2006 Audi A3 from North America - Comments

Too new. Nothing has "gone wrong".

First off I've got to advise, get the Sport package if you like driving. It's a night and day difference that makes this car a near all out race car.

Now, all the good things you will or have read about this jewel are right on. It feels like a featherweight with a mule's kick in the tail for power. If you get it on too hard it will actually scare you. Maybe I scare easily, but I've owned a handful of Porches and this car stomps em all for pure fun at all speeds.

The DSG (automatic) transmission is precise and lightening fast. You can choose between fully automatic or fully electric shifting by using the "paddles" attached to 3 O'clock and 9 O'clock positions on the back side of the steering wheel. What a kick! In automatic mode you can immediately find any of the six gears with a finger pull on either the + or the - (minus) paddles. If you fail to shift for a few minutes she goes back to automatic mode. If you want to lock-in the manual mode, you simply move the floor shifter to the right and leave it there. The dash shows gears 1 through six with a highlight to tell you which gear you're in. In manual you can elect to shift by moving the shifter up or down or you can opt to do the paddles up on the steering wheel. If you come to a stop in manual mode she automatically goes to first gear regardless of the final gear you had selected before coming to a stop.

Be forewarned, you will need radar protection as these cars are just too much fun to drive and you'll likely be home late a few times so warn your significant other ahead of time and maybe she/he will be able to comprehend your temporary insanity. I find myself just itching to yank corners.

Now for the bad news. AVOID THE BOSE "PREMIUM" sound system. It's so far below average that you'll hate it. I added the XM module and it sounds just terrible. Don't waste your money as the stock system is $900 cheaper and you can apply that money to something that works. Maybe my Audi came with a defective power amp or preamp circuit, but how do you tell the service writer that the audio system is not worth $100 let alone $900? There is no performance test or computer to hook up to diagnose what you "hear" as being rotten. But let your ears be your guide. Just be sure to hear the Bose system in an A3 (not an A4 or other Audi) before you order one with this option.

Happy driving. It's awesome to the bone.

Do you have the FWD or the Quattro?