In a Nutshell: A great small car with an even more superb transmission, but pricey with options and some annoying marketing goofs.


Audi recently introduced the 5-door A3 hatchback to the American market ( prefering to leave the 3-door version overseas ) in response to a growing acceptance by Americans of the formerly shunned hatchback body style ( Saab, take notice...you did just the opposite ). I personally see no reason why the 3-door model could not have also come, except maybe that Audi's reasoning was that it would interfere with VW 3-door Golf ( recently renamed Rabbit ) sales.

Marketing Goof #1.

The A3 is built on generally the same joint VW-Audi platform that produces the Golf ( Rabbit ), Jetta, Beetle, A3, and A4 and Passat in slightly stretched form. It comes with a choice of a 2.0L turbo in-line 4 or a 3.2L V6 and a choice of a conventional 6-speed manual or the marvelous dual-clutch DSG ( Direct-Shift-Gearbox ), which is the primary reason for this review. Much has been written in the auto press about this DSG gearbox.......mostly good things.......and I wanted to see and experience it for myself, notwithstanding the fact that several people have asked me about this transmission and what it is like and I could only tell them what I had read about it. The auto press is correct; it is a superb piece of engineering....more on this later.

Unfortunately, Audi refuses to sell the also well-done Quattro AWD system on A3's with the 2.0 engine in the American market ( don't know about overseas ). Here you have to move up to the even pricier 3.2L V6 model ( starting at some $33,000 ) to get the Quattro system , an annoying and needless restriction, IMO, especially considering the fact that the turbo 2.0 has plenty of power to handle the weight and drag of AWD.

Marketing Goof #2.

Having said that, the rest of the car is quite impressive as well. It is built with superb materials inside and out, although Audi electronics have a well-deserved reputation for unreliability.

The interior and exterior both have extensive use of quality materials.....you will NOT find the dime-store cheesiness in trim and hardware that so many other vehicles in today's market have...especially a lot of domestic-nameplate stuff. However, to some extent this material quality is reflected in its price tag....the A3, despite its relatively small exterior size, is not a chump-change econobox.

You will make a significant dent in your bank account buying one of these, especially with the more expensive option packages. Though it starts at 26K, my tested 2.0 ran over 34K, quite stiff for a 4-cylinder, and 3.2 models can run 40K.
The paint job, as is customary with Audis in general, was excellent....very well-done. It rivals Lexus paint jobs in overall quality, and most of the paint colors are classy if a little on the dark side. Audi, though, like other German manufacturers, has an annoying and needless habit of charging extra for certain paint colors....half of the colors in the A3 line ( see the web site for details ) carry an extra charge of $450-750. This is needless, IMO.......Lexus, which does paint as well or better than even Audi, does not charge extra for any color line that I know of....even the gorgeous Lexus Matador Red that I have written about so much.

Marketing Goof #3.

The high-performance S3 model is not here yet but may be coming to the American market in the future....hence I did not list this as a marketing goof....simply an ordrinary minus below. Audi is officially mum on this, but from what I understand has not ruled it out. Also, no sedan A3's are available, but this market to some extent is already covered by the A4.


OK....now let's look at this not-so-cheap small car in detail:




Model Reviewed: 2006 Audi A3 2.0 T DSG

Base Price: $26,990
Major Options: Sport Package: $1800
Cold Weather Package: $700
Moro Blue Pearl Effect Paint: $750
Open Sky System: $1100
Audi Navigation Plus Sound: $2850
Freight: $720
List Price: $34,140


Exterior Color: Moro Blue Pearl Effect ( optional at extra cost )
Interior: Black Leather

Drivetrain: 2.0L turbocharged in-line 4, 200 HP @ 5100-6000 RPM, torque 207 ft.-lbs. @ 1800-5000 RPM, 6-speed DSG dual-clutch automanual transmission, Front-Wheel-Drive



PLUSSES:

Superb DSG transmission combines efficiency, power, smoothness, sophistication, and ease of operation.

Lots of engine power and accceleration for a 2.0 turbo.......partly due to the transmission's efficiency.

Excellent paint job...very close to Lexus quality paint.

Excellent hardware inside and out.

Versatile rear seat.

Better-than-average steering feel ( not quite to BMW standards )

Sharp handling and steering response with Sport Package.

Flat cornering.

Superb materials inside and out




MINUSES:

Spongy brake pedal.

Pricey with options.

No Quattro AWD with the 2.0 T engine.

Overly complex NAV and MMI system.

Fairly stiff ride with Sport Package.

High-performance S3 not available ( yet ) in the American market.

Somewhat cramped for large people.

Sport front seat bolsters too narrow for large you-know-whats.

Unreliable electronics.

Front grille too large.

Annoying and needless extra charge for some paint colors. ( $450-$750 )

No sedan versions...gotta get the A4 for that.



The first impression you get of this car as you walk up to it is ( not surprisingly ) that of an A4 with the trunk lopped off. Except for the too-large grille up front ( a new Audi trademark on all of its cars meant to recall the large-grilled Auto-Union racing cars of the 1930's that pioneered the Audi name ) the exterior, IMO, is, like the A4, handsome and well-done despite the lopped-off trunk look. The paint and exterior hardware are both very well-done......I have already described the paint above. The exterior hardware, also as described above, does not leave you with the El Cheapo flimsiness you notice on, say, Dodges, Chevies, Fords, etc......
Neither does the interior either. Open the door, get in, and shut it with a solid thud. All of the hardware around you is first-rate and well-assembled. There is a minimum of cheap plastic, and the fit-and-finish level is excellent as well, although naturally the interior is not as plush as that of more expensive Audis, and the Sport Package uses metallic trim instead of wood. The dash has several nice, round, solid-feeling TT-type air vents, which operate with a precise feel.
The gauges are generally well-designed, and the basic controls, while not quite Toyota or Honda-easy to use or operate, are better than on the average European-designed car.

This, however, is clearly not a car for large people. The sport-seats, designed to hold one in place during hard cornering, are a little too narrow for wide backs and rumps like mine...you can feel them pressing into you, and the bolsters themselves are not adjustable ( I think not anyway......I did not find a lever or wheel for it ). The solid-feeling wheel that adjusts the seat back rake is hard to reach behind you and between the seat and the door. The leather on the seat, though, like the rest of the interior, was first-rate in quality, and was not particularly slippery like leather seats can sometimes be.

Headroom, front and rear, was also in relatively short supply, despite the rather conventional roof line that did not dip down in back like on so many other cars...the Open-Sky sunroof package, of course, accounts for some of that headroom tightness. The rear seat was somewhat cramped for large people but not notably more so than in any other small car.

The rear seat design itself was quite well thought-out and versatile. It not only folds down 60/40 using high-quality and durable-feeling hardware, but has a center pull-down feature that doubles as a rear armrest, compartment tray, and a hole for extending long items like skis through the trunk.

Another weak spot in the interior is the NAV / MMI system which was on my test car. The NAV controls were rather complex and I found the the MMI ( Multi-Media Interface ) system to be almost as frustrating as BMW's I-Drive, despite Audi's claim to the contrary. Save yourselves some money and frustration and get an A3 with conventional controls.....I check-tested one on the lot and they were much easier and more satisfying to use. The stereo and climate-control systems both worked well, and although quite good, were not quite in the Lexus-Infiniti class.

Start the engine with a key ( no push-button ), let the oil pressure come up, shift the DSG into gear ( no slam or lurch like other automatically-shifted manuals ), and off you go. The turbo 2.0 has plenty of power, and it comes on early for a turbo, without a long turbo lag. Don't let the small size of this engine fool you...with the turbo, you are pushed back into the seat firmly, and you better keep an eye on cars in front of you so you don't run up their rear bumper. This engine has PLENTY of power to handle AWD......get with it, Audi, and put the Quattro in this car. The engine's exhaust's note is the typical German satisfying tone that builds with RPM.
Part of the reason for the engine's good power, of course, is the efficiency of the DSG gearbox. This is every bit the superb piece of engineering the auto mags say it is...smooth, lurch-free engagement, quiet, efficient at transmitting the engine's power, RPM-matching downshifts, seamless shifting whether auto or manually shifted...just a pleasure to use. You have a conventional console-mounted lever with the choice of auto-shift or + / - manual-shift mode, and also nice, firm-feeling + / - paddles on the steering wheel. One would never guess, primarily because of the smoothness and instantaneous shift of the double-clutch mechanism, that this was not a fluid-filled torque-converter automatic. It gives the power of a manual, the smoothness and convenience of an automatic, and almost the efficiency of a CVT.....without the CVT's weird constant-RPM sensations. Well-done, VW-Audi.
The chassis dynamics, in the German tradition, are a little on the firm side, especially with the Sport Package and the higher-performance tires. Bumps and road irregularities make themselves noticed, but the trade-off, of course, is quick steering response, sharp handling, and a lack of body roll....though not as extreme as the Mitsubishi Evo IX I tested several weeks ago. Nonetheless, this car is at home on narrow, winding, curvy roads, and steering feel, while not quite as slick or driver-friendly as BMW's, has that connected-to-the-tire feeling so prevalent in German sport sedans.

Unfortunately that slick, driver's feeling was somehow left out of the brake pedal......uncharacteristic of German cars. I don't know if it was an A3 problem in general or just a quirk in my test car, but the brake pedal felt almost as spongy as in the Tahoe / Yukon, a vehicle notorious for spongy brakes. Unlike the Tahoe, though, when you press the pedal past its sponginess, you DO get brake response in this car.

So...the verdict? This car is clearly the cream of the crop of the American-market small hatchbacks. With the relatively stiff Sport Package, it is not a particularly good car for long-distance cruising, but will carve up twisty roads as good if not better than some smaller BMW's. Its steering feel is not quite as superb as BMW's, but the noted German sports-sedan feel nevertheless is unmistakable. The DSG gearbox is a marvel of engineering...easily one of the best transmissions I have ever seen ( though it is complex and could be costly to repair once the warranty is gone ). The materials inside and out ( electronics excepted ) are first-rate. Just be prepared to cough up some dollars for the privilege of driving it home, and having to deal ( depending on the dealership ) with the snobbishness and aristocracy you sometimes find at German-nameplate dealerships.

And last, one important note: If you just want the great engineering in the DSG gearbox and don't care about the other A3 attributes, the same transmission is available in some cheaper VW models....you don't necessarily have to pay the A3's price to get it.