Anybody have any firsthand experience of the Audi A3 ?

[Dover]

It looks like a very good commuter car; good on fuel (24 City 30 Hwy), a luxury feel with nice lines and lots of extras, and personally I LOVE hatchbacks and wish more hatchback models were offered. Thoughts? Comparisons?



...Driving Impressions
This is where the story gets exciting, at least for those of us who've driven the Audi A3 over hill and dale. First, the new intercooled 2.0-liter turbo four is everything a small displacement performance engine should be and is a worthy successor to the vaunted 1.8-liter turbo that preceded it. Second, the suspension is refined beyond the car's price or class and provides both sporty handling and ride quality in concert with the A3's other upscale attributes.

Officially called the 2.0T FSI, the new turbo's 200 horsepower is underscored by a sidewall-rippling 210 pound-feet of torque, the latter delivered across a wide sweep of the tach needle from 1800 to 5000 rpm, making the two-liter feel as though it had a bunch more cubic inches grafted onto it somewhere. Yet, it's remarkably easy on fuel. Preliminary estimates of the A3's fuel economy were about 24 miles per gallon city and 30 highway.

A good deal of the credit for this match-up of performance and responsible fuel usage should go to the direct injection system, FSI. This is the first production car engine to combine turbocharging with FSI, a version of which was used with great success in Audi's all-conquering R8 Le Mans race cars. Here's a quick primer: In contrast to conventional intake systems, where fuel is injected through an intake manifold, FSI delivers the fuel directly into the combustion chamber. The injector, located on the intake side in the cylinder head, is served by a high-pressure pump driven by the camshaft and a pressure reservoir shared by all cylinders: thus, the "common rail" system. Injection times are controlled to within .001 second at injection pressures of up to 110 bar (to compare, a manifold injection system operates at a maximum of 4 bar).

The result is more power with greater efficiency, and an engine that climbs smoothly yet quickly through its powerband. Turbo lag is nonexistent. Just push your right foot down and let the 2.0T deliver.

Audi says the A3 2.0 T Sportback sprints from 0 to 60 mph in 7.0 seconds, a modest figure by some standards, but the raw number doesn't begin to do justice to the engine's throttle response and the chassis' willingness to get from here to there. Torque is ever ready, and the engine is quite happy to reach 6000 rpm over and over again.

The transmission choices illustrate Audi's industry-leading technology in transferring engine torque into rolling power. You can't go wrong with either the standard six-speed manual or the paddle/lever-shifted DSG automatic. The swiftness of choosing the correct gear with either gearbox is more than matched by the car's quickness on its feet.



http://www.nctd.com/review-intro.cfm?Vehicle=2006_Audi_A3&ReviewID=1743

P.S. It is rumored that the 2007 Honda CRV will have hybrid technology. They should be announcing it next year.

[bleedingheart]

1. My bro-in-law has an Audi

but I don't think it is that one...looks more like a small sedan and supposedly is very fast...not sure which one...

[JVS]

2. I drove an A3 in 1998, 2 door

It had the TDI engine. A decent car. It only got up to about 110mph usually. I hit 125 mph between Dachau and Augsburg while drafting behind a BMW 5 series. I'd buy the VW version and save money

[Dover]

9. What's the VW version? n/t

[JVS]

10. The Golf is (or at least was) built on the same platform as the A3

Perhaps things are different now, but the 90's A3 was a Golf with Audi rings and a more luxurious interior

[JVS]

11. Here is a VW version

Look at this website
http://www.cwwcardesign.com/cars/vwgolfvariant.html

[Dover]

13. Wow a beautiful site (and sight!). But are those car designs available

in the US? The Lexus IS-X looks like a hatchback...but have never heard of it. And the 2006 Volkswagen Golf Variant, is that different than the regular Golf's that are out now?

In other words, is THIS available? It looks alot like the Audi.

[JVS]

15. Shit, now I gotta do my homework

Here is what I can tell you off the bat. VW models usually appear in Germany a year or two before they show up here. Here is an example. Recently VW unveiled it's new Jetta. Whenever there is a new Jetta there should be a new Golf, but at the Detroit Auto show there was no new Golf displayed. But since I know that the models show up sooner in Germany, I can go to www.volkswagen.de and see what the next generation of Golf is going to look like. Usually a Golf "variant" simply means that it is a longer car (station wagon version rather than normal hatchback) The Jetta station wagon that came out here a few years ago was called a Golf Variant in Germany. The new Generation of the Golf Variant is not up, but you can see the new regular Golf. It looks much like the A3, but a tad shorter, so the extended version should be about the same car as the a3. The 2 liter turbo is also a link between the two. Unless VW decides to discontinue the sale of the Jetta Wagon in the US (which is called the Golf Variant in Germany) you could buy that and essentially have the A3 4 door.

[Dover]

17. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh...that's very helpful info. Maybe I'll just print out a

picture of the one you linked to and ask a VW dealer about it. But that is NOT a picture of a Jetta, right? What IS the American version of the one in the picture. I'm a little confused about that.

[JVS]

18. Let me clarify a bit

Germans like hatchbacks. Americans don't. Germans prefer the Golf, while Americans like the Jetta.

There basically 3 VW's built on one platform. The hatchback is called the Golf, the sedan is the Jetta, and finally the third model is an extended length hatchback. Because Americans like the Jetta this third model is marketed as a Jetta Wagon. In Germany, because they like the Golf the third model is marketed as a Golf Variant (aka Golf Wagon)

[Dover]

19. Thanks for the clarification. So I should be looking at the Jetta wagons.

I stopped by the VW dealer awhile back and looked at the Golfs and looked at the Jettas and don't recall seeing the one in the picture, so perhaps it won't be available here for awhile. If I remember right, I was surprised to discover that the gas mileage on the Jettas wasn't that great, whereas the Golfs, which are obviously smaller, were much better.

[JVS]

20. The new Jettas have a 5 cylinder engine, which would worsen gas milage

[Nite Owl]

3. I sat in it at

the auto show and it was nice. We had an Audi(S4) a few years ago and it was nice when it worked. Maybe we had a lemon but I wouldn't get another. Beautiful cars though.

Got to the Auto board

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=310

I think Johnny Cougar has an Audi so he would know.



Waiting for that hybrid CRV, sounds like the perfect car for me.

[Dover]

12. Thanks! I didn't realize there was a DU forum on this subject.

Woohoo!

[Redstone]

4. I'd advise you to wait and see if there are quality issues.

I had a '99 A4 (the first expensive car I ever bought), and although I really liked driving it, I got rid of it after only two years because it was falling apart.

It really does seem like they've forgotten how to build cars in Germany. I had a 2002 Passat that blew up after only 30,000 miles as well. VW, Audi, and Mercedes all have reputations for dreadful lack of quality these days.

May I suggest a Volvo S40 as an alternative?

Redstone

[Dover]

7. Good advice but I don't know how much longer my current car will hold out

I would be a little nervous about buying an Audi just because it's not a company I've dealt with before. I've learned that a good service dept is every bit as important as the car.

I've owned a diesel and loved it, but can't find anyone but a dealership to work on it, which has been limiting. Apparently independent diesel mechanics are few and far between.

[aquaman]

5. If you are going to spend that kind of money get a BMW....

335i series, the cheapest BMW made and THE best car I have ever driven. On my second presently, traded in my first for another one. Audi's, like some VW's, have a bad rep recently. I do like the Audi hatchback look though.

[Dover]

6. Is that a sedan? I'm looking for comparisons to the Honda CRV

type of car....either a sport wagon or small SUV. I need to haul stuff around alot. Ideally I'd like a hatchback, but there aren't too many options. I also like to be up high...can't stand climbing down into a low car or feeling cramped (loooog legs).

So that's my main criteria: good gas mileage, ability to haul things, and fairly high seating. So far the Honda CRV comes the closest but I'm not all that familiar with other models. I'd love a Volvo or other good quality car, but haven't seen one that meets this criteria yet. And I'm not that crazy about the look of their wagon.

[aquaman]

8. Yea, it's a sedan, with a huge trunk though,

they do not even put a spare tire in the 2006 models, which is why the trunk is huge, because the tires last at least 150 miles AFTER you might run over a nail and there is a sensor to tell you that the tire needs to be changed soon.

[Nite Owl]

14. What about a Lexus

IS300? They have a sportswagon. Very nice and that won't have problems. I like it but it was rear wheel drive and I live in a snow area and front wheel drive is as much as I would give up. BMW has a 325 sportswagon too but the 25 didn't have enough hp and moving up to the 330xi sort of got up there in price.

I spent months looking for exactly what you are looking for. I couln't find anything that was really perfect so I got an Acura TSX and figured it will have to do until the right one comes along. Short on space but so far friends have come through for hauling, I have it delivered or rent the pickup from Lowe's. Getting almost 30mpg so I'm enjoying that! The TSX was a nice car for the price too and if I don't keep it the resale should be good.

[Dover]

16. Thanks, I'll check out some of those.

I get really confused with the car names that are just letters and numbers....oiy! I haven't seen some of those. I may just buy something used to keep for a year or two until the selection is better is fuel efficient models.

Have you seen the Lexus IS-X. Saw it in one of the sites recommended above, but haven't heard a peep about it. Here's a picture of it: