Audi A3 2.0T: First drive

Motor Trend made a "first drive" with the Audi A3 2.0T.

Audi has three goals with its new A3: (1) target younger and/or first-time Audi buyers who will (hopefully) move up to more expensive models, (2) pursue those buyers with products built around lower price points, as the A4 has continued to move upmarket. These first two objectives are aimed at (3) seeing Audi's mid-$20K-range offerings become a continued sales success, something Mercedes-Benz and BMW haven't been able to pull off.

The DSG, which Audi calls an "automatic," is really an electro-hydraulically controlled manual transmission (or auto-clutch manual). You can opt for a standard stick, but why? The DSG is faster and delivers shifts as smooth as in the best automatics. And it blows away everything else in the clutch-pedal-less manual-transmission category. BMW's base-level Sequential Manual Gearbox? Nein. Ferrari's pricey F1? Arrivederci. Toyota's SMG? Sayonara, too.

Audi gets applause for delivering a sporty, roomy, luxurious car at an affordable price. We'll have to wait to see if the A3 does for Audi what the BMW 318ti and Mercedes-Benz C230 Coupe couldn't for their makers: gain long-term sales in an ever more competitive market.

GermanCarBlog, Audi A3

Source: Motor Trend

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