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| 2006 Audi A3 Review | |||
| Whether you're about to spend $40K on a brand new car, or half that on a used car, it is always important to learn as much as you can about the used car. Read these car reviews to learn about all aspects of the vehicle. Each of the usedcar reviews cover interior and exterior features, options, road tests, and more. | |||
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Introduction
| Road Test
| Inside & Out
| Other Thoughts
| Last Word
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| Road Test | |||
Ok, it's later, so let's get going on this DSG thing. Easily the A3's most unique asset, DSG is Audi's version of a manual transmission that can shift automatically - not to be confused with the more-common opposite. There is a clutch under there, and nowhere to be found is a torque converter, the heart of every automatic transmission (converting mechanical energy to fluid energy and back). This stick-without-the-stick was actually unveiled two years ago as a midlife present for the Audi TT, where it probably ducked under the public's notice.Ironically, that's what it's supposed to do. See, no matter how quick or slick these gearboxes get, none can provide the key asset of traditional shifters: the joy of rowing one's own gears. So now that we've established that the DSG is a manual, we can concede that its sworn duty is to act like an automatic. For that it deserves an Emmy. Your first test drive might reveal some odd subtleties: accelerate from rest and there's some incongruency between your foot's movement and the car's (clutch slip) and more natural engine braking when lifting off the gas. But at all other times, DSG shifts through its six speeds just like an automatic would, only better. Upshifts are transparent, downshifts come with finesse (and a throttle blip), and all shifts arrive like lightning compared to any human's hand-and-foot. This is in part because there's a virtual hand and foot doing the deed for you and in part because there are two clutches at work: one engaged in gear and another standing by, prepped to grab the next gear within 0.2 seconds at the computer's call. Or yours. Like Audi's normal automatic, DSG lets you assume control by shoving the lever forward (upshift) or backward (downshift), or thumbing the left / right steering wheel paddles (downshift / upshift). It's a shame Audi employed its usual logic of forced upshifts at redline and forced downshifts at full throttle against the driver's will, but no matter who's in control, DSG dishes out higher mileage, lower takeoff times, and quicker, smoother shifts. Any objections? The rest of the car ain't half bad either. For those keeping track of lineage, the A3 traces its roots to Volkswagen's "A" platform that also underpins last year's new Jetta and this year's Rabbit and Passat, and the first batch of A3s sound quite familiar: front-wheel-drive, 2.0-liter 4-cylinder, turbocharger and all. As in other A-cars, the A3's engine sleeps sideways and is book-ended by strut suspension pieces. But here in the A3's S-Line trim, the standard Quattro all-wheel-drive and V6 engine hint at Audi's A4, which rides on the company's "B" platform. Put two and two together and the A3, shall we say, takes a little from column A and a little from column B. Can you go wrong either way? I've driven Jettas and A4s in my time and liked them all. Like most Audis, the A3 was pointed at the middle ground between sport and plush and pretty much landed there. The A3's ride-and-handling balance is slick, absorbing most bumps with few harsh or wasted motions. Despite electromechanical speed-sensitive steering that gives only a trace of road feel, it feels fairly lively taking turns, thanks in part to the natural tail rotation Audi baked into the chassis when lifting off the gas in corners. Freeway miles fly by as the refined A3 covers ground with a hint of wind noise plus a faint engine hum (due to the DSG's short gearing). The only real intrusions are the constant rumble of road noise and occasional BANG up the suspension (which can deflect the car's heading if turning), both largely the fault of the optional 18-inch wheels and P225/40ZR18 "summer" tires (vs. standard P225/4517s). They've got a vise-like grip on the street, but as meaner rubbers than those on some Porsches, seem a little extreme for the play-it-safe A3, especially given its diminutive size. Then again, the A3 is kind of fat for a little guy. Coming from a none-too-feathery family to begin with, the 3.2-liter V6, Haldex all-wheel-drive, and five-door body pork it out to 3,660 pounds - 166 past a mid-size BMW 530i. That didn't seem to get in the way of running 5.8 seconds to 60 MPH - swift by any measure and super-swift by the standard of automatic transmissions (admittedly, this is cheating). Thank the healthy 250 horsepower and 236 pounds-feet of torque on tap for that one. Subjectively, it doesn't feel that fast - maybe because of the V6's muffled nature or because those twin clutches are far less forceful than a conventional automatic's kickdown - but the stopwatch has spoken. The brakes are effective as well, with some mushiness in panic stops but less grabbiness than most VWs / Audis. A word about engines: Audi sticks a "3.2" sticker on the back of every V6-powered car it sells. But instead of using the aluminum, 255-HP piece in the A4 and A6 (which is really a 3.1-liter), the A3's 3.2 is an older iron-block design borrowed from the TT roadster, with the same narrow 15-degree bank angle. Common to both is Audi's "FSI" direct fuel injection, which sprays fuel straight into the combustion chamber instead of the intake port - conducive to cooling and enabling the efficiency-boosting 11.3:1 compression ratio. Such an arsenal of technology makes the gas mileage turnout of 21 MPG seem scant, especially given the DSG's tendency to bump into 6th gear as early as 30 MPH. Still, the A3's got enough goodness to make you think "Audi" more than "Volkswagen." |
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