wikedgolf
10-03-2005, 10:16 AM
http://motortrend.com/features/news/112_news050603_audia3_l.jpg
First Drive: Audi A3 2.0T
Expensive premium small car or value-priced, entry-level Audi? Yes.
By Neil Chirico
Photography by Brian Vance
Motor Trend, July 2005
Audi has three goals with its new A3: (1) target younger and/or first-time Audi buyers who will (hopefully) move up to more expensive models, (2) pursue those buyers with products built around lower price points, as the A4 has continued to move upmarket. These first two objectives are aimed at (3) seeing Audi's mid-$20K-range offerings become a continued sales success, something Mercedes-Benz and BMW haven't been able to pull off.
Audi's A3 is a sporty, four-door-hatchback complete with the brand's signature grille, aggressive fender flares, and creased character lines that run from the corner of the front headlamps through the fenders and doors to the taillights. Similar to the shortened-wheelbase quattro Sport from Audi's rally-racing past, the A3 somewhat resembles an abbreviated wagon. Only one body configuration--this four-door hatch--will be sold here, since Audi doesn't want to compete against its own corporate cousin, the fifth-generation Volkswagen Golf GTI two-door hatchback, with which it shares some chassis architecture. There's but one A3 engine choice at launch, a 2.0-liter FSI (fuel-stratified injection) turbocharged four-cylinder, although the company will add a 3.2-liter FSI V-6 next spring, along with quattro all-wheel drive.
The new four-cylinder represents the first use of turbocharging combined with direct fuel injection. Smooth and powerful with 200 horsepower, it pulls from 1800 rpm and delivers a fat 207-pound-foot serving of torque. It's more linear than Audi/VW's previous, peaky 1.8-liter turbo four. At the track, we paddle-shifted our Direct Shift Gearbox-equipped tester to a 6.2-second 0-to-60-mph run--it was quicker than one equipped with a conventional manual transmission.
The DSG, which Audi calls an "automatic," is really an electro-hydraulically controlled manual transmission (or auto-clutch manual). You can opt for a standard stick, but why? The DSG is faster and delivers shifts as smooth as in the best automatics. And it blows away everything else in the clutch-pedal-less manual-transmission category. BMW's base-level Sequential Manual Gearbox? Nein. Ferrari's pricey F1? Arrivederci. Toyota's SMG? Sayonara, too.
There's none of the jerky action the others dole out while in automatic mode. Leave the DSG in "D" or "S" modes and, if the need arises, pull the downshift paddle to accelerate clear of a situation. The system reverts to automatic if no other manual shift commands are given. There is, of course, a full manual mode, too.
This technology should affect how transmissions are designed in the future, as it offers the benefits of an automatic without the power losses of conventional torque converters.
Our test unit was equipped with the Premium package, which includes upgraded 17-inch wheels with all-season tires (high-performance tires come with the Sport package). Even with the workaday rubber, we managed a respectable 64.2-mph run through our 600-foot slalom. While maneuvering through the cones, senior road-test editor Chris Walton noted that the electromechanical steering suffers a steering gain (after a brief delay) during those transitions; a characteristic also detected on the freeway in the form of minute steering corrections at increased speeds. Still, this may be the most natural-feeling electric steering on the market so far.
Audi gets applause for delivering a sporty, roomy, luxurious car at an affordable price. We'll have to wait to see if the A3 does for Audi what the BMW 318ti and Mercedes-Benz C230 Coupe couldn't for their makers: gain long-term sales in an ever more competitive market.
Click here for Spec Chart (http://motortrend.com/roadtests/wagon/112_0507_audi_a3/index2.html)
http://motortrend.com/roadtests/wagon/112_0507_audi_a301_l.jpg
http://motortrend.com/roadtests/wagon/112_0507_audi_a302_l.jpg
http://motortrend.com/roadtests/wagon/112_0507_audi_a303_l.jpg
http://motortrend.com/roadtests/wagon/112_0507_audi_a304_z.jpg
http://motortrend.com/roadtests/wagon/112_0507_audi_a305_z.jpghttp://motortrend.com/roadtests/wagon/112_0507_audi_a309_z.jpg
http://motortrend.com/roadtests/wagon/112_0507_audi_a306_z.jpg
http://motortrend.com/roadtests/wagon/112_0507_audi_a307_z.jpg
http://motortrend.com/roadtests/wagon/112_0507_audi_a308_z.jpg
http://motortrend.com/roadtests/wagon/112_0507_audi_a310_z.jpg
First Drive: Audi A3 2.0T
Expensive premium small car or value-priced, entry-level Audi? Yes.
By Neil Chirico
Photography by Brian Vance
Motor Trend, July 2005
Audi has three goals with its new A3: (1) target younger and/or first-time Audi buyers who will (hopefully) move up to more expensive models, (2) pursue those buyers with products built around lower price points, as the A4 has continued to move upmarket. These first two objectives are aimed at (3) seeing Audi's mid-$20K-range offerings become a continued sales success, something Mercedes-Benz and BMW haven't been able to pull off.
Audi's A3 is a sporty, four-door-hatchback complete with the brand's signature grille, aggressive fender flares, and creased character lines that run from the corner of the front headlamps through the fenders and doors to the taillights. Similar to the shortened-wheelbase quattro Sport from Audi's rally-racing past, the A3 somewhat resembles an abbreviated wagon. Only one body configuration--this four-door hatch--will be sold here, since Audi doesn't want to compete against its own corporate cousin, the fifth-generation Volkswagen Golf GTI two-door hatchback, with which it shares some chassis architecture. There's but one A3 engine choice at launch, a 2.0-liter FSI (fuel-stratified injection) turbocharged four-cylinder, although the company will add a 3.2-liter FSI V-6 next spring, along with quattro all-wheel drive.
The new four-cylinder represents the first use of turbocharging combined with direct fuel injection. Smooth and powerful with 200 horsepower, it pulls from 1800 rpm and delivers a fat 207-pound-foot serving of torque. It's more linear than Audi/VW's previous, peaky 1.8-liter turbo four. At the track, we paddle-shifted our Direct Shift Gearbox-equipped tester to a 6.2-second 0-to-60-mph run--it was quicker than one equipped with a conventional manual transmission.
The DSG, which Audi calls an "automatic," is really an electro-hydraulically controlled manual transmission (or auto-clutch manual). You can opt for a standard stick, but why? The DSG is faster and delivers shifts as smooth as in the best automatics. And it blows away everything else in the clutch-pedal-less manual-transmission category. BMW's base-level Sequential Manual Gearbox? Nein. Ferrari's pricey F1? Arrivederci. Toyota's SMG? Sayonara, too.
There's none of the jerky action the others dole out while in automatic mode. Leave the DSG in "D" or "S" modes and, if the need arises, pull the downshift paddle to accelerate clear of a situation. The system reverts to automatic if no other manual shift commands are given. There is, of course, a full manual mode, too.
This technology should affect how transmissions are designed in the future, as it offers the benefits of an automatic without the power losses of conventional torque converters.
Our test unit was equipped with the Premium package, which includes upgraded 17-inch wheels with all-season tires (high-performance tires come with the Sport package). Even with the workaday rubber, we managed a respectable 64.2-mph run through our 600-foot slalom. While maneuvering through the cones, senior road-test editor Chris Walton noted that the electromechanical steering suffers a steering gain (after a brief delay) during those transitions; a characteristic also detected on the freeway in the form of minute steering corrections at increased speeds. Still, this may be the most natural-feeling electric steering on the market so far.
Audi gets applause for delivering a sporty, roomy, luxurious car at an affordable price. We'll have to wait to see if the A3 does for Audi what the BMW 318ti and Mercedes-Benz C230 Coupe couldn't for their makers: gain long-term sales in an ever more competitive market.
Click here for Spec Chart (http://motortrend.com/roadtests/wagon/112_0507_audi_a3/index2.html)
http://motortrend.com/roadtests/wagon/112_0507_audi_a301_l.jpg
http://motortrend.com/roadtests/wagon/112_0507_audi_a302_l.jpg
http://motortrend.com/roadtests/wagon/112_0507_audi_a303_l.jpg
http://motortrend.com/roadtests/wagon/112_0507_audi_a304_z.jpg
http://motortrend.com/roadtests/wagon/112_0507_audi_a305_z.jpghttp://motortrend.com/roadtests/wagon/112_0507_audi_a309_z.jpg
http://motortrend.com/roadtests/wagon/112_0507_audi_a306_z.jpg
http://motortrend.com/roadtests/wagon/112_0507_audi_a307_z.jpg
http://motortrend.com/roadtests/wagon/112_0507_audi_a308_z.jpg
http://motortrend.com/roadtests/wagon/112_0507_audi_a310_z.jpg