KVA

I saw quite a few A3's in France last week and they do kind of grown on you...lol. Maybe that or the fact that I got tired of seeing so many tiny cars (smart car included).

It is a good looking, if not interesting car in person.

BlkGS3

I hate the fact that Luxury cars are starting to get smaller and smaller. Last i checked the term luxury referred to big, expensive, and are full of advances to trickle down to lower makes and models. This new Audi has none of these features

Inabj2

Im not sure, I think it should work, I for one would take this car over the tsx any day of the week!

And Im not so sure buyers on this segment would be interested in a full size sedan like a charger? Although Id take a booster 4 cylinder over a na 6 cylinder in case I get the modding bug later on!

GFerg

2006 AUDI A3
ON SALE: Now
BASE PRICE: $25,460
POWERTRAIN: 2.0-liter, 200-hp, 207-lb-ft turbo I4; fwd, six-speed manual
CURB WEIGHT: 3329 lbs
0 to 60 MPH: 6.7 seconds (mfr.)
FUEL MILEAGE: 24 mpg city/30 mpg highway (EPA)

The Audi A3 would be a strong entry, even in a category up from entry-luxury. It’s coming into showrooms now with front-wheel drive and a 200-hp turbo four. Next year the A3 gets a 3.2-liter 250-hp VR6 and all-wheel drive. It is priced reasonably at $25,460 and has all the looks and sophistication you would expect in an Audi.

But wait, you exclaim, how can Audi succeed where BMW and Mercedes struggled? It’s simple. BMW and Mercedes brought three-door hatchbacks to the entry-luxury market—the 318ti and C230 Kompressor, both of which flopped about like fish on a dock. BMW even threw the 318ti back. The two cars looked like they had been rear-ended and the owner pocketed the insurance money. American buyers haven’t clamored for that look since the Gremlin.


Audi could have tried the BMW/Mercedes approach with the three-door hatchback version of its A3 sold in Europe, which looks more or less like the 318ti and C230. But Audi decided to leave that model in Europe. The A3s rolling off trucks now don’t look like they’ve been hit at all. They have five doors and look just like all their larger Audi wagon siblings, only smaller. That might lead you to think those Audi people are smart cookies.

But, you say, the Lexus IS 300 SportCross bombed. It couldn’t manage 3000 sales in its three years on the market, and it won’t be back when the new IS bows. The Saab 9-2X is struggling to meet its 3000-to-5000-a-year goal, the Volvo V50 sold only 2500 last calendar year, and the Subaru WRX wagon represents just 30 percent of WRX sales. None of those numbers suggest Audi will reach its goal of 10,000 A3s a year in North America. But who knows?

Maybe it comes down to product, and if so, this is one fine product. We recently spent the day snaking through the Santa Monica mountains in a couple of A3s and found the cars were plenty of fun to pilot.


One A3 had the Direct Shift Gearbox and the other had the manual transmission. The DSG incorporates twin clutches to offer a continuous torque feed to the wheels. It seemed to do this as advertised, but we figure ultimately we’d wind up leaving it in D.

Both cars were six-speeds, a feature, we believe, meant more for CAFE than for the performance driver. Opinion is divided among staff about the paddle shifters—some like the quick, precise nature of their shifts, others say they seem pointlessly Euro-trashy, not just on this Audi, but on anything. None of us is Schuey, after all.

The four-cylinder engine is plenty strong throughout the rev range, with more than adequate torque coming on from 1800 rpm. It may even eliminate the need for that coming 3.2-liter VR6, though it would be hard to turn down another 50 hp.

The A3’s electric power steering feels direct at all speeds and eliminates the parasitic loss a power-steering pump would suck out. The MacPherson-strut front and four-link rear suspension never let the A3 step out of line, despite some fierce shifting and merciless cornering. The car feels as well-balanced as the driver asks it to be.

But then, so does a Golf. Someone asked Johan de Nysschen, executive vice president of Audi of America, if this car isn’t just built on a Golf platform. “We don’t use that word [platform] anymore,” de Nysschen said. “We prefer to say ‘module.’”


However you slice it, there are Golf parts on the A3, but we can live with them. And the Audi parts are good. The inside looks like it could just as easily be an A4 or better, down to the aluminum surrounds on the air vents. Even the bare-bones A3 wagon is luxo-heavy. It comes with a 10-speaker audio system, ESP, side airbags and 17-inch wheels. The $1,800 sport package adds a tauter suspension and some cosmetic touches, while the $2,025 premium package adds power driver’s seat, auto-dimming mirror and other like features.

There is a lot already on the base A3, so you might not need to go up in price. In fact, we can picture a model with just the sport suspension, maybe two speakers, manual seat adjustments, rear-wheel drive, no sound insulation... but then, maybe it’s good we’re not in product planning.

http://www.autoweek.com/article.cms?articleId=102468

videcormeum

Mission ... not accomplished w/ the new Jetta. What a dump.

M.

mmarshall

I'll bet you guys won't be complaining if we get the S3....but Audi is still mum on that.

jet864

I will if they keep it FWD. I'm sure the A3 will do great as FWD and 200hp (look at the TSX), but for an S variant, they need some quattro.

James

XeroK00L

I just read from a Taiwanese online magazine that the A2 is gonna cease production in July due to slow sales. Wonder if A3 will fare better.

Gojirra99

bizzy928

I saw one in person where I work. The license plates said "Audi A3" LOL

Its a very nice looking car but still a bit pricey.