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Think of the new Audi A3 hatchback as a gift.

Well, a gift that you have to pay about $25,000 to $30,000 for, but a welcome surprise nonetheless. That’s because it’s the kind of car that we seldom see here in America. Elsewhere, the world is full of small cars that seat four, but here in the States, despite the success of the Mini Cooper and Toyota’s Scion brand, the world’s automakers remain unconvinced that we like small cars.

So Mercedes-Benz dithers back and forth about bringing its B-Class and its smile-inducing Smart car here. And BMW isn’t so sure that we’d like its 1-Series models.

But Audi decided to replace hand-wringing with sheet metal.

And that’s why we have the Audi A3, a four-door hatchback with a turbocharged four-cylinder engine that went on sale last month. It’s only 168.7 inches long, more than half a foot shorter than near rivals such as the Saab 9-2x and the Volvo V50 hatch-wagons. And it’s a full foot shorter than Audi’s own A4 wagon.

Design-wise, the look of the A3 is subtle, even understated. Audi’s new single-frame grille is smaller, so less distracting. The side view is very plain, but the car’s rear profile is nicely proportioned.

All in all, the look of this hatch neither breaks new ground nor offends.

The cabin is typical Audi: stylish without overdoing it. There’s enough shiny metal to accent the trendy black background here. Gauges are easy to read, and controls are within reach and properly placed.

Despite a price point that starts below $25,000, the look and feel of the A3’s interior is excellent.

Seats are firm, but comfortable. The back-seat space isn’t huge, but it actually feels a bit bigger than the more expensive A4 wagon. Audi says this compact seats five, but four adults would be much more comfortable.

The cargo area, at 13.1 cubic feet, is of useful size and shape. The rear seats split (60/40) and fold down, so carrying more stuff and fewer folks is an easy option.

The joy here is in the driving.

The engine is the first production unit, Audi says, to combine gasoline direct-injection technology, which Audi calls FSI (fuel straight injection), with a turbo-charger. The result is strong performance and decent fuel economy, the German automaker says.

Ward’s Auto World named Audi’s FSI engine one of the 10 best for 2005, saying it allows engineers to “impart some of the best attributes of diesels — higher efficiency, better torque output — to gasoline engines.” Using FSI — where fuel is injected directly into the cylinder at high pressure — results in gains in power, torque and fuel economy.

Our test A3, with the optional Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG), an automatic transmission that provides crisp shifts with steering-wheel shifters, was ready to run. Acceleration was very, very quick. In fact, I started stopping for yellow lights just so I could be the first away when the traffic signal turned green. It’s the kind of performance that rewards an enthusiast.

In fact, Audi says, the DSG-equipped A3 goes from 0 to 60 mph in 6.7 seconds, or 0.2 seconds faster than the manual-transmission model.

The 2.0-liter four-cylinder makes 200 horsepower and delivers 207 pound-feet of torque. Fuel economy is 25 mpg (city) and 31 mpg (highway) with the automatic.

The A3 enters the showroom as the cheapest Audi, but it remains a member of a luxury family — so things like dual-zone automatic air conditioning, 17-inch alloy wheels and a 10-speaker, 140-watt stereo are standard. So are safety items like dual front, side and side-curtain air bags, anti-lock brakes with electronic brake distribution and electronic stability control.

You have to add the $1,800 sport package to get leather seats (as well as a roof spoiler and front fog lights, among other add-ons). And a $2,025 premium package gets you that plus a power driver’s seat, auto-dimming mirrors, a trip computer and more.

But if you can live with cloth seats and a manual shifter, this A3 at $24,740 is about $2,500 less than the cheapest Audi A4 sedan, more than $4,000 cheaper than the Mercedes C230 and about $5,500 less than the cheapest 2006 BMW 325i.

Coming early in 2006 will be an A3 with a 250-horsepower, 3.2-liter V-6 and the brand’s Quattro all-wheel-drive system.

According to the Associated Press, Audi is targeting young (25 to 40 years old) buyers with the A3, and fully expects half of them to be women. It says it’ll sell 10,000 A3s in the United States in its first full year on the market.

By then, and if this car proves as popular as it should, perhaps other automakers with smaller cars in their global portfolios will give us a few more gifts.

Talk to Matt Nauman about new cars online for a live question-and- answer session from noon to 1 p.m. today at www.mercurynews.com . You also can contact him at mnauman@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5701.