Driving a Badge
If you want to buy this car for the sake of saying,"Look, I drive an Audi", than this is the car for you. Rocket with a hatchback? Obviously some of these people don't shop around when buying a car. I compared the Audi A3 to a Subaru STI. Both cars were around 38k. For that price, the Subaru had All Wheel Drive but it was an option for the A3 The Subaru completely destroys the A3 in every possible category. Not only is the Subaru bigger than the A3, it produces 305hp where the A3 produces a dogged 200hp. The fact that I still had to pay another 3k for AWD for the A3 easily turned me towards the Subaru.
It's a Rocket with a Hatchback
From the superb exterior styling, to the mind-blowing interior build quality and leather seats, this rocket was designed by true experts. The performance is stunning for a car in this price range, with amazing Quattro grip and turbo acceleration, paired with super-accurate steering and powerful brakes. I can blow by nearly any car on the highway, and out-corner them, too. I get over 30 mpg on the highway, easily, and 29.8 mpg in daily mixed driving. The dashboard computer is the best, constantly calculating mileage. The engine is a 2.0T, so it gets great mileage due to relatively low displacement, but it will fly on demand with the turbo engaged. This means the best of both worlds--excellent mileage and excellent power. In fact, the mileage is way better than my Subaru Impreza Outback Sport (non-WRX), and the performance, obviously better! The seats are very comfortable, the control layout is truly ergonomic, and the rear hatch storage is good. This car feels very safe with 6 airbags, AWD in the Quattro, traction control, anti-lock brakes, and super high-tech stability control which constantly measures axial rotation of the vehicle, automatically adjusting braking power as needed to keep the car going straight during slippage. Amazing.
Best Hatchback ever
I've had just about every import hatchback from an Integra and Eclipse to a GTI and now the A3. This is by the far the best one yet. It was more $$ than any of the past cars, but it is obvious why. The Fit and Finish is better than some cars twice it's price. The exterior is definitely a step up from the "Hot Hatch's" I've had in the past. The Performance is amazing considering I can still get just over 30 MPG on highway drives. One thing I was truly excited/relieved about was the quality and useability of the Bluetooth system. Connecting was easy and it's awesome to have my contacts at my fingertips vial the steering wheel control, and the voice dialing works perfect. Lastly the reason I love Hatchback's is the best of both worlds from performance to the fact I can take this thing on road trips with cargo room or even to my Home Depot trips and fill up the back with the seats down.