yes it was better than the A-9. althought the A-9 had more engine power than the A-8 and reduced armament mostly to lighten the load to intercept P-51's it still had problems maintaing consistant altitidue performance..........
You have to remember that the Dora was a more advanced version of the A series, so naturally it is better. As Erich has posted before though, the Dora was only an interem solution until the Ta-152 was ready. The Dora did see more combat though than the Ta-152.
And sorry Lanc the Dora is still better looking then the A.