A3 TDI? I have one of those and so many breakdowns in the first year. Luckily the warranty they were forced to add from having cheated on emissions covered all repairs. Haven’t had any major issues for two years now on it thankfully, I’m not sure I’d recommend it generally but realistically with what you save on fuel cost the extra long term repair cost balances it out a bit.
The fingerprint sensor on the 8 series is really bad and battery quite mediocre. In my opinion pixels are rarely worth their asking prices relative to Samsung’s offerings. I have had an 8, 8 pro, and now 9 Pro XL and the 9 series really feels significantly more complete than the others despite relatively small difference on paper.
Relative to other Android phones the biggest difference with pixels is the lack of customization. The cameras are amazing but the rest of the experience feels pretty hampered in my opinion.