Making sense of the Audi A3

There are worse things to do when you’re dog-tired than to drive all the way from Batangas just to pick up this A3 at PGA Cars on EDSA and drive back to Batangas in the same day. It’s not a very rational thing to do, but then again, anyone who antes up the minimum P2.250M for a base A3 isn’t doing it out of pragmatism. It’s about love. It’s about wanting to drive one of the best looking hatches in the market today, hearing the motor zing up the rev range, inhaling the fragrant smell of a brand-new European car, and accumulating miles in a car that exudes pleasure in being driven whether you’re just cruising along or attacking some curves. That sort of stuff.

"Two point two fifty mill" does not buy you horsepower bragging rights, because all the little engine’s good for is 102 measly horses, and it’s thin on torque as well. But, this is one of the smoothest 4-cylinders I’ve ever driven, willing to rev with nary a discordant note or shudder towards the redline, emitting a cheerful growl in the process. Working in concert with the 6-speed Tiptronic, getting up to speed is a pleasant challenge rather than a chore, and while you will get soundly beaten at any stoplight drag by most Japanese cars for less than half this car’s sticker price, take comfort in the fact that you’ve still got the better package. Who cares if they can beat you in the quarter mile when you’re in a car that oozes so much class? And besides, if you want more speed, you just need to splurge a little more for the faster variants like the 150-horsepower A3 2.0.

Back to this car then. What other car has an exquisitely elegant cockpit that uses the very best materials and textures to make you want to impose a "Strictly Formal" dress code? What other car has switches, dials, and levers that all move with a silken precision? What other car even has a glass roof?

Which is not to say that it is a lame duck on the road that just happens to look very nice. Drive it in a hurry and the drivetrain does its best to keep up. The chassis is firm and reassuringly responsive on tight provincial roads. The steering, while not as communicative or as sharp as a BMW 1-Series, is light and silken throughout the movement. Drive it to enjoy the time, though, and it’s a smooth operator. Left in "Drive", the transmission shifts cleanly and smoothly while the cabin insulation filters out all but the sharpest noises from the world outside.

This is a small car with the ride confidence of a bigger one and none of the mush. So, no, it’s not a sporty car to drive, but as a personal touring car where the other elements of pleasurable driving come into play besides all-out speed, it’s quite nice. And for a small car, there’s room to stretch inside for most folks; none of the claustrophobic feel that’s common to hatchbacks. In fact, from behind the wheel it feels almost as roomy as its bigger brother, the A4.

As a road tripper, it makes maximum use of the available space. During our test drive, the cargo area willingly swallowed four bicycle wheels, one cooler, four gym bags, and another four large grocery bags. The rear passenger area swallowed one bike frame, two more wheelbags, and two large backpacks, with space left over for a few more grocery bags. Alternatively, we could have also folded down the rear seatbacks to keep things tidier. But typical of European cars, it is skimpy on the all-important cupholders and pockets and little nooks and crannies for your smaller stuff.

So, what could be worse than driving several hours just to pick up this car? Giving it back, of course. Plenty of other cars give you more speed, more space, and more features for far less than what this car costs, but that’s not the point. With this car, it’s all about emotion.



THE GOOD: Oozing with style. Fun-to-drive, yet comfortable chassis. Roomy, for a small hatchback.

THE BAD: It’s no autobahn-burner. Quite pricey, even for a "base" model. Those niggling doubts about long-term Audi reliability.

THE VERDICT: A classy personal car that’ll set you apart even among the gold card-set.