the top of the range Audi S3 however without the extra £15k+ on the purchase price nor the extra money for insurance and road tax! For me the S-Line was the perfect setup.

Features

The 1.5 TSI engine does 0-60mph in 8.2 seconds and the car is packed to the rafters with gadgets including wi-fi, bluetooth, a pop-up media display/navigation system. The car also has various modesallowing for different style of driving.

2018 Audi A3 Sportback S-Line 150PS

2018 Audi A3 Sportback S-Line 150PS

2018 Audi A3 Sportback S-Line 150PS

2018 Audi A3 Sportback S-Line 150PS

2018 Audi A3 Sportback S-Line 150PS

2018 Audi A3 Sportback S-Line 150PS

With the S-Line trim it has lots of nice touches with embossed bucket seats and door sills presenting the S-Line logo. I also added tinted windows to the rear of the car as an optional extra which I think really enhances the look.

Collection

Picking up the car today was a great experience. As I arrived at the dealership for my 9am collection my car was set up in the showroom as shown in the pictures above, with a personalised sign congratulating me on the purchase of my new car. To be honest Audi have been amazing throughout the entire purchase however today being collection day was definitely the best day so far.

Heading down to Audi I was introduced to the new car, shown around it and then taken out for an introductory test drive to re-familiarise me with all of the controls. From there it was simply a case of driving it away!

2018 Audi A3 Sportback S-Line 150PS

2018 Audi A3 Sportback S-Line 150PS

2018 Audi A3 Sportback S-Line 150PS

2018 Audi A3 Sportback S-Line 150PS

A few hours after collection and only 6 miles into the ownership I can’t really talk about the performance, reliability and general ownership but I can only think it’s going to be a relationship of love based on my first impressions and experience with Audi to date.

2018 Audi A3 Sportback S-Line 150PS

At a purchase price just shy of £30k buying a brand new car certainly wasn’t the cheapest way to replace my old Ibiza but what the hell, I have the car I’ve always wanted and am incredibly happy with it. Perfect!

By Nick

Nick is the founder of Life of Man with a passion for trying out the latest technology, eating out at the best local restaurants, trying the latest IPAs hitting the craft beer scene travelling the world. As a parent Nick loves to spend time with his family and write about days out as dad blogger.

2 thought on “Collecting My New 2018 (68 Plate) Audi A3 Sportback S-Line”
  1. Great article! My new A3 Sportback 1.5 TFSI S-Line S-Tronic is due to be built next week so I’m really looking forward to picking it up some time in November! Thanks for sharing your experience with us.

    1. Thanks for reading, Tom! Having been driving the A3 for over a month now I’ve absolutely no regrets. I’ve driven to Cornwall and back from Milton Keynes clocking up a lot of miles already with no issues at all. It looks great, is powerful and offers great efficiency! You’ll love it!

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