|
From YourSITE.com Reviews & Road Tests Since our first drive of the A3 3.2 roughly one year ago, changes to Audi’s smallest offering have been kept to a minimum. Some package differences were made - the DSG transmission re-dubbed “S-tronic” though largely it’s an unchanged car. Why then, after spending a week in a 2007 example would we go out on a limb in saying the car could have been badged S3 and few would have been the wiser? At the end of the day, such an impression by our staff is purely based on an improved impression, of which our much-more-charismatic 2007 example has in spades. Unfortunately, it’s also got a heavyweight price point to go with that improved demeanor.
That’s not the case with our Misano Red Pearl Effect 2007 example. Matched with 18-inch wheels very close in design to the great-looking BBS CH (this is last year’s optional S4 wheel), and light grey interior (the Audi Sport color combo we’re learning to love), this A3 was no Clark Kent. Rather, it had taken off the glasses and ripped its shirt off to what very easily could have been a red S on its chest.
The 3.2 narrow-angle V6 is quick and torque-laden, though it launches nor accelerates no faster than before. Handling is impressive, though you’ll be hard-pressed to notice any difference between the 17-inch wheel/tire combo of our ’06 and the 18-inch versions (a $1,000 option) with summer tires. At the limit, there’s improvement, but we’re not talking night-and-day, nor would it provide even a noticable gain in daily driving.
Still, what a difference packaging can make! Any retailer will tell you that the outward appearance of a product more-often-than-not makes all the difference in the world, and the personality-infusion in our 2007 A3 test car did just that for us in its perceived value. We weren’t the only ones as the car garnered longing stares from other drivers – always welcome so long as they weren’t coming from a police cruiser. So would we call this Audi an S3? Well, not wanting to keep any 2.0T-powered S-car from this market should Audi be considering it, it’s hard to say so vehemently. Forced for an answer though, we’d be tempted to say “yes”… at least until the drivetrain-identical Volkswagen R32 hits shores later this year.
This A3 is likely closer in spirit to the S4 model it positions below anyway. Big displacement means ample torque… and also a bit of a heavy nose that translates to more than understated understeer. Still, the car can be most satisfyingly flogged down twisty roads in Audi’s super-aggressive Sport mode, or dropped into gear with handsome backlit satin silver paddles that even the S4 Tiptronic doesn’t get. You’ll have to wait until if-or-when the S3 ever comes to better this ride in the A3 lineup, though we wouldn’t recommend holding your breath. The S3 is still unconfirmed for the U.S. and why wait when you can enjoy much of the performance already offered in the A3 3.2?
The only bad side of this all that we can see is a price most hatchbacks will never near… except for maybe the S3 if or when it comes here. The base price of our A3 3.2 quattro S-line is a mere $33,980. Add to that the pearl effect paint ($750), Navigation Plus ($1,950), a Technology package that includes Bluetooth phone prep and bi-xenon adaptive headlights ($1,250), Open Sky sunroof ($1,100), 18-inch cast alloy wheels and summer tires ($1,000), premium leather upholstery ($800), Cold Weather Package (ski sack, heated seats, heated windshield washer nozzles, heated exterior mirrors $700) and Sirius Satellite Radio ($350) and you tally on up to $42,600 with scary ease.
That’s some heady cash to be sure… especially when the naysayers start comparing the car to other hatchback competitors. However, we still feel the A3 doesn’t exactly compare with the likes of those other 5-door offerings and make no apologies about that. Luxury and equipment are on par with A6 competitors from other brands, and when considered from a spatial and performance perspective, the A3 is eerily similar to the once-king B5 S4 Avant sold back in 2002. It’ll match the B5 S4 in reported stock 0-60 mph times of 5.9 seconds, while it bests the earlier S-car’s fuel consumption by a good 4 -mpg in both city and highway environs. That’s impressive performance to be sure. And, while it may not be as tuner friendly as the B5 S4 once was, the torque on-hand for day-to-day driving is actually better than the early S4.
All things considered, we turned in the keys to our 2007 A3 3.2 tester with much more trepidation than we did just one year ago. The capable and dynamic drivetrain and chassis combination was offered this time around underneath an eye-catching package that makes us seriously reconsider this car if perhaps we weren’t quite so enamored the first time around.
© Copyright 2004 by YourSITE.com |
