Reader Review of the Week: 2007 Audi A3

The Audi A3 has been mostly hit or miss since it debuted a few years ago. It was the first German luxury car in a while that was smaller than the entry-level sedans from Audi, BMW and Mercedes. It was attractive and seemed to offer some utility for its size, but was also kind of pricey, costing almost as much as an A4. So the natural question is, “Who buys this?” The answer is a 5-footer from Pittsburgh who is enamored with the A3’s seating position for her petite frame. Her full report, after a year of ownership, is below. We will point out, however, that the model she purchased does start at $33,980. You can leave your own Consumer Review here.

“My hope is that this review helps those women who are petite (under 5-foot-3) and feel overwhelmed by most luxury cars. I live in the city (a very hilly one) and was tired of driving my Land Rover Discovery, stressing about parking and paying for gas, and wanted to downsize (really downsize) and find something unique. So after a lot of looking and research, I went with the 2007 A3 3.2 S Line.

I needed a car with decent cargo space, good pickup and reliable handling in the snow and adverse weather. I looked at a lot of sedans and other hatchbacks, like the Volkswagen GTI, but wanted something a little more luxurious with the “bells and whistles,” and one that I felt I could “fit” in — where pedals did not seem so far away and the tilting steering wheel actually tilts to below your eye level (I’m 5 feet tall).

If you are willing to pay for the bells and whistles, this car is it. It is really reliable in the snow (the only car in the last snowstorm that I was in this year that didn’t slide on the highway, and it makes it up hills effortlessly in several inches of snow) and I’ve had it for a year with no issues. It’s a joy to drive, and I can pretty much leave cars behind at the stop light if I wanted to. I can also park it just about anywhere, including some pretty tight spots.

The bi-xenon headlights for some might seem frivolous, however, since my night vision isn’t too good they make a HUGE difference in visibility for me also given my height, since they adjust to the topography of the road on which you are driving.

The only negatives I see are the price and mileage since I’m mostly a city driver (about 20-24 mpg) . When I’ve taken the longer drives, though, I can get about 30 mpg, which is commendable for a car that’s considered a sports car by some. As a comparison, I just had a pickup at the airport in a BMW 750Li, and I felt like I was a 3-year-old in that car.”