# 2015 A3 Interior Noise Level



## jmn555 (Jul 29, 2014)

I have read several reviews that mentioned the noise level of the interior is pretty high at highway speeds and wanted input from those that own the 2015 A3 regarding this. This is one of the mistakes I made in buying a 2014 Mazda3. The thing is very loud on the inside with road, tire, wind noise. I don't want to make the same mistake again in my purchase of an A3. Thanks for your input!


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## roblove (Apr 18, 2014)

jmn555 said:


> I have read several reviews that mentioned the noise level of the interior is pretty high at highway speeds and wanted input from those that own the 2015 A3 regarding this.


I have a 2015 S3, not an A3, but can easily say the car is rather quiet on the road, including at highway speeds. If anything, she is overly tame. 

I'm running the OEM 18" wheels with the OEM all-season tires, but I've read similar reports that even the 19" wheels and summer tires are not loud. The car is very tight and quiet.


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## misaka (Feb 8, 2013)

jmn555 said:


> I have read several reviews that mentioned the noise level of the interior is pretty high at highway speeds and wanted input from those that own the 2015 A3 regarding this. This is one of the mistakes I made in buying a 2014 Mazda3. The thing is very loud on the inside with road, tire, wind noise. I don't want to make the same mistake again in my purchase of an A3. Thanks for your input!


Haha, amusingly I have both. 2014 Mazda 3 hatch for the wife, and a 2015 A3 for me. The mazda is definitely noisier. I wouldn't say it was quiet inside the A3, but it's decently insulated. The A4 I drove was definitely quieter, as I think the A3's actual drivetrain seems noisier and tire noise seems to come into the cabin more.


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## WLV (Apr 23, 2014)

No noise issues in my A3 TDI. Definitely quieter than my 2005 A4.


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## hijod (Dec 1, 2014)

I just picked up the 2015 Audi A3 1.8 with the 17" wheels and noise level is very very minimal. I will say however that I noticed a bit of wind sound coming from the seal of my driver window that I was not expecting. This was on the freeway and again it wasn't anything to be concerned about


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## cgpublic (Aug 8, 2014)

*NVH*

I test drove the new Mazda 3, just to understand the hype. Many pluses, but a few negatives as well, one of which was noise. To be fair, the base car sells for $16K+, and the test car was clad with 18" wheels and mid-priced tires, so my expectations were not that high.

The A3 is definitely a marked improvement, but to be fair, the wheelbase is what it is, so understand we're not talking Lexus. I just put 17" RFT winters on my A3, so the noise is more noticeable than outgoing AS, but still reasonable and not a distraction.

I haven't noticed any wind issues with the driver's side window or the sunroof, but if I was in the market, I would definitely take it out on the highway and get it up to the limit/as fast as the dealer will let you drive.


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## soliton (Sep 14, 2014)

I have the A3 with 18 inch wheels and I have to say the cabin noise isn't what I expected from an Audi (though I knew that when I test-drove). The tire noise is the most bothersome to me, and that is definitely dependent on the kind of road surface - concrete is far worse than tarmac.

I'm thinking of switching to Michelin Pilot Sport AS/3 tires, with the hope of reducing tire noise as well as improving the handling. I can state from experience that the tire tread pattern is a significant contributor to tire noise - had a dramatic reduction in tire noise when I had switched from my Yokohama Avids to Continental Extremecontact DWS in my G35.


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## satanic (Oct 28, 2014)

I've got a 2015 S3 Sedan and just did ~250km (160miles) on the freeway over the weekend. Running on the 19" OEM wheels with Continental rubber bands, the ride was very nice - hardly any noise, enjoy / tire, coming into the cabin at all!

The construction of the chasis, body, and accompanying seals looks to have been done very well... with all the windows closed (incl. sunroof), it was as if we were stationary rather than travelling at 70 miles an hour (110km/hr).


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## Bruticus (Aug 30, 2014)

Like others have said, for the type of car, I think it is quiet. It's much quieter than the CLA or my previous Jetta, for example. I drive 100 miles each way on the highway twice a week so much of my analysis of the car's ride is based on that. I can listen to an audiobook at a low volume without issue even on parts of the highway that are grooved or poorly maintained. I will say that a test drive will not fully convey the interior noise level since I did notice it got noticeably quieter and smoother after the first 400-500 miles or so.

Tire selection also makes a huge difference. I use the OEM tires and 18" wheels. You could get 17" wheels and a quieter tire but you'll likely experience sacrifices in performance.


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## Bruticus (Aug 30, 2014)

hijod said:


> I just picked up the 2015 Audi A3 1.8 with the 17" wheels and noise level is very very minimal. I will say however that I noticed a bit of wind sound coming from the seal of my driver window that I was not expecting. This was on the freeway and again it wasn't anything to be concerned about


You shouldn't be getting that wind noise. I've never had that, even when driving at 100+ mph speeds on a track. If reseating the window, lubricating the seal, and inspecting the seal for obvious issues/folds/obstructions does not resolve it, I'd recommend taking it to your dealer.


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## hijod (Dec 1, 2014)

Bruticus said:


> You shouldn't be getting that wind noise. I've never had that, even when driving at 100+ mph speeds on a track. If reseating the window, lubricating the seal, and inspecting the seal for obvious issues/folds/obstructions does not resolve it, I'd recommend taking it to your dealer.



Hello there I should have came back to update my post. There is actually virtually no noise when driving at freeway speeds and there is NO wind sound coming from my driver window. I re-checked to make sure and i was just hearing things at the time. 

Thanks very happy with my ride!


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## DennisMitchell (Oct 26, 2014)

My S3 is so quiet, I can barely hear my horn when I press it!


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## m_bolc (Oct 19, 2008)

I have a *lot* less motor. My care barely makes a noise!
Only when I get into the 160km/h range or above can you hear some wind noise from the mirrors.


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## A3_yuppie (Jun 5, 2006)

jmn555 said:


> I have read several reviews that mentioned the noise level of the interior is pretty high at highway speeds and wanted input from those that own the 2015 A3 regarding this. This is one of the mistakes I made in buying a 2014 Mazda3. The thing is very loud on the inside with road, tire, wind noise. I don't want to make the same mistake again in my purchase of an A3. Thanks for your input!


I was driving in the rain today and there is quite a bit of noise. But normally it's fairly quiet with only a bit of tire noise, quieter than my last generation A3, but not as quiet as my A4. I expect the tire noise to increase when I switch to Michelin Pilot Super Sports.


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## soliton (Sep 14, 2014)

I had a loaner 2.0 T with some 2500 miles on it as I got mine in for the 5 k service. So I got to experience this noise question between two cars of the same model in a span of a day. For what these subjective assessments are worth, I felt that the loaner had noticeably more engine noise in the cabin than my 2.0t, while the latter had noticeably more road noise in the cabin than the loaner.

This variation does sound a bit incredulous in this age of robotized manufacturing, but we are also talking of minor differences...


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