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The editors at TheCarConnection.com have driven several different models of the Audi A3, including the new 2010 A3 TDI, to provide driving impressions and sum up all the important points in a Bottom Line. Then to include opposing viewpoints and even more detailed information, the experts at TheCarConnection.com put together the adjacent full review.
Likes:
- Excellent "S tronic" gearbox
- Impressive cargo space
- Fuel-efficient engine lineup
Dislikes:
- Artificial-feeling electric power steering
- Bluetooth is optional
- Options can drive price toward $40,000
- Starting to look dated next to the rest of the Audi line
Although the 2010 Audi A3 is based on Volkswagen Rabbit/Golf underpinnings, the A3 is bound to attract performance-minded shoppers, with a sleek fastback-wagon profile, plenty of aggressive styling cues, and big, styling wheel designs, in addition to the large Audi grille. The availability of quattro all-wheel drive remains a major attraction for those in snowy climes.
After a modest restyle for 2009, which included new aluminum-look trim and revamped air vents and audio controls, along with new exterior mirrors, door handles, and wheel designs, the Audi A3 returns for 2010 with a few more appearance changes. The more aggressive look of last year’s S line package, including additional detailing and cues, is now standard across the model line. Overall, the 2010 Audi A3 has a now-aging design, but it’s been kept current with some attention to the details.
The base engine for the 2010 Audi A3 remains the 200-horsepower 2.0-liter turbocharged direct-injection inline-four; newly available is a 140-horsepower, 2.0-liter clean-diesel four-cylinder engine, in the A3 2.0 TDI model. Offered with either engine is a six-speed manual transmission or S tronic automatic, which uses two clutches to speed up gear changes without involving an actual clutch pedal. With either engine, performance is satisfying, and models with the S tronic get steering-wheel paddle-shifters. Between the two, the TDI engine is narrowly the favorite of TheCarConnection.com’s editors, because its engine cranks out heaps of torque, giving it the response of a torquey big-displacement V-6 off the line or in top gear. With either engine, fuel economy is better than average, but it’s downright excellent with the TDI; EPA ratings are 30 mpg city, 42 highway with S tronic, and TheCarConnection.com has seen more than 45 mpg in long-haul interstate cruising.
