A3 vs A4 TDI's?

The turbo's are different along with the MAF's. The A4 jetta have a VNT turbo whereas the A3's have a traditional waste gate. The Maf on the A4's are prone to failure and are expensive. The A4's timing belts are much harder to change. In the US we only got tdi's in one year's A3 tdi's. A3 should be cheaper to maintain.

Joe

The MAF's to my understanding were replaced by something better, this is what my VW dealer told me when ours went (on a 1999 TDI). The 2003's should all be okay.

A friend of mine had a 1996 Jetta TDI and hated it, wouldn't do more then

One big difference is weight. The A4s are significantly heavier than the A3s. I don't know if the gains in performance from the different MAF, turbo vanes, etc. compensates for this. But if the OP was after better weight-to-power ratios, this is a consideration.

sd

Have you actually sat in an A3-body-styled car? I'm of the opinion that their interiors aren't quite a nice as the A4 cars.

Timing belt intervals on the A3 cars are lower (40k vs. 100k with the new A4 belt/tensioner kit); albeit, as another poster pointed out, the A3 timing belts are easier to replace. If you're a heavy driver, this will contribute to maintenance expense.

Fuel burn is roughly similar, if not slightly higher for the A4-style body. However, I think the A4 TDI's are putting out roughly 100hp (rated 90hp) while the older ones are slightly less powerful.

I'd personally pay a premium for the A4-body style, a couple thousand dollars perhaps. An A4-style car will also be much easier to resell, and will remain more asthetically-pleasing for longer than, say, an A3-style (I know, you mentioned that you prefer the A3 style...).

A more definitive answer to these questions probably would be best elicited from the folks at

You haven't sat in a 94 A3, have you. IMO the A4 is "plastic rat trap" due to cheaper parts and more of them. The real test if it is quality is to look at an A3 headliner around the early part of the A3 era (93-95). The headliner is high quality, not like the cheapA$$ Jap Cheese cloth used in the A4s today. Granted you are "trying" to refer to TDIs when talking about interiors and not all A3s. It's nothing to do with A3s or Aanything. It's just the timeline and how VW decides to build and cut costs.

I prefer the lighter and faster A3 body style. They do not look pregnant and toad-like as in the Golf. Having 500 less lbs to carry around does make a difference in who's looking at my tail lights. My almost 10 year old A3 has aged nicely too. I just can't see all that gaudy plastic and cheese cloth headliner aging well.