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CNET editors' review
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CNET editors' rating:
stars
Good
Detailed editors' rating
- Reviewed on: 07/25/2005
The A3 features simple, neo-Bauhaus lines and curves. Its four-door, two-box body is longer than a typical two-door hatchback's but shorter and more muscular than a wagon's. From the side, the rising window line and parallel character line give it a wedge shape, with 17-inch wheels and low-profile Pirelli P6 tires filling slightly flared wheel arches. The understated look of performance is further enhanced by the high taillight position. The base price is $24,720 with manual transmission or $26,140 with the DSG, plus $720 for the destination charge.
Quality materials
Audi makes some of the best interiors in the industry, and it didn't skimp with the A3. Controls for the standard AM/FM/six-CD audio and fast-acting, dual-zone automatic climate-control systems are simple and intuitive. Our test car had the Premium Package, a pricey $2,025 option group that includes tasteful aluminum (not faux-metal plastic) interior trim; upgraded alloy wheels; leather seating surfaces (cloth is standard) with a power driver seat; a multifunction steering wheel; and a trip computer. It also had the Cold Weather Package, a $700 option group with Audi's fine seven-level front-seat heaters, a ski sack, and heated exterior mirrors and wiper nozzles.
The split-folding rear seat is comfortable for people up to about 5 feet 10 inches. The small wagon/hatchback body style ensures that luggage space is good with the rear seat up and rivals those of some of the smaller SUVs when it's folded. The large rear-hatch opening and side access through the rear doors makes loading, unloading, and positioning large and unwieldy cargo items as easy as possible. Our test car didn't come with the DVD-based navigation-system package ($1,950), which includes an interface based on the MMI system in the A6 and A4, as well as slots for two SD cards that can be used to play MP3s.
Power platform
Underneath the 2006 Audi A3's practical two-box body beats the heart of a sports car. The new chassis features four-wheel independent suspension, with MacPherson struts in front and a multilink setup in the rear. Steering is electromechanically assisted, with a speed-dependent variable ratio for both ease in low-speed maneuvers and highway stability. Seventeen-inch alloy wheels and low-profile tires aid suspension response and allow large brake discs--12.3 inches vented in the front and 11 inches solid in the rear--with a standard antilock braking system, an electronic brake-force distribution, and the electronic stabilization program for sure stopping power and control.
The standard suspension tuning exhibits some thumpiness over small bumps because of the 45-series tires' sidewall stiffness but is otherwise comfortably soft and well damped. The sport suspension, which we sampled at the press introduction, sacrifices little in the way of comfort while decreasing body roll and improving cornering ability. Torque steer is noticeable only during hard uphill acceleration, which is the worst condition for a front-wheel-drive car, and even then, it is minor.
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