2015 Audi A3: What's It Like to Live With?
Read the latest updates in our long-term road test of the2015 Audi A3 as our editors live with this car for a year.
What do you want to know about?
- Introduction
- Drive Refinement
- Fuel Economy Update for October
- Strange Color Combo
- Houston to L.A., Day One
- Easy Design
- Important Message
- Clean Climate Controls
- More Trunk Space Than You Might Think
- All the Power It Needs
- Crash Test Scores
- Still Rockin' the 30-Pin
- 2015 Audi A3 vs. 2015 Cadillac ATS Comparison Video
- No Need for the Touchpad
- Plenty of Rear Passenger Space
- Best Dashboard Vents in Recorded History
- Infotainment System Fritz-Out
- Fuel Economy Update for November and December
- Checking Tire Pressure
- Performance Tested
- Option Envy on Display
- Tutorial Videos in the MMI
- Quiet and Enjoyable on the Highway
- Getting Some Compliments
- 5,000 Miles
- Get the Driver Assistance Package for the Rearview Camera
- First Service Performed
- Rear Seat Comfort Compared to the A4
- Fuel Economy Update for January
- Useful Traffic Alerts
- Surprisingly Great for Rear-Facing Convertible Car Seats
- Fresh and New Every Time I See It
- Parting Thoughts on Life With a Rear-Facing Convertible Car Seat
- Driver Space
- Fuel Economy Update for February
- Audio Review
- Best Air Vent Design
- Wi-Fi Speed Test
- Road Trip to Indian Wells
- Nimble Handling
- Fuel Economy Update for March
- Better Long-Haul Comfort Than Our Luxury Kia
- Squeaky Center Console Lid
- Crumb-Catching Seats
- Our Car Avoids VW Fuel Pump Recall
- Lifetime MPG Ticks Up in April
- Subwoofer Dial Controls the Low
- Houston to LA: Brisket, Barflies and a Long Road Home
- I'd Take It Over the Volvo S60
- Wither the A4?
- Hauls Four Slot Mags
- MPG Does Not Improve in May
- No Need for Drive Select
- Blame the Small Trunk on Quattro
- The Northern Road to Idaho
- Road Trip Hits an Abrupt End in Boise
- New Oil Pan Gets Us Back on the Road
- MMI and Muscle Memory
- Three Cheers for Three Knobs
- Hitting Its Stride at 15K Miles
- Bringing It All Back Home
- Luxury Is a Matter of Perspective
- Road Trip Turns Compact Sedan Into Favorite Car Ever
- Fold-Flat Rear Seats Yield Large Cargo Area
- Fuel Economy Update for July - Good Gains Over 5,000 Miles
- Right Size and Speed for the Road to Wine Country
- Best Blown Tire Ever
- Air-Conditioning Is Cold As Ice
- Short on Rear-Headroom
- What Caused Recent Check Engine Light?
- Fuel Economy Update for September — MPG Remains Flat
- Say Goodbye to the Hideaway Screen
- Still Better Than the Benz
- Loves a 500-Mile Day
- Replacing the Odd Man Out
- Almost Gone and Miss It Already
- That's a Wrap
- Wrap-Up
Introduction
What Did We Get?
Most new cars these days are bigger, heavier and more expensive than the models they replace. Eventually this type of evolution creates a new space for smaller, less expensive models, an opportunity that luxury automakers like BMW, Mercedes-Benz and now Audi are all too happy to fill.
The all-new 2015 Audi A3 is just such a vehicle. Previously available only as a hatchback, the A3 now comes solely as a four-door sedan in the United States (at least for now). It slots in below the A4 sedan in terms of size and price and can be had with a choice of one of three engines: a 1.8-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder or a 2.0-liter turbodiesel. All engines are paired with a six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.
After giving the Mercedes-Benz CLA a try for a year, we figured the new A3 would be an interesting follow-up. With a base price of just over $30K, the A3 costs roughly the same and offers similar equipment and space. But does it offer something the Mercedes doesn't?
What Options Does It Have?
We began by equipping our A3 with the larger of the two four-cylinder gas engines. The 2.0-liter turbocharged engine delivers 220 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque and is packaged with Audi's Quattro all-wheel-drive system. We felt the extra power and AWD was worth the $3,000 option price.
We also went with Premium Plus trim, which adds 18-inch wheels, heated front seats and side mirrors, and aluminum interior trim. Premium Plus increases the bottom line by $2,550.
We ticked the box for MMI Navigation plus ($2,600), a package that marries a single-CD/DVD player radio with a navigation system, in-car 3G/4G WiFi and touchpad controller. We have a hard time saying no to front sport seats and shift paddles, and the Sport package ($800) adds both along with a sport suspension.
All in, our new A3 rang in at $39,745, considerably more than our CLA. And since we got it on loan from Audi, there was no negotiating the price down.
Why We Got It
Like the CLA, the new A3 is part of an emerging class of small, luxury sport sedans that start right around the $30K mark. They not only offer smaller, more efficient options for traditional luxury buyers, they also offer a compelling alternative for more traditional buyers who might otherwise opt for a loaded version of a mainstream family sedan for the same price.
Of course, we don't add a car to our fleet just to get a complete picture of a segment. That's where the "A" rating we gave the A3 comes into play. Aside from the tight quarters inside, we gave glowing remarks to nearly every other aspect of the little sedan. The A3 performed admirably during heavy acceleration and braking and we found plenty of fun in tackling twisty roads.
The Audi A3 looks to be at the top of its class, but questions remain that we will answer during its time with us. Will the backseats prove to be useful to anyone taller than 5 feet? Is the 2.0T/Quattro combo worth the extra cash? And how does it stack up against its closest-priced competitor, the hugely successful 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250?
We have 12 months and 20,000 miles to find out. Follow along on the Long-Term Road Test Updates page as we tool around in this Audi for the masses.
Best MPG: 33.4
Worst MPG: 23.0
Average MPG over 1,853 miles: 29.2
The manufacturer provided Edmunds this vehicle for the purposes of evaluation.
Our long-term 2015 Audi A3 2.0T Quattro S Tronic is a new, front-wheel-drive-based entry-level sedan from a German automaker. Our long-term Mercedes-Benz CLA 250 is a new, front wheel-drive-based entry-level sedan from a German automaker.
Despite these similarities, they are, in fact, different. I know, amazing stuff, right?
For me the first thing that jumps out is the A3's refinement. I'm not referring to interior trimmings, rather the car's demeanor on the road. In particular the A3's ride quality and transmission are light-years better than the CLA's.
The A3 is really compliant, and doesn't get knocked around by bumps like the CLA. Even big impacts do little to unsettle this small sedan. Where the CLA's ride tuning feels nervous and unfinished, the A3's has polish. As for handling I will hazard a guess that the CLA will edge out slightly higher numbers, but that in the real world the A3 will be more rapid point-to-point due to its ability to better absorb road insults.
Our A3's dual-clutch gearbox is better at being in the right gear at the right time than does the CLA's. The Audi's calibration simply seems smarter. Again, polished; as though the engineers that developed it had the time necessary to make it right.
Here is the October fuel economy update for our long-term 2015 Audi A3 2.0T Quattro S Tronic. This month we picked it up new in Texas and drove back 1,400 miles to California. A summary of that road trip is still being generated but I can tell you this introduction photo shoot was shot along the way.
Worst Fill MPG: 18.5 mpg
Best Fill MPG: 33.2 mpg
Average Lifetime MPG: 25.6 mpg
EPA MPG Rating: 27 Combined (24 City/33 Highway)
Best Range: 418.2 miles
Current Odometer: 2,575 miles
What's black and brown and red all over? Our Brilliant Red 2015 Audi A3 2.0T Quattro S Tronic has an interesting combination of black and brown interior. And when I say interesting I mean weird.
On the window sticker, it's listed as having a Chestnut Brown interior, but it still has plenty of black on the inside as well. I think this combination could work if the colors were closer in tone. But it's not the right shade of brown. It's comfortable inside though. I have no complaints when driving.
I'd like to point out that we chose that color combination when we ordered the car. What's your take, fancy designer color combo, or looks like it was thrown together?
Texas. The unending plains state. Vast. Huge. Maybe the only state in the nation more self-absorbed than California. It's ironic that we're here to pick up one of Audi's most diminutive models in America.
We had two options: Wait several weeks for a truck to haul our new 2015 Audi A3 2.0T Quattro S Tronic long-termer back from Texas, or fly to Houston and ride it across the plains and southwest ourselves in a weekend. Around this office you only need the flimsiest of excuses for a road trip. Kurt Niebuhr and I raised our hands.
My visit to the Lone Star State gets off to an appropriate start at the airport when I recognize a man with a familiar hairstyle carrying a guitar case. It's singer/songwriter and Houston native Lyle Lovett and he's cool enough to chat guitars on the way down the escalator (he plays a Collings acoustic, made by a boutique luthier in Austin). I consider asking him for Julia Roberts's number, but instead mumble that I like his "Road to Ensenada" album. I'm a little bummed he doesn't ask me to join his band.
Kurt and I get a shuttle to pick up the A3 directly from Volkswagen's port office. After a few minutes of Texas pleasantries with the staff, we have the keys and documents in hand. We need to push to get back into town before rush hour begins and knock out the photo shoot (we get caught in rush hour anyway).
We drive around photogenic industrial neighborhoods around the southern end of Houston's downtown, near the Astros ballpark and remnants of the city's old Chinatown.
The A3 is instantly familiar. The seats, instrument panel and controls are all minor variations on the excellent interfaces in the A4 and A8. It feels more minimal than the A4 and that's fair enough given the entry price point. But nothing feels lacking, except for a rearview camera. Our A3 isn't so entry at $40,000, and it's hard to understand why this kind of money doesn't buy you a $45 fisheye lens and the wire to connect it to the front display (this from a NHTSA cost estimate). It won't matter much longer. Rearview cams will come standard on every new car in the States by mid-2018.
We wrap up the shoot and double-back to a craft brewery we saw earlier. There are guys on skateboards inside what looks like a combination loading area/tasting room, trying to land kickflips. We telegraph our wish to try some Houston homebrew, but they ignore us. A girl lounging on a sofa tells us yoga hour is about to begin. The skate rats are understandably nervous about two handsome California guys emerging from a new German sedan when the ladies are about to start their sun salutations. The guys don't even try to take our money.
It's just as well. We're hungry, the light is fading and we need to find our hotel in time to meet our guide, a big Houston native once known by his local radio DJ handle, "Stan Scam, the Texas Homewrecker and Heartbreaker." Stan pronounces the name of his hometown with a silent "H," but the only heart he's breaking these days is his own as he cheers on the city's middling NFL team at a noisy, low-lit Tex-Mex joint, a place you'd only know about if you lived here.
A couple dozen seniors in an impressive spectrum of square dance attire come in to relax, celebrate a birthday and yell at the TV. Football is religion in Texas of course, but the room is deflated as the Texans lose to the Colts in a close game.
The A3 is mostly invisible. So far only the hotel valet has registered it, but even that just seemed a vague understanding that this was a smaller Audi than those he usually sees. No one bothered to talk with us while we took photos. No thumbs-up from passing motorists. It's possible that the brewery skate rats knew what the A3 is, but more likely they just saw two kooks from out of town unworthy of their awesome beer.
The A3 is an important car for Audi, a gateway drug for young money into Ingolstadt's larger sedans and crossovers. But clearly it's not shaping up to be the event that Kurt and I experienced last year when driving the new seventh-generation Corvette across the country. How could it be?
I like a trip reset button that is easy to find and easy to use. This is certainly the case with our long-term 2015 Audi A3.
This would not be an issue for someone who owned the car and drove it every day. But as someone who hops from car to car frequently, I appreciate the clear simplicity of this design.
Our long-term 2015 Audi A3 2.0T Quattro S Tronic has an important message for me.
Although I was not anywhere near this location, I appreciate the warning. I looked in the manual to see if there was a way to set the distance for these messages as this location was about an hour's drive away from where I was. But I couldn't find any specifics. It's not far from our office, though, so perhaps it was using the car's home location.
This should hardly be worth mentioning in a modern luxury car. I'm talking about simple, easy-to-use climate controls that can be used at a glance. Seems obvious, but plenty of cars get it wrong. Our 2015 Audi A3 is not one of them.
This slim panel in the middle of the dash has all you need to get comfortable, and it takes all of a minute to figure everything out. Hard buttons for the vents? Check. Dials for the temperature and fan? Check. An "auto" button for people who like that kind of thing? Check.
In addition to the simplicity, those dials have a hefty, high-quality feel to them. Even the buttons work with a satisfying click. It would be a nice setup for any luxury car. The fact that it's on Audi's least expensive sedan makes it all the more impressive.
On paper our 2015 Audi A3 looks like it has a trunk that's too small to fit much of anything. The official number is 10 cubic feet, which is nothing for a modern sedan. There are convertibles that offer similar space and even our slope-backed Mercedes-Benz CLA boasts over 13 cubic feet.
Thankfully, it doesn't seem nearly that small in practice. I didn't have a huge amount of bags to store after a quick run to Target the other day, but the trunk swallowed up what I did have without much trouble. If I had to guess I would have thought the official number was closer to 13 or 14 cubic feet. Some big suitcases might pose a problem of course, but in day-to-day use this A3 is perfectly practical.
I'm sure the Audi S3 is fun and all with its 292-horsepower engine, but the 220-hp 2.0-liter in our 2015 Audi A3 feels like the perfect fit for this car.
It's powerful enough to feel fast, but not so strong that it's constantly straining the rest of the drivetrain. Everything feels perfectly refined and smooth. The throttle response, the transmission shifts, and even the all-wheel-drive system are all tuned to perfection.
The result is a car that's never nervous or jumpy like some high-performance sedans. It makes the A3 great for commuting and other such mundane tasks even if it has plenty of performance in reserve should the mood or conditions allow.
Maybe after more seat time I'll get used to the power and start wishing for more. Until then, this A3 will be my favorite example of a four-cylinder sedan that doesn't need another cylinder or two to make it perfect.
The NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) awarded the 2015 Audi A3 the top score of 5 stars in its overall safety rating. It scored four stars in the front crash test and rollover crash test, and five stars in the side crash test.
This rating applies to the front-wheel-drive A3 as well as the all-wheel-drive version like our long-termer.
Earlier this year, the IIHS (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) named the 2015 A3 as a 2014 Top Safety Pick+. The A3 scored "good" ratings in all its crash tests.
Read more in the Edmunds news story:
2015 Audi A3 Sedan Earns Five-Star Safety Rating From Federal Government
In 2012, Apple introduced the iPhone 5 which ditched the 30-pin connector and replaced it with the skinny, multi-directional Lightning port. It was a functional win, but apparently, Audi doesn't agree. Our 2015 Audi A3 still has a 30-pin.
A correct-for-the-times adapter is available, but Audi charges $81 for it. The 30-pin-to-Lightning adapter from apple is $40. Guess which one we bought?
At a time when nearly every other automaker has moved to USB ports, the fact that Audi is still using proprietary cables is silly. That they're still supplying the car with outdated cables is baffling.
(Note: Our 2015 GTI also suffers from this technophobia but that car's adapter is only $65...Hm.)
Automotive journalists and automotive enthusiasts tend to think of cars in strict segments. This SUV "competes" with that SUV because it's based on a truck-based platform, this sport sedan "competes" with that sport sedan because they both have rear-wheel drive. Apples must compete with apples, plums must compete with plums.
Except cars are consumer goods that people pay for where price is a prime reason for purchase and apples-to-apples comparisons aren't a necessity. A Hyundai Azera can be cross-shopped with a Chrysler 300 even though they send their power different places, a base model Ford Edge can be compared to a loaded Honda CR-V because they cost a similar amount. It's about what people cross-shop, not creating an automotive fantasy league.
In this spirit, we're using our video comparison series to occasionally think outside the usual apples-to-apples box. Our most recent video featuring our long-term 2015 Audi A3 versus the Cadillac ATS is a prime example. They belong to different segments. One is rear-wheel drive, the other front- or all-wheel drive. One can be had with a V6, the other with a diesel engine. On paper, they are disparate, and in the minds of many, they shouldn't be compared.
And yet, they are both small sedans from luxury brands that are priced in the mid-30s when equipped realistically with options. When both have a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine, the ATS is only $2,500 more than the A3 2.0T. I say real car shoppers would cross-shop these two cars in the real world, so to help them out, Mike Monticello took up the A3's cause while Jay Kavanagh defended the ATS in our video comparison test.
Watch to see which sedan our judge Alistair Weaver would choose and tell us which one you would buy.
One of the trick new features in our 2015 Audi A3 is a touchpad built into the control knob of the user interface, otherwise known as MMI in Audi speak. The touchpad allows you to draw numbers and letters when you're inputting an address instead of scrolling though the on-screen keyboard. It's a neat trick, but not all that useful.
The touchpad itself works just fine. It's relatively easy to draw up letters and numbers if you feel the urge. The problem is the standard way of inputting letters and numbers works even better. Just spin the dial and give it a push when you get to what you want. It's fast and easy, so much so that it makes the touchpad feel cumbersome and slow.
Ease of input is just one of the reasons why the touchpad exits (compatibility with other languages is another), but it's replacing an aspect of the system that worked just fine already. Maybe with more time the touchpad will prove to be useful in other ways. For now, though, it's just a neat feature that I don't use much.
Even though the 2015 Audi A3 is the smallest sedan in the company's range, it still offers a surprisingly roomy rear seat. In fact, one look at the official specs reveals some surprising numbers.
According to Audi, the A3 offers 35.1 inches of rear seat legroom. A meaningless number until you consider that the Audi A4, which has a nearly 7-inch longer wheelbase only has 35.2 inches of legroom.
The BMW 3 Series does no better. Its official measurement for rear legroom is also 35.1 inches. And the Cadillac ATS? Only 33.5 inches in back.
Give credit to Audi for some impressive packaging. The A3 is built on the company's latest architecture known internally as MQB. It's also used for our VW GTI and will underpin dozens of vehicles under the Volkswagen corporate umbrella in the coming years. If the A3, and the GTI for that matter, are any indication, we should see some pretty competitive products coming out of Ingolstadt and Wolfsburg in the coming years.
The 2015 Audi A3 has the best dash vents in the history of dashboards. Seriously, it does. These little ducts are adjustable in any direction, consume minimal dash space, and can be completely shut off by turning the chrome trim ring. Also, they look like they belong in an airplane.
I was driving to an Edmunds testing session in our 2015 Audi A3 2.0T Quattro S Tronic just a few days ago when the infotainment system had a minor meltdown (the photo you see here is a near-reenactment of the event, not the actual event).
I had a CD going in the glove box player, and it was 21 seconds into Shovels and Rope's "Kemba's Got the Cabbage Moth Blues" when the song stopped and a high-pitched warning sound reverberated throughout the cabin.
Now at this point you might be asking, "Who the heck still listens to CDs?" Answer: Old Man Monticello, at least when I get a new one in and before I transfer it to my iPod.
To that point, I ask, "Who the heck still puts CD players in glove boxes in 2015?" Answer: Audi.
But back to our thoroughly intriguing story.
I tried turning down the stereo's volume. Zero effect. I tried simply muting the audio system. Nothing. I tried reaching over and ejecting the CD from the glove box. Again, nothing (kind of a long reach from the driver's seat, too). Just that dang warning sound.
This went on for a minute or two, and then suddenly the Audi's infotainment screen retracted into the dash. I thought, "Oh great, now you've gone and done it Monticello." But the screen immediately popped back up out of the dash, said it was "initializing" and shortly thereafter all systems were working again.
I popped my CD out just to make sure it would do so, then slid it back in and it was back to playing Shovels and Rope. This time it played all the way through "Kemba."
I'm not sure if the Audi's CD player simply doesn't like Shovels and Rope (why wouldn't you, though?), or what exactly caused the fritz-out. We'll keep an eye on it. Of course, if this was all related to the CD player it may be awhile before something like this happens again. I don't think too many folks on our staff still listen to those things.
We missed last month's fuel economy update, so this report sees almost 2,000 miles added to our 2015 Audi A3's odometer. Our A3 didn't take any big road trips during that time. It was on mixed city and highway duty. Still, the miles-per-gallon average seems to be holding rather steady. Here are the most recent stats:
Worst Fill MPG: 18.5 mpg
Best Fill MPG: 33.4 mpg
Average Lifetime MPG: 25.4 mpg
EPA MPG Rating: 27 Combined (24 City/33 Highway)
Best Range: 418.2 miles
Current Odometer: 4,472 miles
We recently tested our 2015 Audi A3 and part of the pre-flight check-in procedure is to check and/or inflate the tires to the recommended values. Often, this means opening the driver's door (or fuel-filler door), checking the placard for the recommended pound-per-square inch (psi) and setting front and rear pressures.
When we checked the A3's doorpost, we found 41 psi front/rear to be the targets. This seemed rather high so we dove into the owner's manual to be certain and found a different story.
More often than not, an owner's manual will show an illustration of a door jam and the location of the placard with the proper values, but the Audi's manual had this matrix. There, somewhere in the middle are the recommended NON-max-load values of 36 psi front, 33 psi rear. The 41 psi wouldn't hurt the tires (and fuel economy might be better), but the ride would have been a bit busy.
From the simple luxury of its cockpit to the wonderful driving dynamics, it is easy to see why the 2015 Audi A3 is one of our favorite entry-level luxury sedan. Having hard data to back up our driving impressions is crucial to objectively analyze a car, and the A3 gives its competitors a real workout on the performance front. We brought our new A3 to our test track to get a full picture of how the luxury subcompact fares against our old long-term Cadillac ATS and Mercedes-Benz CLA250.
Vehicle: 2015 Audi A3 2.0T Quattro
Odometer: 4,017
Date: 12/18/2014
Driver: Josh Jacquot
Price: $39,745
Specifications:
Drive Type: All-Wheel Drive
Transmission Type: 6-speed automated manual
Engine Type: turbocharged inline-4
Displacement (cc/cu-in): 1,984 / 121
Redline (rpm): 6,500
Horsepower (hp @ rpm): 220
Torque (lb-ft @ rpm): 258
Brake Type (front): One-piece ventilated with single-piston sliding calipers
Brake Type (rear): One-piece solid with single-piston sliding calipers
Suspension Type (front): MacPherson strut
Suspension Type (rear): Independent multilink
Tire Size (front): 225/40R18 92H M+S
Tire Size (rear): 225/40R18 92H M+S
Tire Brand: Continental
Tire Model: ContiProContact TX
Tire Type: All-Season
As-Tested Curb Weight (lb): 3,347
Test Results:
Acceleration:
0-30 (sec): 2.2 (w/ TC on 2.8)
0-45 (sec): 3.6 (w/ TC on 4.4)
0-60 (sec): 5.6 (w/TC on 6.7)
0-60 with 1-ft Rollout (sec): 5.3 (w/TC on 6.3)
0-75 (sec): 8.2 (w/TC on 9.3)
1/4-Mile (sec @ mph): 14.0 @ 98.0 (w/TC on 14.7 @ 96.4)
Braking:
30-0 (ft): 30
60-0 (ft): 120
Handling:
Slalom (mph): 66.7 w/ESC on
Skid Pad Lateral Acceleration (g): 0.87 (0.85 w/ESC on)
RPM @ 70: 2,100
Comments:
Acceleration comments: Launch control produces dead-consistent back-to-back quarter-mile runs. This is a fantastic engine in a small car. Makes me think the S3 is probably a truly special machine. Launch control is easy to use, too. I ran in "Dynamic" mode, but I'm not certain that's required. Turned off stability control then floored the brake, floored the gas and released the brake. The A3 leaves from about 3,250 rpm but clutch engagement is fairly tame right off the line. Shifts are rapid, of course. And the whole process shaves a full second from the standard 0-60 time.
Braking comments: It might be a compact luxury sedan, but stopping from 120 feet is impressive. Brake feel is good but not great, yet stops are consistent. Directional stability is very good during full-ABS stops. Minimal dive.
Handling comments:
Slalom: This is a truly impressive handling car, especially considering its all-season rubber. Response and control feel through the slalom is remarkable. Bumps which upset other cars don't seem to exist here. I made all runs in "Dynamic" mode which weights up the steering. ESC tuning is excellent in the A3, which manages to be fast and controllable even when the ESC is doing its job.
Skid Pad: Before the front tires overheat, there's a good deal of control over the A3's cornering attitude. Oversteer can be achieved by lifting off the gas pedal. And at .87g, grip is quite good.
Here are the test results versus our previous long-term 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250 and 2013 Cadillac ATS. The CLA250 was shod in Pirelli Cinturato P7 all-season tires. The ATS wore Bridgestone Potenza RE050A summer tires.
|
2015 Audi A3 |
2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250 |
2013 Cadillac ATS |
Curb Weight as Tested (lbs.) |
3,347 |
3,277 |
3,515 |
0-30 (sec.): |
2.2 |
2.6 |
2.2 |
0-45 (sec.): |
3.6 |
4.3 |
3.9 |
0-60 (sec.): |
5.6 |
6.4 |
6.4 |
0-60 with 1-ft Rollout (sec.): |
5.3 |
6.1 |
6.0 |
0-75 (sec.): |
8.2 |
9.3 |
9.4 |
1/4-mile (sec @ mph): |
14.0 @ 98.0 |
14.6 @ 95.3 |
14.5 @ 94.1 |
Skid Pad Lateral Accel (g): |
0.87 |
0.84 |
0.87 |
Slalom: |
66.7 |
65.6 |
67.3 |
Braking 60-0 mph |
120 |
121 |
114 |
Braking 30-0 mph |
30 |
30 |
29 |
Even if our 2015 Audi A3 was my own car, looking down at all those button blanks would always make me wonder, "What option or feature did I not get on this car?" I had had enough, so I checked the owner's manual to find what labels might adorn this line of fixed blocks.
One was to mute parking sensors, one for automated parking, and another to temporarily disable automatic engine stop/start. That leaves one unaccounted for. Might it be the go-fast "S" or "RS" button? One could only hope.
Here's an idea: How about we dress up our blanks with our own icons or labels like Pass Eject, Cannon, Hyperspace...Got any of your own ideas?
I was poking around the menu of our 2015 Audi A3 and wondered what "Service Wallet" was. It turns out it should be called "Tutorial Materials" or something similar. Dive on in and you'll find a wealth of information, including but not limited to the proper use of the S Tronic automated manual transmission. There's a thorough explanation of how the transmission works (with nifty cut-away video) and how to use it properly. Pretty cool Easter Egg.
After you select the Service Wallet, you'll find another menu with various text and video tutorials. Here's a (very) short clip from the onboard, transmission tutorial. (Audi has been kind enough to supply this — number 15 — and many more 2015 A3 tutorial videos here).
Audi builds some fantastic highway cruisers. Los Angeles to New York? Sure, no problem if you've got the keys to, say, an A8, A6 or Q7. But along comes the new entry-level 2015 Audi A3. Some concern would be justified. How much of the traditional luxury sedan experience do you still get from this $29,900 (base price) vehicle? Well, at least in terms of my highway driving experiences with our long-term car so far, a pretty decent amount, I'd say.
I like that the A3 is noticeably nicer than other, more affordable small sedans. It's quieter, for sure. On a recent five-hour drive in our A3, it did seem pretty quiet. I went ahead and looked up some of our test numbers for verification. Based on our instrumented decibel testing, our A3 posted a 61.5 db reading during 70-mph cruising. That's fantastic. That's even a bit quieter than an Audi A8 4.0T we tested with a 61.8 db reading at 70 mph. (Caveat: Decibel readings can vary. An A8 3.0T we tested was at 58.4 while another A3 2.0T we tested earlier last year was louder at 63.3 db. But I think it's fair to say the A3 is pretty quiet.)
The A3 also feels stable and secure as it's going down the road. As Jay Kavanagh wrote in his Drive Refinement update, the A3's suspension tuning delivers a nice balance of control and comfort. And that's with our car's optional Sport package that includes a sport-tuned suspension. Even if you pick the Sport package, you don't have to worry about it crashing over big bumps or potholes. That package includes sport front seats, and I've found them to be very comfortable and supportive. Rounding out our A3's likeable demeanor is its strong turbocharged four-cylinder engine and automated manual transmission that provide quick and easy bursts of acceleration for passing.
L.A. to New York in an A3? Sure, I'd do that.
When Dan and Kurt drove our then-new 2015 Audi A3 from Houston to Los Angeles back in November, they observed that the A3 was pretty invisible on the roadway. No real head turns, no thumbs-up, no cell phone paparazzi. I suppose this shouldn't be a surprise. The A3's styling is pretty similar to Audi's other sedans, and that familiarity just isn't going to wow the motoring public when you're moving along at 65 mph.
That said, I've gotten quite a few compliments about our A3 when the car's been parked.
Sure, the commentary has just been the casual stuff. The owner of the dry cleaner shop I frequent. One of the other parents at my son's school. My neighbor across the street. They've all said something like: "Hey, that's a nice looking car."
But it did get noticed, and that's exactly what I'd want if I were buying an entry-level luxury sedan. The A3 isn't flashy, but it's not completely boring or derivative, either. When I look at it, adjectives like "handsome, "crisp" and "sporty" come to mind.
I'd wager that the A3's styling will age very well in the coming years.
Approximately three months into the year-long test of our 2015 Audi A3, we've cleared 5,000 miles. Based on our updates so far, the remaining nine months should be pretty great.
Our A3 has done well in instrumented testing and seems plenty powerful in real-world use. We've also commented favorably about aspects such as interior quality and rear seat room.
We have had one minor glitch so far: The infotainment system freaked out on Mike Monticello. But that problem has not repeated itself. Otherwise, it's been trouble-free motoring. Since we're now at 5,000 miles, the car is due for its first service. I've already scheduled the appointment. Look for that update in the next week or so.
Our 2015 Audi A3 has a fair amount of equipment on it. We've got the bigger 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, the mid-grade Premium Plus trim level, the MMI interface with navigation, and a Sport package.
One feature conspicuously missing, however, is a rearview camera.
I mention this mostly because rear visibility isn't all that great on the A3. Its rear window is small, and your view rearward gets further blocked by the chunky rear restraints and thick rear roof pillars. Pretty much every time I put our A3 in reverse to back out of a parking space I think to myself that I would like a rearview camera to help out. Given that our A3 is also a luxury-branded car, I suppose I also have a higher expectation for features than I would on a budget-oriented car.
Anyway, a rearview camera is available on the A3. You've just got to get the right option package. If you're looking at the A3 sedan, you first have to choose among the Premium, Premium Plus or Prestige trim levels. To get the rearview camera on the Premium or Premium Plus (like our car), it also needs to come with the $1,400 Driver Assistance package. That package also includes front and rear parking sensors and blind-spot monitoring. The contents of Driver Assistance come standard with the top-level Prestige trim level.
A few hundred miles before our 2015 Audi A3 cleared 5,000 miles the car started providing notifications in the gauge cluster display that a service would soon be due. This would be our A3's first service and includes an oil change and tire rotation. Audi pays for the first service, too. I booked an appointment at my local dealership, Audi Fresno.
Scheduling the service was easy and my service advisor was friendly and courteous. This particular dealership's building is pretty upscale and happens to share its space with Porsche. There's no lounge room for waiting in the traditional sense (you're not tucked away in some grimy windowless dungeon), but there are areas scattered around the two-floor dealership showroom to hang out while your car is being worked on. Getting to look at cars like an A8, RS 5 and 911 GTS certainly added to the experience.
The service took about 1.5 hours and, as noted above, was free. The dealer washed our A3, too. The only downside came after I arrived home to look at the paperwork more closely. The technician reset our tire pressures to 41 psi. As Chris noted in an earlier A3 update, 41 psi is the number indicated on the door jamb but, like many new German cars these days, it's the max load number and not necessarily what we prefer for daily use. I'll be lowering the pressures back down to 36 psi front, 33 psi rear.
Otherwise, our A3 is ready to rock for another 10,000 miles.
A few days ago, I took our 2015 Audi A3 in for its 5,000-mile service. I had some time to kill since I was waiting for the car, so I wandered around the dealership showroom checking out the latest Audi hardware. I stopped by an A4. Out of curiosity, I hopped in the back to see how the A4's rear seat compared to the one in our A3.
Now, before I get in to this, I want to point out that the A3's rear seat is pretty decent for this class of car. Ed Hellwig wrote this recent plenty of rear passenger space update, and the A3 really does win over our now departed long-term Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class for rear seat comfort. I just wanted to know: Since the A3 would seem to be this good, can it play in the next bigger league?
The rear seat specs are promising. Rear legroom is 35.1 inches for the A3 and 35.2 inches for the A4. The Audi A3 has 36.1 inches of rear headroom while the A4 has 37.5 inches. Shoulder room is 53.0 and 54.3 inches, respectively. But in the real world there are some more noticeable differences.
The A3 does compare very well for rear legroom. With the driver seat positioned for me (I'm 5-foot 10-inches tall) in both the A3 and A4, there are still a few inches of legroom available to me when I sit in the back of both cars. That extra inch of headroom in the A4 is welcome, though. My head and hair rub up against the headliner in our A3. In the A4, I've still got clearance.
The A4's extra shoulder width also allows it to seem less confining. In the A3, I feel a little cramped. There's more space to relax in the A4 as the door and potential other rear-seat passenger are farther away. The A4 is also superior in aspects you don't see on the spec sheet. There's more thigh support from the seat cushion and the door-side armrest is a lot easier to use and put your arm on. On a long trip, I'd be more comfortable in the A4 for sure.
Neither the A3 nor the A4 is meant to be a passenger-hauling mule, of course. But I like how both seem to get it right. The A3 will take on adults in the back seat for occasional trips, no problem. The A4 does a similar job, just with some extra comfort to justify its higher price.
In January, our long-term 2015 Audi A3 added 1,195 miles to its odometer while consuming just shy of 45 gallons of California's premium 91-octane gasoline. All up, this equates to 26.7 mpg for the month.
This result is just a shade below its EPA combined rating of 27 mpg, and bumps its lifetime fuel economy up to 25.7 mpg.
What do you guys think: Is it an example of a turbocharged gasoline engine that lives up to the promised mpg in the real world (pretty close, anyway), or too early to say?
Worst Fill MPG: 18.5 mpg
Best Fill MPG: 33.4 mpg
Average Lifetime MPG: 25.7 mpg
EPA MPG Rating: 27 Combined (24 City/33 Highway)
Best Range: 418.2 miles
Current Odometer: 5,573 miles
Note: Cars are sometimes refueled before their fuel tanks are nearly empty. As such, "best" and "worst" fuel economy entries above are not necessarily the result of an entire tank's worth of driving.
I had just parked our long-term 2015 Audi A3 and was preparing to disembark when the alert you see above flashed up with a chime. Drivers sans skill? Welcome to Los Angeles.
This is the kind of traffic alert I can get behind, as the situation in question is of sufficient risk that I would definitely want to know about it. Certainly more useful than the high surf advisories our Cadillac CTS would incessantly share.
By the way, two hours later the Audi chimed in with another alert. This time is was another car traveling in the wrong direction on a different highway in the area. Keep up the good work, L.A. drivers.
A couple of months ago I struck up a conversation with a software developer from Mountain View, California. It turned out we had two similar interests: cars and babies. He told me about how he was planning to sell his previous-generation WRX STI hatchback because he had ordered a 2015 Audi S3, which he thought would be more practical for family use. He had even picked out an infant car seat for his 3-month-old son and color-matched it to the Audi's interior.
Ever the bearer of bad news, I congratulated him on the S3 purchase but said, "Don't be surprised if the rear-facing convertible car seat your son will need in a few months doesn't fit so well in the Audi. Those are a lot bigger, you know."
However, after a couple of nights in our identically sized 2015 Audi A3 sedan, I have to eat my words. See, I was way wrong. This car is a parent's dream for installing rear-facing convertible car seats. It's almost like Audi and its seat supplier factored that into the seat design.
Actually, I'm practically certain someone at Audi considered car seat compatibility. Although I'm not quite the demographic for the A3 and S3 sedan, they're certainly aimed at a slightly younger buyer who, on the basis of age alone, is more likely to have kids.
So here's why our Audi A3 sedan is so great for rear-facing car seats: The front seats are shaped so that you can wedge your car seat between them without it touching either seat.
Not only can you do the most desirable rear center seat installation, but neither the driver nor the front passenger has to alter his seating position in any way. It's going to be a very comfortable weekend of driving for my family of three.
Now I don't think my ultra-wide First Years True Fit C680 SI convertible seat would fit between the Audi's front seat-backs. But my compact Safety 1st Guide 65 seat easily does. It doesn't have all the bells and whistles nor the impressive looking side-impact protection of the First Years seat, but you know, since it's in the center position (versus in the rear outboard position on the passenger side), I don't feel like I have to worry as much because my kid is that much farther away from the doors and windows.
The A3 has four lower anchor points for LATCH, and I used the two inboard ones to do my center installation. As you can see, I used a pool noodle to get the correct angle for a rear-facing installation. Also note the really basic metal J-hook connectors on this car seat. If you spend more on a car seat, you'll get nicer push-button-type connectors that are easier on the fingers to use.
Although I'm thrilled that my daughter's car seat fits so well in our long-term Audi A3, I wouldn't go so far as to make it my primary mode of baby transport. For one thing, this is still a relatively narrow car, so it would be a squeeze to have an adult (or another child in a car seat) sit on either side of her. Second, while adequate, this Safety 1st seat is not particularly deluxe and for a longer road trip, I'd want her to have a cushier seat. As a second car for a family, though, the 2015 Audi A3 is quite an appealing proposition.
With the exception of the R8, Audis have looked pretty much the same for the last 10 years. I feel like I should be tired of this design by now, and on a car like the A6 (which I feel is too big to be fun on a good road, yet too small to be out-and-out luxurious), I really am tired of it. Yet, our long-term 2015 Audi A3 sedan looks fresh and new to me every time I walk up to it.
Maybe Audi's smaller cars just wear the design better. Although the A3 is predictably much wider than right-size sedans of the past, namely the original A4 and the E46-generation BMW 3 Series, it's about the same overall length as those cars (with a similar wheelbase to that now ancient A4).
More important is how the A3 makes you feel once you're in the driver seat. When I think about the weak, torque-deprived base engines in those old sedans I used to like so much, it's just stunning how quickly Audi's modern entry-level sedan moves out in traffic and delivers you to 60 mph. What's more, it's just so easy now. You don't have to work a clutch (though I've always liked that extra work) or run the engine hard. The power's just there, and although the dual-clutch automated manual transmission often has its own agenda, it's ultimately a willing partner in going rather fast.
I also like the way this car rides for the most part. It's a stiff overall setup with our car's low-profile 225/40R18 tires (all-season though they may be), but the A3 is composed over bumps and ruts and I like how controlled it feels around turns. The steering is pretty good, too. It's precise and adds to the sensation that you're driving a sport sedan. Obviously, the 292-hp S3 is the true sport sedan in this family, but our long-term A3 offers quite a bit of performance to justify its high-$30Ks price tag.
After installing a rear-facing convertible car seat in the rear center position of our long-term 2015 Audi A3 sedan, I observed that due to the backseat's relatively narrow dimensions, it would be a squeeze to have an adult ride on either side of the car seat.
Over the weekend, I became that adult.
As any parent knows, sometimes life is a lot more peaceful if you ride in the backseat with your child. Because I used the LATCH connectors and a foam pool noodle to install my daughter's car seat, the trickiest part of seating myself in back was buckling my seatbelt. I had to lift the noodle out of the way to reach the receiver, and in retrospect, a rolled-up towel probably would have been a better alternative (to position the car seat at its required recline angle while preserving access to the outboard seatbelts).
Once belted, I had plenty of legroom but precious little shoulder and elbow room. That came as no surprise, but the snug headroom situation was an eye-opener. I'm a typical-size adult at 5 feet, 10 inches tall, but I'm pretty much all legs and no torso, so I rarely notice headroom (good or bad) in any vehicle. The A3 is not uncomfortable in this regard, but it would be tight for six-footers.
Another issue that I never would have thought about before I was a parent is the lack of sun protection. There aren't any sun shades in our long-term car, and that's an issue in Southern California. Audi doesn't offer shades as a factory option on the 2015 A3 sedan, but I was relieved to find that you can add them as an accessory.
Finally, there's the issue of ride quality. I don't mind the A3's relatively stiff ride when I'm driving. From the backseat, though, it gets to be a bit much and there's quite a bit of road noise besides.
My better half pointed out that the Audi's 225/40R18 92H all-season Continental tires are the same size as the Dunlops he had on his MkVI Volkswagen GTI, yet the A3's ride is less compliant. After my hour in the backseat, I can say with certainty that my hypothetical personal Audi A3 sedan would have the smaller 17-inch wheels and tires.
Both Brent and Ed have written about the surprising amount of rear passenger space in our 2015 Audi A3.
For a small car, I'm surprised by how much space is allocated for the driver. I know I'm short-legged, but I checked with some of our taller editors and they agree.
I particularly like how the pedal area is scooped out. Front leg room is listed at 41.2 inches, which isn't the most in this class (although it is more than the Mercedes CLA). But it's the way the space is used that works so well.
The space underneath the dash is carved out to give enough knee room. As a shorty I have to sit really close to the steering wheel in most cars, and sometimes my knees will bump against the bottom of the dash. But not in the A3. Cameron, who is probably a full foot taller than me, says that he has enough leg room, and the seat lowers enough for him to not bump his head on the ceiling.
Overall, the A3's cabin is superior in design. The materials are refined. It's loaded with standard features. Even the air vents are superior to other cars. It's nice to find a small car that cares about the interior, instead of economizing. I loved the A4 wagon when we had it in our fleet. And I enjoy driving this A3 sedan too. It doesn't feel as small as it is. Shame we can't get the A3 wagon.
February is the shortest month and not exactly prime road-trip season. Our long-term 2015 Audi A3 consumed 40.8 gallons of fuel over 957 miles. We managed to earn a new "worst" fill of 17.8 mpg, and with the other three stops at the pump, the monthly fuel economy worked out to 23.5 miles per gallon, just a tick under the EPA estimate for city driving.
This makes sense as our A3 spent a lot of time commuting in heavy Los Angeles traffic over the past few weeks. Looks like our Audi A3 is ready for a road trip. Anyone know how far it is to the nearest White Castle?
Worst Fill MPG: 17.8 mpg
Best Fill MPG: 33.4 mpg
Average Lifetime MPG: 24.8 mpg
EPA MPG Rating: 27 Combined (24 City/33 Highway)
Best Range: 418.2 miles
Current Odometer: 6,430 miles
There's a wicked-awesome guitar solo at the 2:50-mark in the Red Hot Chili Peppers song, "Strip My Mind." If you were living under a rock in 2006 and missed the Stadium Arcadium album, I recommend you stop reading this and go listen to it now. It's a double album (sub-titled Mars and Jupiter) and it's an excellent way to spend 123 minutes.
I'll wait.
Last week, I drove to work in our long-term 2015 Audi A3 with Stadium Acradium pumping through the Audi's speakers the only way it should be played: at full volume. It wasn't quite 9:00 a.m. by the time I parked at the Edmunds garage, and I should've been in the throes of a full-blown air-guitar solo. I wasn't though and it was the Audi's fault.
With the volume knob turned all the way to the right (the volume read "34"), which is its maximum setting, it just wasn't loud enough. Our Premium Plus A3 comes with the same ten-speaker audio system as the base A3 and it's got perfectly decent sound quality but with my iPhone connected, the stereo didn't reach its maximum potential.
Like many other systems, the A3's stereo can't get the best sound quality nor can it get the maximum volume out of devices connected via Bluetooth or USB. Sure, you can use compact discs instead, but carrying around 5,170 songs worth of CDs would be a bit cumbersome. Audi knows that people aren't using CDs very often these days and as such, they've tucked the CD player away inside the glove box where it's really difficult to reach. Switching CDs on a road trip would be pretty hard if you were flying solo.
Switching to AAC files instead of MP3 format may increase quality but that's not really the problem here. It's the audio strength. To compound these problems, the base stereo is backed by a plebian 180 watts of power which simply isn't enough to power that many speakers.
We equipped our A3 with the optional MMI navigation plus system for $2,600, but we didn't pick up the 14-speaker, 705-watt Bang and Olufsen sound system. The B&O system is standard on the Prestige trim level, but it's an $850 option on the Premium Plus. At that price (2 percent of our test-car's total price of $39,745) and with the limited ability of the stock sound system, there's no way I'd skip the upgrade if this were my personal car.
Aside from the volume limitations, the MMI interface is perfect. The controls are exceptionally intuitive and easy to use, the system catalogs my 817 albums with zero delay and you can quickly tuck the screen away into the dashboard if you want one less distraction while you're driving.
Our A3's sound quality is crisp, with good standard EQ levels and balance. But I want more audio power. Volume-wise, during those rock-out moments, the stock system just doesn't do the trick.
I agree with Josh. Not only do I like the way the air vents look in our 2015 Audi A3, but I like the adjustability of them.
You can modify the air flow amount by turning the outer silver ring, and you can adjust the air flow direction by turning the vent grill. This design and placement allows me to point them in just the right spot. I find they work better than traditional rectangular vents.
And of course, you can use the dials below to adjust temperature, air distribution and fan speed. The A/C is strong and cools the car quickly.
Even though our Mini Cooper has round vents on the each end of its dash (and one rectangular one in the middle), they do not work nearly as well. Also, the Mini's A/C is weak. I recently had the fan cranked up to level 4 and was still disappointed in air flow.
The 2015 Audi A3 is one of the first vehicles to offer a 4G LTE connection as part of its $2,600 MMI Navigation Plus package. This package includes things like the MMI interface knob with handwriting recognition, a color driver-information display and Audi Connect.
Audi Connect is the suite of programs that take advantage of the high-speed connection to provide things like Google Earth, Google Voice search and social media integration. It also creates an in-car Wi-Fi hotspot for up to eight devices.
The idea is that maybe you need to get some work done on your laptop while at an offsite. Or maybe you have kids in the back that would be quiet if only they could watch some cartoons on an iPad. Seems like a handy enough feature, but is it actually good?
I ran an informal test to find out.
I parked the A3 about two blocks from the Edmunds office. According to the car, the A3 had one bar more of reception than my phone, which, in theory, gave it a slight edge. Pairing a device was as simple as finding the hotspot and entering the password.
I ran the speed test on the left on my iPhone 6, using the Verizon LTE network — very solid numbers. The test on the right also used my phone, but on the Wi-Fi signal. The download speed dropped by roughly 73 percent! I was still able to run Netflix on my phone, but Web pages did load noticeably slower with the in-car Wi-Fi.
Audi uses AT&T as its cell provider, so there could be some variation in network speeds. There's likely also a drop in speed when on Wi-Fi, whereas the phone has a more direct connection.
For now, we're on the six-month complimentary trial period, but it'll be tough to justify paying for the additional data once the trial is over. Data prices range from $20 per GB in a month-to-month plan up to $499 for 30 months and 30 GB.
Recently, a few of us in the office decided to attend the 2015 BNP Paribas tennis tournament in Indian Wells, Calif. Adjacent to Palm Springs, Indian Wells is about 140 miles from our offices in Santa Monica. This tennis tournament, though not as significant as grand slam events like Wimbledon or the U.S. Open, is still a major tournament with all the top players. I also noticed that Audi was a major sponsor of the tournament this year. Our long-term 2015 Audi A3 seemed like a natural fit to drive to the event.
Our group ended up taking two cars (the long-term Toyota Highlander being the other) so for the A3 it was just me and Phil Reed. The A3's trunk is pretty small at 10 cubic-feet, but we didn't have much gear, either. Phil brought his golf clubs and just kept them on the backseat.
After escaping some early morning Los Angeles traffic, we cruised uneventfully at 70-plus mph for a couple of hours. As I noted in an earlier update, the A3's interior is impressively quiet, so we chatted about various topics, including whether Roger Federer can be considered the best ever if he's consistently lost to Rafael Nadal. Overall, the A3 was a comfortable and enjoyable companion for the trip out. It also looked classy parked on the green parking lot lawns.
While we were at the tournament, we noticed Audi had a prominent display on the grounds with an S3, an S7 and an R8 IMSA Flying Lizard race car. A regular R8 (a 2015, not the new 2016) was also located nearby. All the best seats in the main stadium had Audi logo covers, too. We were just a tad higher up than those. Just a tad.
The drive home in the A3 wasn't quite as smooth. Because of logistics, I had to drive home alone late at night. Right around 11 p.m., the A3's tire pressure warning system fired off. Tire pressure monitoring systems are a great feature, and the Audi's display also told me that it was the right rear tire that was low. Unfortunately, the car doesn't actually show you what the tire pressures are.
Since it was dark and I didn't have a pressure gauge with me, I slowed down but kept going another few miles until I made it to a gas station. I purchased a gauge and checked the tires. The right rear tire was indeed low, but to my relief not dramatically so. I decided to air up the tire and then give all the tires a few extra psi as added buffer for any potential leak. I needed to do all of them so that the A3's system would have a level baseline. You have to reset the tire pressure monitor once all the tires are at the "correct" pressure.
Thankfully, the tire was fine for the rest of my drive. I'll be keeping an eye on it over the next few days.
I also tallied up my fuel economy. The A3 returned 33 mpg, which is right at the EPA's highway estimate. This Audi A3 is a great little car.
I've driven our 2015 Audi A3 quite a few times the past three months. Most of that time has been spent commuting, kid schlepping and general life stuff. But occasionally I've zipped through a turn quickly and thought to myself, "Dang, this thing is pretty capable."
Just yesterday I made a special trip on some lightly- trafficked roads to learn more about the A3's handling characteristics in further detail.
The A3 might be Audi's least expensive sedan, but it's actually a rather brilliant sport sedan. First of all, it's small and relatively light weight as 2015 luxury sedans go. A co-worker and I were recently talking about how the A3's proportions seem similar to those of the first- generation A4, so I looked up the specs.
A 2015 A3 has a wheelbase of 103.8 inches and a curb weight of 3241 pounds (3,347 as-tested for our car). A 1996 A4 is listed with a 102.6-inch wheelbase and a curb weight of 3,228 pounds.
The A3's small size and relatively light weight contribute to the car's ability to feel nimble around corners. I also find it interesting that the A3 shares some DNA with the new Volkswagen GTI, another car we've come to find quite capable for handling. There must be some magic in those bones.
But there's no doubt that the A3 is a fun car. Around medium-speed turns, it stays pretty flat and inspires driver confidence. You get a feel for how the car is reacting as it approaches its handling limits. And with the A3's all-wheel drive, it's easy to put the power down exiting tight turns.
Part of the car's appeal can also be credited to the steering. Our A3 is equipped with the Sport package, which includes the Drive Select feature that includes adjustable modes for the steering assist, transmission shift programming and gas pedal responsiveness. I prefer the sportiest Dynamic mode for the steering. It makes the car quick to respond to steering inputs, but still feels linear and predictable. I also like the way the steering wheel fits in my hands.
Finally, our Audi A3's tires are respectably grippy. Had I not actually looked to find out what they are, I could have guessed that our A3's all-season 225/40R18 Continental ProContacts were actually summer- rated given how little noise they make as cornering speeds build. In testing, the A3 posted a .87g rating on the skidpad. That's not sports-car-with-summer-tires territory, but it's certainly enough to have plenty of fun on a curving road.
Overall, the new A3 continues to impress.
In addition to the usual day-to-day duties, our long-term 2014 A3 has spent some time with editor Brent Romans and made a day trip out to the desert.
In March, the A3 didn't give us a bit of trouble. As far as fuel economy goes, the best and worst fills remained unchanged, while the overall average slightly improved. We're still falling short of the EPA's combined estimate, though.
Worst Fill MPG: 17.8
Best Fill MPG: 33.4
Average Lifetime MPG: 25.1
EPA MPG Rating: 27 Combined (24 City/33 Highway)
Best Range: 418.2
Current Odometer: 7,649
A few months ago I drove our long-term Kia K900 round-trip from Los Angeles to Phoenix. It was a trip that my cemented my impression of the car as underwhelming. Recently I took our long-term 2015 Audi A3 2.0T Quattro S Tronic on the same route. Call it a comparison test of sorts.
And you know what?
The little Audi was a better road-tripper.
In this case, the difference comes down to ride quality and steering. The Audi A3 just does it better. It has better bump compliance and recovery than the K900, and the steering loads up more intuitively. Being substantially lighter, the A3 also has the edge in high-speed agility.
At the end of each leg of the trip, I was more refreshed after driving the Audi than I was after dealing with the Kia's tiresome ride quality. The A3's seat is terrific too, though it lacks the Kia's seat coolers. It has an extendable thigh bolster, tilting seat bottom and headrests that adjust for height and fore-aft position. Good stuff. The Kia was certainly more isolated from road noise, but that's probably not surprising. At the same time, I didn't find the A3 unduly loud.
One area for improvement in the Audi (hey, all cars have at least one) is in its power delivery. It has turbo lag. Not old-school, wait-wait-bang lag, but a noticeable pause as the turbo comes into play when you give it a dose of throttle at cruising revs. Once on boil there's nothing to complain about, as the A3 moves out with authority. Perhaps VAG could look into a twin-scroll turbo for this mill.
I've mentioned before that the A3 is a refined little sedan, but I'm even more on board now than before. Thumbs up.
On the way to school, my kid lifted the lid on the 2015 Audi A3's center console to attach her iPhone to the handy power cord inside. I didn't hear any noise when she initially lifted the lid, but when she closed it, we both heard a loud squeeeeak. So I moved the lid up and down one more time.
It sounded like this:
"Please don't ever do that again," my daughter said, as she grabbed her phone and made a beeline for her first-period class.
Although I'm only 5-foot 7-inches tall, I love the extending bottom seat cushions in our 2015 Audi A3 test car. The extra few inches of thigh support makes for a much more comfortable driving position.
But what I don't like is the constant gunk that falls into those cracks.
I vacuum those crevices every time I drive the A3, but they just keep catching crumbs.
Volkswagen is recalling more than 6,000 vehicles for possible fuel-pump failure, and some 2015 Audi A3 models are included in that sweep.
In its recall summary, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that "improper nickel plating of the components within the fuel pump may result in the fuel pump failing. If the fuel pump fails, the vehicle will not start, or if the engine is running, it will stop and the vehicle will stall, increasing the risk of a crash."
Yikes. Sounds like a truck we know...
We called Audi customer service with our A3's VIN number and, lucky for us, our long-termer is not included in the recall. We're still waiting to hear about our long-term GTI, however.
Audi and VW owners can contact Volkswagen customer service at 1-800-893-5298 or Audi customer service at 1-800-253-2834.
Here is the April fuel economy for our 2015 Audi A3. Last month we covered 1,717 miles, which is right on pace with our monthly goal. We would have missed the mark if not for a weekend over-and-back to Phoenix to visit family. Take the jump for an A3 fuel economy recap.
It was a somewhat uneventful month in mpg. No records were broken. Our running average did increase slightly from 25.1 to 25.4 mpg however, largely from that Arizona road trip.
Worst Fill MPG: 17.8
Best Fill MPG: 33.4
Average Lifetime MPG: 25.4
EPA MPG Rating: 27 Combined (24 City/33 Highway)
Best Range: 418.2 Current Odometer: 9,366
My daughter likes to remind me that she's all about the bass, no treble, and I tell her that's great if she wants to play in a good rhythm section someday. It worked well enough for Charles Mingus, Larry Graham and Carol Kaye, after all. I then like to remind her that the Volkswagen group does great, old school-style digital audio controls better than anyone, like in our 2015 Audi A3 and our long-term GTI of days past.
That's about when she fixes me with a quizzical stare, says I'm weird, and I realize that I'm on a fast track to no longer being the coolest guy in her world.
The A3 is one of a handful of cars that is also all about the bass, featuring as it does this sweet, virtual subwoofer level control dial. Dedicated sub level controls are great if you cycle through a lot of different genres in your mobile listening. It's handy for enhancing music built on doom and boom (dial cranked hard right for hip-hop, dub reggae, Slayer), reinforcing thin, weedy bass on older recordings (Dylan, most traditional country), or just plain making a fool of yourself in traffic, copping air-bass licks to any Sly and the Family Stone song.
More about the audio system in another post, but I like how Volkswagen AG continues to offer a sense of tactile, linear control, even if it is just a picture on the screen and even if it is just for audio geeks.
When we last left off, many months ago, we'd spent the day flying to Houston, retrieving our 2015 Audi A3 from the port and knocking out a photoshoot. The next day we awoke to dreary skies, intending to make Lubbock that night, and setting us up for a run through New Mexico, Tucson, and the last leg home.
A flash rain shower outside of Houston let us test the A3's wipers. They worked. Freakishly well and fast, actually, as this was a hole in the sky that slowed interstate traffic to 35 mph. Then, just as abruptly, it ended. We had smooth sailing into the town of Lockhardt, near Austin, where we stopped for a late breakfast. Black's Barbecue is legend, but we opted instead for Kreuz Market and a half-pound of brisket, sausage links, mac-n-cheese and mini pecan pies.
Via text message, Editor-in-Chief Oldham and senior photo manager Scott Jacobs question our commitment, reminding us that they came this way once before, stood in line first thing in the morning to inhale five pounds of barbecue (no sides, no sweets) at both spots, before driving off and polluting the local air quality for some time. Kurt and I quit while ahead, knowing we face a long day of sitting upright in a confined space, but plan an evening of barbecue in Lubbock as a reward.
Later I regret not trying Black's, as I learned that my grandfather was born and raised in Lockhardt (somehow I'd always assumed Dallas) and was serious with one of the Black's family daughters.
We make a brief detour to Circuit of the Americas outside of Austin, hoping for a decent photo opp. Instead we luck into a parking lot full of vintage racers. It's the Sportscar Vintage Racing Association's national championship weekend.
The A3 quietly glides along the makeshift pit areas, motor homes and trailers of the competitors, slightly invisible and out of place. It's hard for a new car, regardless of how red the paint or how many rings on the grille, to stand out here. There is some seriously lustworthy Porsche, Mustang, British, and Italian sheetmetal to compete with here.
After COTA, it's time to mash the hammer and sweep the Texas prairie. After sunny skies in Austin, the horizon darkens with cloudbanks swollen with water and electricity. We can't ask much more from the A3. It's quiet and rides superb. Neither of us is uncomfortable after several hours in these seats. The engine has plenty of sauce for overtaking and the cruise control is easy to monitor and adjust. The A3 does a fine impersonation of a full-size, cross-country sedan.
It's past dark when we reach Lubbock. We're hungry, but the few barbecue shacks we'd hoped to visit closed up hours ago. We end up at Rudy's, a regional chain that still seems pretty legit. The brisket is drier than at Kreuz's, but more flavorful.
Now searching for hotel rooms, we realize our first mistake. It's Friday night in a college town and we don't have reservations. We weren't even certain we'd make Lubbock this night, and if we did, finding rooms somewhere near Texas Tech University didn't seem unreasonable. It may not have been but for the Red Raiders hosting a home game that weekend, Homecoming weekend at that. Every room within a mile of campus was booked solid with parents and alumni.
By the time we found a place down the highway, far from the action, both of us were too tired to care. Tucson and some fantastic driving roads lay ahead tomorrow.
Day Three: Lubbock > Tucson
It's a cold morning. A construction crew is gathered outside the foyer, waiting for their lone man who hasn't woken up yet. Sucks to be that guy. We hustle some fuel and get on the highway. An hour into the drive, I'm slowing into a McDonald's parking lot with a Texas state trooper's Crown Vic behind me, blue lights blazing.
He tells me to get out of the Audi and sit shotgun in his patrol car while he runs the license. A familiar battery of questions and explanations follow: Where are you headed? Why does your car have Michigan plates? Now, tell me again: you're writing an article about this car? And you do this for a living?
The exchange goes well, however, and I feel good about my chances. The trooper is about my age, maybe a bit younger. Says he was out in southern California a few months ago and can't understand how anyone can live there. He asks about the A3, I ask about the Crown Vic. He says the Dodge Chargers in the patrol fleet are unreliable (cracked cylinder heads), but he's excited about the new Ford Explorers coming into service. More room, better seating position, easier in and out. Kevlar vests and gunbelts have gotten bulkier, he says, while the Crown Vic has remained the same.
He lets me go with a warning to mind the shifting speed limits when approaching the small burgs along Highway 60/84 into New Mexico.
We spend miles pacing a freight train running alongside 60/84 West before finally overtaking it. It's a crisp day that alternates between cloud cover and blue sky, but crossing into the Land of Enchantment adds color to the harsh glare of white-washed Texas plains. The highway leads into Fort Sumner, where outlaw Billy the Kid was brought down.
There's a Kid museum and tacky tourist traps along the main drag and I start humming themes written by Bob Dylan for the Sam Peckinpah movie Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid, a movie and soundtrack I discovered from a great Peter Egan story.
The 60/84 finally split in Fort Sumner and we continue west on 60. It parallels Interstate 40 to the north, but the rolling two-lane is, if not more interesting, more relaxing. Kurt and I speculate about the kind of cars we'd own if we lived out here. A full-size pickup of course, but a flat-out speed shuttle is also required. A 911 Turbo or Z06 would definitely feel out of place, but there might be few better places to enjoy their triple-digit properties. It would also help to befriend local judges and contribute generously to the high schools and Little Leagues.
The 60 meets up with Highway 85/Interstate 25, which parallels the Rio Grande, and we bear south for a lunch stop in Socorro. We try to eat local and funky whenever possible, but the only place that looks suitably funky is a greasy spoon overrun with Harleys. We think better of parting the crowd with our compact red German sedan. Anyway, a buffalo burger with green chiles sounds better at what looks like a Tex-Mex joint. It turns out, in fact, to be a Tex-Mex joint, although one with white tablecloths, hefty silverware and expensive bottles of wine.
We've waited for this next leg. There's another stretch of rolling flats that cuts through the foothills of the Cibola National Forest toward the town of Dotil, where we'll pick up New Mexico State Road 12, wind our way up to about 6,000 feet through the Gila National Forest, pick up U.S. 180, then start descending into Arizona on SR 78.
This is the payoff. It's a Saturday afternoon, but traffic is light. There's rain, but not enough to dampen our fun. This is a fun, perma-grin wheel workout that finally shows us how the A3 handles itself from side-to-side. Kurt pushes it at about 7/10ths, both of us wary of an oncoming highway patrol and, not least, our unfamiliarity with the road.
We even take it on dirt near the highway summit, its maiden voyage off-road, until we happen upon some kind of cowboy compound in a grassy basin a few miles from the highway. There's a vaguely sketchy feeling to the scene, some kind of Coen Brothers setup, and when we see an F-Series dually start off in our direction, we turn the A3 back around toward the highway.
Even at 70 percent, it's easy to gather confidence in the little Quattro wheelbase. These are real driver's roads and this, with the right attitude, is a blue-collar driver's car with uptown aspirations.
SR 78 turns into U.S. Route 191 and finally brings us to the road home, Interstate 10. It's dark and again, we're tired, hungry and without hotel reservations. I'm hoping we can find a decent spot, then go see some live music. Maybe Calexico is playing somewhere.
Nope. Again, we're victims of college football and our own ill-preparation. The USC Trojans are in town to play the Arizona Wildcats. The best we're gonna do is a Best Western near the airport, miles from the town center. It's just as well. Boss Oldham suggests we find El Guero Canelo, a place that serves Sonoran-style hot dogs (bacon, tomatoes, beans, grilled onions, jalapenos). One of El Guero's three locations is near the hotel, but far enough to call for a cab.
The dogs hit the spot, served up in a fluorescent-lit, open-air kind of place, with rancheras singing out from a house next door and guys working on some kind of jalopy in the darkness a few doors down. We hope to continue our anthropological pursuit of local barfly wisdom, as we did on our road trip in the Stingray, and Kurt insists we visit The Branding Iron about a half-mile down the road. Our cabbie said it was his regular spot. A few Harleys are parked out front, AC/DC blares from the doorway, and we're glad we didn't drive the A3 to this spot.
The Branding Iron doesn't disappoint. The game is on TV, three co-eds sit at the bar in Wildcat jerseys, some guys argue at the pool table behind us, and Kurt is befriended by a man with limited English and a voracious thirst for tequila. I keep looking over my shoulder, expecting the pool game to devolve into fists and steel. The first beer goes down with a little edge, but the place settles down a bit during round two. Somehow, Jedi-like, Kurt has re-positioned himself between me and the college girls, allowing his old friend to become my new friend.
The Trojans beat the Wildcats 28-26 in a heart-breaker for the home team.
Day Four: Tucson > Los Angeles
The next morning we're up early for the home stretch. We could take I-10 the whole way home, but neither of us has taken the border route. We take I-8 instead through Yuma, with white Mexican sand dunes to the south and the green agricultural fields of Imperial County to the north. Soon we're into San Diego and, finally, home.
It's been a great road trip. The A3 certainly isn't the event that our Stingray trip was, but we didn't expect it to be. Kurt and I are a little puzzled, though. What are we going to say about this car? It was competent, comfortable, and refined, everything you expect of an Audi these days. That alone is a minor revelation, however. This kind of comfort and composure isn't a given among this new crop of compact entry-level luxury cars. We call the Mercedes-Benz CLA250 to testify on that score.
There will be (and has been) plenty of time for others to weigh in on the A3's strengths and weaknesses. We're six months into the test now. I'm still looking for a clearing in the calendar to go run those forest roads again.
We have three entry-level luxury sedans in our long-term fleet right now: the Acura TLX, the 2015 Audi A3 and the 2015 Volvo S60. I haven't driven our TLX yet, but I've spent more than a week in both the A3 and S60. I like them both, but of the two, I'd buy the A3. Here's why.
Most of my decision comes down to price and driving experience. Both cars are on the less expensive side of luxury sedans. Our A3 rang up at $39,745, while the S60 was priced at $46,975. Our S60 T6 offers more luxury and safety features as well as the 302-hp engine upgrade, so there's value behind the higher price. Add those missing features to our A3 and it'd still cost less than the Volvo (although you can bring the two closer in price by opting for the S60's less-expensive T5 (240 hp) engine).
Even with its upgraded engine, however, our S60 posted slower acceleration times than the A3 in our testing. The S60 accelerated from zero to 60 mph in 6.0 seconds and cleared the quarter-mile in 14.3 seconds. In contrast, the A3 had 5.6-second and 14.0-second times, respectively.
Our A3's times were based on using the car's launch control system, which certainly takes advantage of the car's all-wheel-drive traction. You could argue that the A3's acceleration time with the traction-control system turned on (6.7 seconds) is a more real-world number. In my experience, I'd say the S60 feels stronger just driving around town, but not dramatically so.
I prefer our A3 for the way it goes around turns. It feels sharper and more nimble. It's a car I'd purposely take on a deserted back road to have some fun. The S60 is capable but just doesn't spark the same enthusiasm. For long-distance driving, both cars are quiet and composed. Volvos are known for having fantastic front seats, but I'd have to agree with Mike Magrath that the S60's don't fit quite right. The S60 does have a little more room for rear seat passengers and a slightly bigger trunk, though.
There's a lot of parity elsewhere. Both interior designs are quite nice. Both cars earn top safety scores across the board. The technology display interfaces operate in a similar fashion. But in the end, the A3 is the car that intrigues me more. If you're shopping for a luxury sedan in the $40,000 range, I highly recommend it.
Hardly.
But the 2015 Audi A3 is a hot-seller for the Four Ring circus. In May, it outsold its larger sibling by 700 units. Year-to-date, the A3 is outpacing the A4 by more than 3,700 units. The A3 is in fact Audi's best-selling sedan year-to-date (this includes A3 convertible and S3 models as well).
That would seem to indicate that the A3 is doing exactly what Audi hoped it would: bring more buyers to the badge at a lower price, without sacrificing overall quality or cachet.
Can Audi let the A3 cannibalize A4 sales?
For a short while longer maybe, but an A4 redesign is right around the corner. The new model, which should use the second-generation of the Volkswagen Group's new front/all-wheel drive modular chassis, should start selling in Europe later this year. The new A4 is expected to be larger but lighter, with a revamped MMI technology interface, a familiar crop of turbo and diesel powertrains, and a richer interior to justify a more upmarket price. Rumors are also strong about the return of the Avant wagon.
Expect to see the new A4 in North America about this time next year. In the meantime, the A3 will continue to satisfy buyers who crave either the A3's diminutive style, its badge cachet at reasonable price, its smaller, nimbler handling, or all three.
This set of Craigslist slot mags have been collecting dust in the corner of my garage for about seven years. I bought them for $100 from an old guy in the San Fernando Valley who was using them as lawn art, it seemed, since the early 1980s. I knew they would fit both my '55 Chevy and my '76 Pontiac Trans Am (and now my more recently acquired '69 Camaro) but I didn't really have a plan. I just knew I had to have them.
Well, it's about time I did something with them. But first, they had to go to the polisher. I was sure our long-term 2015 Audi A3 would get the job done, but I figured I'd have to utilize the sedan's 60/40 split-folding rear seat.
I was wrong.
The Audi's trunk was big enough. All four 15x8.5-inch wheels fit in the A3's trunk, which Audi says offers 10 cubic feet of space. There wasn't much room remaining, but there was plenty of height to spare.
We often point out how Audi's engineers and designers sweat the details, and the A3's trunk hinges are another example of this extra effort. Notice how they don't intrude into the cargo space, crushing your stuff, as they do in many other cars today. Instead they retract into their own houses behind the trunk liner. Nice touch.
Our long-term 2015 Audi A3, which is all-wheel drive and powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, only traveled a scant 1,300 miles during the month of May. Basically we've been busy testing other cars, but the A3 remains a staff favorite, and one of my personal favorite cars.
Those 1,300 miles of driving were a mix of environments, from longer highway hauls to the short-trip shuffle on Saturday. And mileage for the five fill-ups ranged from 22.5 mpg to 27.8 mpg.
Not bad considering our heavy right feet and the fact that the A3 is driven almost exclusively with its transmission in Sport mode. This absolutely makes the car more responsive and fun to drive, but it definitely has a negative effect on its fuel efficiency.
Despite that, the A3 averaged 25.2 mpg for the month of May, which is a point higher than its EPA city rating of 24 mpg, but nearly two clicks shy of its combined rating of 27 mpg.
It also mimics the Audi's lifetime mileage. Since it joined our fleet last fall, the A3 has averaged 25.4 mpg.
Worst Fill MPG: 17.8
Best Fill MPG: 33.4
Average Lifetime MPG: 25.4
EPA MPG Rating: 27 Combined (24 City/33 Highway)
Best Range: 418.2
Current Odometer: 10,750
The "Drive Select" feature in our 2015 Audi A3 is a nice piece of technology. It allows you to adjust the throttle sensitivity, transmission program, steering weight and, if equipped, the suspension settings.
Our car doesn't have the optional adjustable suspension, so our options are limited to adjusting the steering and transmission/throttle settings. I tried the various configurations as I drove around town this weekend. From the "auto" mode that changes them for you to the "individual" mode which allows you to tailor each setting on your own, there are plenty of choices.
After trying most of the variations, I didn't find a very big spread between them. In other words, I hardly noticed a difference at all. Putting the transmission lever into "sport" mode seems to make more of a difference in the way the car feels. It's also easier to do which makes the whole "drive select" feature feel like an unnecessary piece of tech.
You might have second thoughts about the size of the trunk in the 2015 Audi A3 sedan if you just dwell on the rated capacity. As Scott Oldham recently pointed out, 10.0 cubic feet is not a terribly impressive figure. Interestingly, that number goes with the 2.0T version, which is what we have.
Audi says the 1.8T can hold a more respectable 12.3 cubic feet in its trunk. Same goes for the TDI. Why the difference?
Quattro all-wheel drive; Our 2.0T has it, the 1.8T and TDI do not. The lack of rear-drive componentry results in a deeper trunk floor, but I don't have one of those models handy, so I can't attach a number to that.
Scott showed us that his naked slotted rims fit in there, but I was able to up the ante and wedge in a set of four un-mounted tires. Sure, these puny 155/80R13 tires do not go with his vintage rims, but still.
Besides, we've also put luggage in there in the form of standard pieces we keep at our lab. This smaller A3 trunk simultaneously holds one large international checked-baggage suitcase and one carry-one roller bag, the kind that fits into a 737's overhead compartment. Remove the large international bag and the A3's trunk will hold three carry-on bags.
Scott noted the disappearing gooseneck trunk hinges, which are much-appreciated and very slick indeed. But there's also good stuff going on inside the cabin.
Behold the center armrest, which folds down to reveal a flip-down panel that allows something like a snowboard to stick through.
And those 60/40 rear seatbacks fold down separately to expose a full-width opening. They also fold flat, which isn't always the case.
Audi doesn't publish a cargo capacity in this configuration, though. It's common practice with SUVs and hatchbacks, but off the top of my head I can't recall a sedan that provides this figure. So the 2.0T's trunk may be small on raw numbers, but Audi engineers have done everything possible to maximize what they had to work with. The shape is about as usable as it could be, and several nice touches make it that much better.
And if you need trunk space more than you need all-wheel drive, you can always buy a front-drive 1.8T or TDI instead and gain yourself almost 25 percent more capacity.
I don't remember visiting Idaho before. It has never come up. That changed this week. Someone found a unique classic car for our long-term test fleet, and I went along to help get it home in one piece. I figured the 2015 Audi A3 would be the right car for the job. Besides, I had already loaded the trunk with the replacement tires our new acquisition would need.
We chose U.S. Route 395 up California's eastern flank of the Sierra Nevada. It's a slightly more direct route than the interstate options, but the real reason was we figured the scenery would be more beautiful.
This was a good move.
Along the way, this 904-mile path to Boise would route us through Nevada and eastern Oregon before we reached Idaho.
Such a distance required an overnight stay, so we set up an 11:30 a.m. appointment with the seller. This left us with one stopover choice: Winnemucca, Nevada.
The Audi made easy work of the drive. The steering is impeccable and its turbocharged 2.0-liter engine has no trouble at altitude, which at times flirted with 9,000 feet.
Our first fuel stop came in the tiny High Sierra town of Bridgeport, California after some 335 miles. Several roads come together here, but there's no fuel around for miles. The pump prices absolutely reflect that. We added 11.462 gallons of premium after completing the opening leg at 29.2 mpg while battling a sometimes-stiff headwind and a steady uphill climb.
Nevada came up quickly after that. We eventually hit Interstate 80 in Fernley, Nevada where we had dinner before hightailing it east on the interstate to Winnemucca for some rest.
Next morning we lit out early and headed north toward Oregon. Even though the Audi's fuel gauge read a quarter-tank, we decided to stop for gas on the Nevada side of the border so we could pump it ourselves.
Good thing we did, too. The next two Oregon towns on the map were wide spots in the road with nothing but abandoned fuel stations. We'd have run out if we'd passed this opportunity.
Ultimately we crossed into Idaho after an uneventful trip, which was just what we needed. Events got much more interesting once we took possession of our new wheels in Boise.
Our 2015 Audi A3 sedan suffered the ride of shame on the back of a tow truck in Boise, Idaho after suffering damage at the precise moment we arrived at our destination. We were extremely fortunate, however. The nearest Audi dealer was only three miles away.
Even better fortune? Audi Boise is the only Audi dealer in all of Idaho, and their service department was open on this Saturday afternoon. According to Travis, the service manager, the next closest Audi dealers are in Portland, Oregon (429 miles) and Salt Lake City, Utah (345 miles).
I called Audi Roadside Assistance and waited for a flatbed to arrive while the other guys looked at our new long-term acquisition, paid the seller his cash, and retrieved the tires from the Audi's trunk so they could go have them installed.
Oh, right. You want to know what happened.
It all went down right here on this named street that looks like an alley. Outwardly, nothing looks wrong and the A3 rolls just fine. In fact I pushed it back about six feet from where the incident occurred.
Before the tow truck driver backed into position, I told him what happened and pointed. He hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary when he drove past.
"They ought to fix that," he said.
Perhaps you can get the sense of it in this shot. But you have the advantage of tramped-down grass where the Audi once tread. We didn't.
Still not seeing it?
How about this angle?
No?
You can't fail to see it now. From the other direction, this nicely-mowed lot looked like a perfectly serviceable grass verge that was safe to park on. It probably was too, if we'd been driving anything vaguely Idaho-like, perhaps a pickup truck or SUV. Guy that lives in the house across the alley probably backs over this every day to get his truck pointed down the street.
All we did was hang two wheels onto the grass in order to get out of the way of passing traffic. CRUNCH. Turn it off! Turn it off!
I immediately jumped out of the passenger door and poked my head under to see what had made that horrible sound. I watched as hot oil gushed out from what I presumed was a hole in the oil pan. Lots of oil. Nearly all of it, in fact. Game over. Tow truck city.
Yep, that's a stump, all right. And those black chunks are fragments of the A3's plastic oil pan. That's right — plastic.
At least the driver shut the engine down right away. Due to his quick action there's little or no chance it suffered any internal damage. Oil was still coming out when the tow truck driver winched it onto his flatbed. Still more came out when he unloaded it at the Audi dealer.
This all went down on Saturday afternoon, so we had no choice but to leave the A3 at the dealer and let them tell us what it needed Monday morning. We'd have to leave it behind and fly someone to retrieve it once fixed.
I got the call back at the office Monday morning, and the news was as expected: new oil pan, new oil pan gasket and a new plastic belly pan. They would have the parts on Tuesday and have it ready on Wednesday.
Parts estimate: $342; Labor: $224.
Go for it, I said. We'll have someone up there Wednesday night to pay for it and drive it home.
When we last left our 2015 Audi A3, the injured sedan was sitting at the only Audi dealer in Idaho. We had accidently run over a hidden stump just off the road, tore the A3's plastic oil pan and dumped its contents all over the grass. We had it towed to Audi Boise on a Saturday, where it sat over the weekend awaiting inspection on Monday.
Our team continued home but someone still needed to retrieve the car after the repairs. I volunteered and flew out on a Wednesday evening, the same day the work was completed.
An employee at Audi Boise picked me up from my hotel at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday. Dan Edmunds arranged for the service manager, Kevin, to keep the oil pan and give it back to us. Kevin obliged and packed the pan, mostly oil-free, in a plastic bag and placed it in a box for me. Then we went over the work order.
The oil pan and several associated components were damaged during the hidden stump incident. The sump, oil pan baffle, gasket and drain plug were all replaced. Six quarts of oil and a new filter were the last parts required for the repair.
I paid for the repair, then started on my 900-mile journey home.
Oil Sump: $198.00
Oil Pan Baffle: $107.55
Gasket: $36.26
Shipping for Sump, Baffle and Gasket: $60.00
Drain Plug: $6.82
Oil: $46.26
Oil Filter: $12.05
Shop Charge for Miscellaneous Parts: $14.34
Labor: $238.99
Tax: $25.28
Total: $745.55
I drove our long-term 2012 Audi A8 quite a bit, and I remember struggling at first to get the hang of the Multi Media Interface (MMI) system. What would it be like now that I was in our 2015 Audi A3 for the first time?
No worries. Muscle memory kicked in, for the most part. My hand, more than my head, clicked into the control buttons for navigation, telephone, radio and media. The four-corner contextual buttons made sense this time around, which they did not three years ago.
There was a bit of a fail when I spun the central control knob in an effort to change the map scale. Since I use the BMW iDrive system daily, my brain apparently thought that motion would work in this system, too. I'll need more MMI time to override that reflex.
Here's a question for anyone out there who has both MMI- and iDrive-equipped vehicles in their personal fleet: Which system is more intuitive?
I'm a simple guy. I like 1980s-era video games. My mountain bike doesn't have a bunch of gears. I use a Crock-Pot. I'm all about simple and easy.
So it should come as no surprise that I absolutely love the HVAC system in our long-term 2015 Audi A3. Three simple knobs to control what should be a simple operation. Simply wonderful.
Turn the knob closest to you to change the temperature. That little knob in the middle controls the fan speed or turns the system off. The knob on the passenger's side controls the passenger temperature. These functions can be done without taking your eyes off the road. Three cheers for simple.
As an added bonus, these knobs look and feel substantial.
These things feel as though they can be turned for years and are in no danger of becoming loose, or falling off like the volume knob on my son's '98 Tahoe did. If it's possible for climate controls to instill confidence in build quality, these knobs do it.
My personal car is a 2015 Acura TLX. To change the fan speed in the TLX, I first have to press an A/C button. Then I need to use the touch screen to adjust the fan speed. If I want to redirect airflow, I'd need to use the touchscreen. If I want to turn on the heated seat, you guessed it — I'd be back to the touchscreen. If I want to change the temperature, I use an up and down switch. Button, touchscreen, lever.
Touchscreen controls are cool and all, but I'm not convinced they're an upgrade from good old-fashioned knobs or buttons like those found in the A3. Especially for controls a driver may want to change on the course of a one-hour commute.
Again, maybe I'm just too simple.
So what do you think? Knobs or touchscreens?
In the last eight weeks, our 2015 Audi A3 racked-up an easy 5,000 miles. Playing chase car from L.A. to Idaho for the purchase of our glorified 1989 Yugo test car earned us 1,800 miles round-trip, although the return was delayed when the A3 took a hit to its oil pan.
We also added a couple thousand miles from shorter road trips, including a visit to California's Monterey Peninsula and a straight shot up the Central Valley for an overnight parental check-in.
It's a good thing we have 10 weeks or so left in our year-long Audi A3 test. Seems the sporty sedan is just hitting its stride.
I picked up our repaired 2015 Audi A3 in Boise, Idaho, 900 miles from home. There were several return routes to choose from, and I decided on a modified version of the route our team took when they picked up the 1989 Yugo GVL.
I planned to mirror their trip from Boise to Twin Falls via Interstate 84, then south on U.S. Route 93 to Ely, Nevada. From there I would divert to U.S. Route 6 and Nevada State Route 318 to reconnect with 93, ultimately hitting Interstate 15 near Las Vegas. After a night in Sin City, I'd travel south on I-15 and take I-10 west to the California Route 57 home.
I grabbed a few large bottles of water and began my journey back to California.
I left Audi Boise at 8:30 a.m. with a sense of dread. Memories of Los Angeles rush hour hell was in the front of my mind. But I had nothing to fear in Boise. Even with a terrific amount of construction on the highways around the most populous city in Idaho, my speed never dropped below 40 mph. Once clear of the construction and on my way to Twin Falls, it was time to take in the endless fields of farmland and enjoy Idaho's generous 80-mph speed limit.
I set the cruise control at the limit and smiled as fellow travelers passed by. California's maximum 70-mph speed limit seemed antiquated in comparison. I was happy to finish this 130-mile leg of the trip in what seemed like no time at all.
Correction: it would have felt like no time at all if the A3 decided to play nice with my iPod Classic. I wanted to play something time-honored and distinctly American during my journey. Maybe Highway 61 Revisited. And then I plugged in my iPod and found that my music player was not supported. Following advice from The IT Crowd, I tried turning my iPod off and back on again, but nothing worked.
I pulled over and consulted the manual. Sure enough, the A3 should support 4th-generation iPods and newer. Mine is a 6th-gen iPod Classic, the last version Apple made before discontinuing the line. But the manual lied, and I wasn't about to turn around to Boise to troubleshoot the problem with the service technicians. Satellite radio and the few albums downloaded on my phone would be my companions.
My first thought after I entered Twin Falls was, "I wonder if this town actually has a pair of waterfalls?" A quick Google search pointed me to Shoshone Falls Park, a popular tourist site that offers a stunning view of Shoshone Falls and the Snake River.
At 212 feet tall, they dwarf the mighty Niagara Falls by 45 feet. Three dollars for admission to the park was a small price to pay for a relaxing respite from the road. I filled up with gas and caffeine before returning to the highway. Fuel economy was 29.7 mpg on this stretch. Not bad for sustained travel at high speed.
The next leg took me to Ely, Nevada. I entered the Silver State 50 miles from Twin Falls and stopped for a moment to snap pictures at the border town of Jackpot. The 205 miles between Jackpot and Ely consisted of flat desert expanse with nothing but the small town of Wells to break the monotony.
My stomach started to rumble within eyesight of Ely. I rolled into town and stopped for photos, gasoline and a sandwich. My fuel economy for this leg was 27.5 mpg, which would end up being the worst fill of the entire trip.
Rather than keep on 93 from Ely, I chose U.S. 6 and Nevada 318 for a more direct and interesting drive. Route 6 heads southwest out of Ely and up the pass between Rib Hill and Ward Mountain. I chose the Dynamic setting in Audi Drive Select and threw the transmission into manual. The A3 was wonderful on the long, sweeping turns afforded by the pass. With the transmission and steering in their sharpest settings, the A3 feels like a more mature version of the 2015 Volkswagen GTI.
After my brief mountain detour, it was back to the open road. Route 318 connects with 93 and the Extraterrestrial Highway at Crystal Springs, not far from Area 51. I fought the urge to pick up alien jerky and continued south. From there it was a straight 115-mile shot to Las Vegas.
I pushed through rush hour and Electric Daisy Carnival traffic and crashed in my hotel room for much-needed sleep. The next morning, I gassed up the A3 and headed home. Fuel economy from Ely to Las Vegas was 29.6 mpg, nearly matching my Boise-to-Twin Falls fill.
I chose to take the shortest day of my road trip at a leisurely pace. I wanted to focus on fuel economy for at least one section of the trip, so I set my speed at a comparatively conservative 70 mph. The drive from Vegas to my final destination of Brea was smooth sailing until I reached the Cajon Pass. Vehicles came to a standstill due to heavy road construction that reduced traffic to three lanes
Even so, when I filled up in Brea I'd achieved 34.8 mpg, the A3's best fill since it's been in our fleet.
The A3 was finally home with a brand new oil pan and a radiator grill full of every insect between here and Boise. Nine hundred miles in two days was easily the longest trip I had ever taken solo. But even without a connected iPod, the A3 was a perfect companion. The ride is comfortable without being soft, the engine and transmission combination was heavenly and fuel economy was stellar. I'll follow up on the iPod issue soon.
Following are fuel economy results for the major legs of the trip:
Boise to Twin Falls: 29.7 mpg
Twin Falls to Ely: 27.5 mpg
Ely to Las Vegas: 29.6 mpg
Las Vegas to Brea: 34.8 mpg
Total fuel economy from Boise to Brea: 30.2 mpg
I'm new to the whole auto journalist gig. I haven't had the opportunity to drive as many cars as my co-workers and most of the cars I have driven belonged to friends or family, with the occasional rental, taxi or dealership test drive thrown in. That was the only way I could get behind the wheel of something new or different until now.
I recently moved to Santa Monica, near the Edmunds headquarters. I grabbed the key fob to our long-term 2015 Audi A3 and decided to drive around my new city. Sitting in traffic - something I'm growing accustomed to - gave me plenty of time to explore the Audi's cabin.
I'd say it's certainly nicer than my friend's BMW 135i, maybe even better than my mother's second-generation Cadillac CTS. All the major touch points feature high-quality materials, soft or not.
While I'm not a fan of the brown interior, the leather feels soft, without that shine that cheaper-quality leather can have. The seats were comfortable, bolstered well and featured more adjustment than anything I was used to. Aside from a very squeaky center console, the whole interior of the car felt very solid and quiet.
The tech was also very impressive. Much has been written about Audi's MMI and how well it works. I really liked the layout of all the controls, and the dash and console had enough buttons for the most common functions without looking busy. On this occasion I didn't have time to pair my phone, but I had no trouble navigating around the radio, navigation or source controls.
When I got back to the office, I asked if anyone else noticed the squeaky console. That led to a conversation about the interior of the car as a whole, when terms like "bare" and "Spartan" were tossed out. While there was no disagreement about whether or not the A3 is a luxury vehicle, it became obvious that we have different definitions of luxury.
To me, the Audi A3 ticks all my boxes for a luxury sedan. For them, maybe not so much.
With the Audi, or any luxury car, there is a certain solid sound that the doors make when they close. There is a quiet isolation from any road noise. The handling is firm but never punishing. The A3's air vents feel better designed than those in most cars.
It's all about perspective. My co-workers drive all sorts of vehicles. They expect a luxury vehicle to have certain things. Heated seats, a rear-view camera and HID lighting are all features they mention. Maybe one day my standards will align more closely with theirs, but right now I think I'm just the type of buyer Audi is going after with the A3. Mercedes-Benz is doing the same thing with the CLA250.
These cars aim for someone young who wants a step up from the A3's Volkswagen platform mates or any midlevel sedan, but without the expectations that come from driving higher-spec Audis and Mercedes. A midsize sedan at the same price as the A3 might come with more features, but it won't have the same cachet or feel. The A3 may not be as feature-rich as an A4 or an A6, but I'm impressed with what it has.
I wasn't planning to take my daughter to visit her grandparents 380 miles north in California's Central Valley. But they're 90 - as in years old - so anytime it works into our schedule, I figure we'd better make the trip.
Typically for these adventures, I'd drag home an SUV or minivan, something big and comfortable. But since this was a last-minute decision and it was just me and the kid, I instead grabbed the keys to the 2015 Audi A3 that my husband drove home. He was out of town for the weekend, and the A3 has Wi-Fi, a feature I knew would please my teenage travel hostage.
What an awesome decision it was to take the Audi.
First off, although I really favor the Audi lineup, I hadn't particularly warmed to our A3 tester. I lean toward mostly oversized vehicles, and the A3 seemed a little cramped to me. I also thought it was a little too stripped-down inside, which made it even less comfortable.
But what I realized on this trip was how much fun it is to actually drive the A3.
Plenty of power for passing the vegetable-laden semi-trucks clogging up California's heartland, great brakes for when said trucks inexplicably cut back in front of you, responsive steering for that last-second dive onto the freeway exit in search of the new Carl's Jr Ding Dong Ice Cream Sandwich - these are all A3 attributes that I not only liked, but seriously enjoyed.
And when the heavens opened up and smiled upon drought-plagued Cali with an unexpected thunderstorm, I said, "Quattro? Rain-sensing wipers? Woo-hoo!" Turns out, the A3 isn't cramped or uncomfortable either.
Man, am I glad Ed was out of town.
I put a bike in our 2015 Audi A3 over the weekend (not pictured). I was pleasantly surprised by the cargo space with the seats folded flat. With its front wheel removed, the entire bike (a large 29-inch wheeled mountain bike) fit without rubbing on the front seats. I've put the same bike in certain compact hatchbacks (I'm looking at you Ford Focus) and couldn't say the same.
As important, the rear seatbacks fold within a few degrees of flat, further enhancing the usability of the cargo area for hauling something bulky like a bike. We've talked before about how useful the A3's trunk is, but this is truly impressive. Here you can see the large, heavy scales we use to weigh cars in the back of the A3. Its trunk happily swallowed them with the rear seatbacks upright.
It's been a while since the last fuel economy update on our 2015 Audi A3. Since that post in June (for the month of May) we've added almost 5,000 miles to the A3's odometer. Multiple road trips to Idaho and Northern California helped pile on the miles.
As a result, the A3 has increased its lifetime mpg and improved its best fill.
Lifetime mpg increased from 25.4 at the end of May to 26.2 at the end of July. Also, one of our videographers took the Audi to Monterey in July and upped its best fill from 33.4 mpg to 35.1 mpg. Both are impressive gains.
Even with an abundance of highway miles, our lifetime mpg remains below the EPA's 27 mpg combined estimate. A quick survey of the room as of this writing shows that no one here cares. A few mpg is a worthy trade for such a fantastic car.
Worst Fill MPG: 17.8
Best Fill MPG: 35.1
Average Lifetime MPG: 26.2
EPA MPG Rating: 27 Combined (24 City/33 Highway)
Best Range: 418.2
Current Odometer: 16,129
Right Size and Speed for the Road to Wine Country
My mini-vacation mission was simple: drive up north on Pacific Coast Highway, visit wine country, see as much as possible, and hopefully do it in a company car.
Well, luck was on my side as I, a lowly video producer, somehow scored our long-term 2015 Audi A3. At first glance, it's hard to differentiate the A3 to the A4. It's only when you get in that you can see and feel how the interior space is more condensed. But besides the size difference, the other thing that struck me is the interior's minimalist design. Other than the slick-looking screen that slides in and out of the dash, the only other real focal points are the jet turbine-looking air vents.
While I thought the interior visually appealed, my girlfriend thought it was a bit too sparse.
We started off in Santa Monica and even though this is a smaller car, when presented with an opportunity, speed or passing was not an issue. With its all-wheel drive, it's a confident car that can overtake or keep up with anyone on the road. After escaping the normal city congestion on U.S. 101 and stopping for coffee in Santa Barbara, we finally made it over the hill into wine country, eventually stopping in Solvang (made famous from the movie "Sideways") for a tasting and some pastries (and no, we didn't have any #$%@ing Merlot).
The next morning we picked up our San Luis Obispo pals and headed to Morro Bay for kayaking and dune hiking. On the ride there, yes, the back was slightly cramped for two average-size adults, but for me, week-in week-out, I generally don't have to haul that many people around. If I do, they're not going long distances with me. It's not like I'm driving for Uber, so the smaller size doesn't really bother or affect me on a normal-living basis.
After lunch and saying our good-byes to friends, we continued up PCH making stops in San Simeon to watch the elephant seals chest bump and bark (it was like being home for the holidays in Ohio with my relatives) and Big Sur to take in the views at Nepenthe (side note on Morro Bay: try the Bayside Café for the best fish and chips you'll eat).
While PCH was littered with construction and patches of suspect road surface conditions, the A3's ride was always smooth and comfortable, while nimbly zipping in and around the seemingly never-ending twists and turns of Highway 1.
While navigating our course, I wondered why cars even have integrated nav systems anymore. The tech just can't keep up. I hope that one day they'll have a mirroring option, much like a MacBook to an Apple TV. Waze and Google Maps are far superior to the map tech and the disc control makes putting in addresses and destinations a pain in the bum.
We eventually went to Santa Cruz, made our way back down the 101 to Paso Robles, where we Airbnb'ed it at a vineyard for the night (highly recommended for wine lovers and for amazing stargazing).
For me, I was sold. I would buy an A3 instead of an A4. It's a car that fits my lifestyle (no kids and minimal person hauling). To me, the smaller size is a virtue, you also don't miss out on speed with all-wheel drive, and it gets pretty good gas mileage. I would even add that I think the A3 has a slightly cooler design edge over the A4. Everything fits and flows. It's sleek and a bit more rounded without over- or underdoing it.
While driving to my brother's wedding in the Bay Area this past Saturday, I blew a tire in our long-term 2015 Audi A3.
The good news is that I was only about 100 yards away from my destination when I heard the "BLAM!" that threatened to put a damper on what promised to be an awesome weekend.
The new Mr. and Mrs. Jones picked a beautiful restaurant in Oakland's beautiful waterfront Jack London Square to exchange vows. But Embarcadero West, the street leading into the parking lot, isn't nearly as beautiful nor is it in the best condition. I was doing about 20 mph when I hit a pothole and boom: damaged sidewall city.
With the ceremony slated to begin about 20 minutes after the tire blew, I didn't have time to deal with the flat right then and there. Instead, I slowly pulled into the secured parking lot, locked up the car, and headed to the nuptials.
With vows exchanged and toasts made, I texted Cameron Rogers for advice on how to proceed. I was worried that it would take a bit of magic to make things right. After all, this was after business hours on a Saturday and many tire shops are closed on Sunday. I felt this blown tire might become a longer problem.
I didn't want to be tied to my cell phone during my brother's wedding, so I leaned on Cameron to do most of the tire replacement-finding work for me. Thankfully he was more than willing to help out and, in fact, most of my worry was for naught. Cameron found a replacement tire at a nearby Big O location that would be open on Sunday morning. Score one for teamwork.
First, though, was the issue of changing the tire. Dressed in my wedding best, I didn't imagine changing the tire myself as a viable option. Besides, the only sweating I wanted to do that night was on the dance floor. I called a tow truck company for help.
About 15 minutes after the tow truck arrived, the driver had the spare tire on the A3 and I went back to the reception.
With the donut in place, I could get down on some wedding cake, knowing that after the reception I could drive to my mom's house, where I was staying for the weekend (hotels in the area were booked solid). I really didn't want to cab or Uber it 30 miles across the bridge to mom's house and thankfully, didn't need to.
The follow morning, I headed over to Big O for the replacement.
An hour or so later and $183 lighter, I was on my way. The total cost included the tire ($140), valve stem ($3), computer balance ($20), tire disposal ($6), and sales tax ($14).
Things could have gone a lot worse. In fact, I contest that this was blest blown tire ever, for a few reasons. I arranged to get the spare on without much hassle, there was a replacement tire nearby and, although driving to mom's house on the donut limited me to an excruciatingly slow 50 mph, there was really no harm done.
But the incident got me to thinking about how things could have easily been a lot more of a hassle — specifically if this A3 hadn't had a spare tire.
The A3 comes with a true spare, not a sealer kit found in some newer car offerings. Sealer kits are great (I actually used one more than a decade ago in my 1991 Camry), but I'm not convinced a sealer kit would have done me any good in this outage, as the violated area was the tire's sidewall, not its tread. This gash was also well more than 3/16ths of an inch. Take a look at the picture; this tire has a pretty good rip in it.
If this Audi didn't have a spare, I would have had a whole host of problems: How to get the A3 or the trashed tire to a repair shop the next day, where to store the car for the evening, and how to get to my mom's house. I dodged a bullet. I don't even want to imagine how things might have gone if I'd blown the tire on Interstate 5 in farm country without a real spare.
In my 20 or so years of driving, I've only had three flats. That works out to once every seven years or so. All times, I had a spare. In all three cases, I popped on the spare and went on my way. Three flats in 20 years isn't much.
My personal car is spare-tire free. I have one of those well-meaning sealer kits that would have left me high and dry this wedding weekend. My first inclination is to go spare tire shopping as soon as I finish this post. My second thought is I want to spend as little loot as I can on fuel and keep the spare out of my trunk to save weight.
I'm torn. I like having a spare. But not having a spare is likely going to save me some cash in gas charges over the next few years.
My question to you, Constant Reader: Spare or no spare?
This one is pretty simple: the air-conditioning in our long-term 2015 Audi A3 is one of the coldest systems I've ever used. Set the system to "LO" and regardless of ambient temperature, the cabin gets really cold, really fast.
I haven't had the chance to test the A/C on long, uphill grades, but in heavy traffic or after sitting in the sun for long periods at the beach, it performed flawlessly. This kind of air-conditioning performance is a welcome feature for warm-blooded guys like me, especially in hot climates like Southern California. The awesomeness cannot be understated.
After a weekend in our long-term 2015 Audi A3 I realized that it just isn't big enough for me. Well, that's not true. It's definitely big enough for me. I like the way it drives, the driver's seat is snug but not uncomfortable. There's plenty of room for a driver like myself who's only 5-foot-9, but it's definitely not big enough for my friends.
The A3 is a low on rear headroom, forcing passengers taller than 5'10" to slouch to fit in the back seat.
Small kids? Fine. Short friends? Should be okay. But after a three-man trip to the grocery store, I discovered that my six-foot-tall buddies were craning their necks and bending their knees pretty far. Not ideal if you've got more than a few errands to run.
What Caused Recent Check Engine Light?
One of the most groan-inducing experiences of car ownership is seeing the check engine light illuminated in the instrument panel. Unfortunately, one of these beauties popped up recently in our 2015 Audi A3. I wanted to get out from behind my desk for a few minutes, so I volunteered to make the run.
I didn't notice any odd behavior from the car (and I've spent a bit of time in it) during my drive to Santa Monica Audi for a diagnostic check.
I showed up on a Tuesday before noon without an appointment, which proved to be a mistake. The dealer was inundated with service requests and wouldn't be able to examine the A3 until the next day. I told the advisor I would leave the car overnight.
The advisor called a few hours later and asked if I wanted the 15,000-mile service performed while the car was in. We delayed taking the A3 in for its second service because the Boise Incident that occurred 5,000 miles previously included an oil change. I told him to go ahead and do the service, which involved an oil change, tire rotation and a comprehensive list of vehicle checks.
The A3 was ready late the next day. The check engine light was due to a faulty natural vacuum leak detection (NVLD) sensor, which checks to make sure there are no leaks in the evaporative system. A subsequent online search of faulty NVLD sensors in Audi products yielded few results. It seems to be either an irregular problem or owners have not reported this particular part failure.
In either case, Audi issued a technical service bulletin (2035073/9) for this issue. It was replaced at no cost.
The 15,000-mile service came in at $372.46, a not-insignificant amount but in-line with what we paid for the 15k service in our old long-term 2009 Audi A4 Avant.
In August and September combined, we drove our long-term 2015 Audi A3 about 2,500 miles and averaged 25.2 miles per gallon of 91 octane. Those miles included a grand mix of environments, from longer highway hauls to the short-trip shuffle on Saturdays.
Mileage for the nine fill-ups ranged from 20.7 mpg to 29.2 mpg.
Considering our thirst for speed and our tendency to drive the A3 almost exclusively in Sport mode, trading the negative effect on fuel efficiency for better response, it's impressive that the A3's lifetime mileage remains just below its combined EPA rating of 27 mpg.
Since it joined our fleet last fall, our all-wheel-drive A3, powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, has averaged 26.0 mpg.
Worst Fill MPG: 17.8
Best Fill MPG: 35.1
Average Lifetime MPG: 26.0
EPA MPG Rating: 27 Combined (24 City/33 Highway)
Best Range: 418.2
Current Odometer: 18,608
One bit of trickle-down tech benefiting our junior 2015 Audi A3 is a power hideaway infotainment screen. Press a button and it quickly tucks into the dash. The feature is neat. It's clean. It's smooth. And it's not long for this world.
The 2017 Audi A4, which I test drove a few weeks ago, didn't have a hideaway touchscreen. Audi skipped the feature on the new car, citing an internal study that showed too few people actually used it on the previous A4. This made me realize that I didn't use it much, either.
And what's true for the upcoming A4 is likely true for the next A3.
It's a cool thing to show off to friends. It might even help sell a car at a dealership. But it's superfluous. Anybody who's built a racecar can attest: A part that doesn't exist saves money and doesn't break.
But even further, its existence as a fancy hand-me-down from pricier Audis contrasts against the absence of features that come standard on less expensive cars. Over the weekend, I caught myself asking, "They can hide the screen but can't put a camera on the trunk?"
I'm for removing it, but I hope doing so doesn't continue the trend of German luxury cars with displays that look like phablets held on by a cheap windshield mounts. The Mercedes-Benz CLA and BMW 320i already excel here.
I came back from the weekend rather impressed with our 2015 Audi A3. It takes the stuff Audi does best — interior design, especially — and puts it in a smaller package with few downsides. In fact, the A3's smaller proportions make it easier to park and maneuver.
As luck would have it, an all-wheel drive Mercedes-Benz CLA250 4Matic showed up for testing right after I turned in the Audi's keys. In being able to drive the two back-to-back, I was able to revisit the comparison James Riswick wrote in early 2014.
The short version? The comparison is still right, almost two years later.
To my eye, Audi is more successful at downsizing its design language to the A3 than Mercedes is with the CLA. The A3 hides its smaller dimensions well, still giving off a whiff of luxury and maintaining the clean aesthetic that we've come to expect. The CLA250 looks good from some angles, but in others it looks like it's sat in the sun too long. The "coupe"-like sloping roofline does little favor to the profile, three-quarter angle, or rear interior space.
As far as driving goes, the A3's drivetrain outmatches the CLA's. Regardless of what the test numbers say, Audi's 2.0-liter turbo feels more powerful, offering its output eagerly and quietly. Its dual-clutch transmission shifts feel quicker and smoother, too.
The CLA's dual-clutch exhibits clunks and delays; it's constantly a few beats behind your tempo. Gear engagement is slow, much like the computer-controlled clutches in the sequential manual gearboxes that few other automakers abandoned in the late 90s.
The CLA's 2.0-liter engine also sounds grainy and thrashy. Those who've driven Mitsubishi Lancer Evolutions will recognize the noise, but will miss the horsepower and fun that accompanied it.
Both cars handle well, but ride quality again goes to the A3. The CLA is comfortable, but doesn't control strong impact as well as the Audi, and it imparts more movement and flex into the cabin on normal street surfaces.
Riswick's conclusion summed it up right two years ago: Versus the CLA250, the A3 is a true luxury sedan in a small package.
Last Saturday our long-term 2015 Audi A3 and I spent 500 miles together. Such a day of driving can kill a friendship, or worse, end a love affair.
Not this time. The Audi and I are still hot for each other.
With only a few weeks to go in our 12-month test, the A3 continues to impress.
The drive from Los Angeles to Firebaugh is a 250-mile straight shot up Interstate 5. We were there by noon, despite a relaxed fuel and bathroom stop at the legendary Harris Ranch about 200 miles in. After a few hours of soaking in the heat, dust and nostalgic drag racing at Eagle Field, we were southbound and home by seven.
The A3 made the drive pain-free. It manages to be engaging but not fatiguing. It's extremely quiet, comfortable and relaxing as the miles pile on. The ride, which feels perfectly sporty around town, takes on a delightful ease and a welcome calm on the interstate. And its optional sport seats and seating position are perfect. PERFECT.
But don't misunderstand, the A3 is no wallflower. This little sedan gets it done with awesome high-speed stability and plenty of passing power. It's not willing to get around those trucks; it wants to get around those trucks.
And then there's the fuel economy. The EPA rates the A3 at 33 mpg highway and 24 mpg in the city. I averaged 27 mpg on this road trip. A bit disappointing, but the A3 and I passed a lot of trucks, if you know what I mean.
This is a great car. After nearly 12-months and 20,000 miles I've yet to find its failing, its deficiency, the flaw that would keep me from buying one. Is it perfect? No, no car is. But I'm as enamored with this this A3 as the day it first arrived at our offices. And I'm convinced it's the best car in its class.
After Matt Jones had the misfortune to blow out a tire while attending a wedding in Oakland, we decided to put a matching set of tires on our long-term 2015 Audi A3.
Matt replaced the tire on his trip, but replacing a tire on a Sunday meant taking what you could get. This meant a Nitto Motivo instead of the original Continental ProContact TX that suffered the puncture. We decided to replace two tires instead of just the one odd one based on warnings in the Audi's owner's manual. Simply put, having tires with different tread depths can adversely affect the Quattro all-wheel drive system and possibly damage the car.
We ordered two new tires from Stokes Tire Service in Santa Monica on a Monday afternoon; they arrived Tuesday morning. The next day we called ahead about an hour before arrival, and 45 minutes later, our A3 had two new tires, mounted and balanced.
Total cost: $469.98
Total Days out of Service: None
Our long-term 2015 Audi A3 is close to hitting the 20,000-mile mark, and that means its time with us is coming to an end. It might be gone by the time you read this. And I'm going to miss it. The A3's smart interior layout, subtle styling and great road manners easily made it one my top picks in our fleet.
Don't get me wrong, though. It wasn't perfect. A few things about the A3 drove me nuts.
One: No backup camera. A $39,745 sticker price and no backup camera? C'mon. A shopper can buy a new Jetta for under $20K and get a backup cam standard. Ron and Cameron give me the stink eye when I complain about a car that doesn't have a backup camera, because I just think it's such an easy addition. And although they have good arguments why I shouldn't be surprised that the Audi lacks such basic tech, I'm not buying it. At nearly $40,000, a rearview camera should be part of the deal.
Two: A see-through sunshade for the panorama sunroof. While driving the A3 to Las Vegas on a recent Saturday afternoon, the sun's gaze followed me for a good 45 minutes. The sunlight was diffused because of the sunshade, but the light peeking in on me was bothersome and there was little I could do about it.
Three: Twinkie-sized rearview mirror.
Okay, fine. The mirror is bigger than a Twinkie. But not by much.
None of these gripes are deal breakers, though. I've recommended the A3 to several friends thinking of getting into the luxury market, including my neighbor who ended up buying one a few weeks ago. She said choosing the A3 was easy because it "checked all the boxes:" Fun to drive, gets good gas mileage, comfortable for her long commute, and looks good. For her it was the perfect fit. She chose to go with Brilliant Black.
I tend to agree with my neighbor. The A3 does check all the boxes. I'm sorry to see it go.
When we took delivery of our long-term 2015 Audi A3, we already had a Mercedes-Benz CLA250 in the long-term fleet. We wanted to see how these two new compact entry-level lux sedans matched against one another, given how much was riding on their flight or flop.
It's fair to say we all really, really liked the A3. It wasn't without its flaws, but as an overall project to bring young buyers into the brand, we thought it succeeded. The Benz, on the other hand, felt half-baked. Especially that ride, that bumpy, chattering ride.
The A3, meanwhile, just felt like a cozier A4. At around $40K, that coziness didn't come cheap, but we all pretty much felt the A3 hit its target. You can read more impressions from our year with the 2015 A3 here.
Wrap-Up
What We Got
Originally introduced to the U.S. market as a four-door hatchback, the 2015 Audi A3 arrived as a sedan in the hopes of attracting more American buyers. Along with its new shape, the latest A3 also showed up with a sub-$30K starting price. That put the new entry-level Audi directly in the crosshairs of the similarly priced Mercedes-Benz CLA sedan, a vehicle that we had just retired from our long-term fleet. Slotting the new A3 into the mix was the perfect way to find out if it was a better deal than the Benz or a completely different animal altogether.
We had choices when building our A3. Of the three available engine options (1.8-liter turbo, 2.0-liter turbo or 2.0-liter turbodiesel) we decided on the 2.0-liter, four-cylinder gasoline variant. It generated 220 horsepower and was paired with a six-speed dual-clutch automatic and all-wheel drive.
We chose the Premium Plus trim, which added 18-inch wheels, heated front seats and aluminum trim accents for an extra $2,550. The MMI Navigation Plus option added in-car WiFi and a touchpad for $2,600. And the $800 Sport package rounded out the list of extras with sport front seats and wheel-mounted paddle shifters.
The total MSRP on our 2015 Audi A3 2.0T Quattro S tronic sedan was $39,745. That's roughly $4 grand more than our CLA250. See for yourself below if it was worth the premium.
Performance
"It's powerful enough to feel fast, but not so strong that it's constantly straining the rest of the drivetrain. Everything feels perfectly refined and smooth. The throttle response, the transmission shifts and even the all-wheel-drive system are all tuned to perfection." — Ed Hellwig
"The A3 is really compliant, and doesn't get knocked around by bumps like the CLA. Even big impacts do little to unsettle this small sedan. Where the CLA's ride tuning feels nervous and unfinished, the A3's has polish." — Jason Kavanagh
Interior
"I absolutely love the HVAC system in our long-term A3. Three simple knobs to control what should be a simple operation. Simply wonderful. Turn the knob closest to you to change the temperature. That little knob in the middle controls the fan speed or turns the system off. The knob on the passenger side controls the passenger temperature. These functions can be done without taking your eyes off the road. Three cheers for simple." — Matt Jones
"The 2015 Audi A3 has the best dash vents in the history of dashboards. Seriously, it does. These little ducts are adjustable in any direction, consume minimal dash space and can be completely shut off by turning the chrome trim ring." — Josh Jacquot
Comfort
"The A3's suspension tuning delivers a nice balance of control and comfort. And that's with our car's optional Sport package that includes a sport-tuned suspension. Even if you pick the Sport package, you don't have to worry about it crashing over big bumps or potholes. That package includes sport front seats, and I've found them to be very comfortable and supportive." — Brent Romans
"We can't ask much more from the A3. It's quiet and rides superbly. Neither of us is uncomfortable after several hours in these seats. The engine has plenty of sauce for overtaking and the cruise control is easy to monitor and adjust. The A3 does a fine impersonation of a full-size, cross-country sedan." — Dan Frio
MPG
"I pushed through rush hour and Electric Daisy Carnival traffic and crashed in my hotel room for much-needed sleep. The next morning, I gassed up the A3 and headed home. Fuel economy from Ely to Las Vegas was 29.6 mpg, nearly matching my Boise-to-Twin Falls fill." — Cameron Rogers
"Our first fuel stop came in the tiny High Sierra town of Bridgeport, California, after some 335 miles. Several roads come together here, but there's no fuel around for miles. The pump prices absolutely reflect that. We added 11.462 gallons of premium after completing the opening leg at 29.2 mpg while battling a sometimes-stiff headwind and a steady uphill climb." — Dan Edmunds
Cargo Space
"The Audi's trunk was big enough. All four 15-by-8.5-inch wheels fit in the A3's trunk, which Audi says offers 10 cubic feet of space. There wasn't much room remaining, but there was plenty of height to spare." — Scott Oldham
"This smaller A3 trunk simultaneously holds one large international checked-baggage suitcase and one carry-on roller bag, the kind that fits into a 737's overhead compartment. Remove the large international bag and the A3's trunk will hold three carry-on bags." — Dan Edmunds
Audio and Technology
"One bit of trickle-down tech benefiting our junior 2015 Audi A3 is a power hideaway infotainment screen. Press a button and it quickly tucks into the dash. The feature is neat. It's clean. It's smooth. And it's not long for this world." — Carlos Lago
"I had a CD going in the glovebox player, and it was 21 seconds into Shovels and Rope's 'Kemba's Got the Cabbage Moth Blues' when the song stopped and a high-pitched warning sound reverberated throughout the cabin…. This went on for a minute or two, and then suddenly the Audi's infotainment screen retracted into the dash." — Mike Monticello
Maintenance
"A few hundred miles before our A3 cleared 5,000 miles, the car started providing notifications in the gauge cluster display that a service would soon be due. This would be our A3's first service and includes an oil change and tire rotation. Audi pays for the first service, too." — Brent Romans
"I immediately jumped out of the passenger door and poked my head under to see what had made that horrible sound. I watched as hot oil gushed out from what I presumed was a hole in the oil pan. Lots of oil. Nearly all of it, in fact. Game over. Tow Truck City." — Dan Edmunds
Miscellaneous
"While driving to my brother's wedding in the Bay Area this past Saturday, I blew a tire in our long-term A3. The good news is that I was only about 100 yards away from my destination when I heard the 'BLAM' that threatened to put a damper on what promised to be an awesome weekend." — Matt Jones
"Texas. The unending plains state. Vast. Huge. Maybe the only state in the nation more self-absorbed than California. It's ironic that we're here to pick up one of Audi's most diminutive models in America." — Dan Frio
Maintenance & Repairs
Regular Maintenance:
Routine service on the A3 was due at 5,000 miles and then in 10,000-mile intervals after that. The first visit was complimentary as long as it occurred within the first 12 months of ownership. As we learned at 15,000 miles, scheduled maintenance costs then ramp up quickly. We paid $379 for that service but it wasn't our only out-of-pocket A3 expense.
Additional maintenance costs on the Audi added another $1,399. An unfortunate parking incident set us back $746 and a tire blowout increased the damage by another $653, once the dust settled. The only other item outside of normal maintenance was the replacement of the natural vacuum leak detection (NVLD) sensor, which fell under warranty.
Service Campaigns:
A fuel pump recall was issued on 2015 A3s in the past year but did not apply to our vehicle. This was the only open A3 campaign during our test.
Fuel Economy and Resale Value
Observed Fuel Economy:
EPA fuel economy estimates for the A3 sedan were 27 mpg combined (24 city/33 highway). We averaged 26.2 mpg during our test. Our best single tank got up to 35.1 mpg and our best single tank of range covered 418 miles.
Resale and Depreciation:
Our Audi A3 had an as-tested MSRP of $39,745. After one year and 20,305 miles Edmunds' TMV® Calculator valued the sedan at $29,091, based on a private-party sale. That reflected 27 percent depreciation. For comparison, our 2014 Mercedes-Benz CLA250 and 2013 Cadillac ATS depreciated 16 and 25 percent, respectively.
Pros: Excellent highway stability, front seat comfort and a quiet cabin make this a great long-distance cruiser despite its size. The 2.0-turbo engine provides excellent performance and predictable mileage. High levels of interior quality were evident even at this price. First scheduled service was free.
Cons: Limited trunk space, base model has minimal features, out-of-warranty maintenance is expensive.
Bottom Line: It may be Audi's entry-level sedan, but the new A3 is still a proper luxury car. From the way it drives on the highway to the design and construction of the cabin, every aspect of the A3 is well executed. In the growing segment of compact luxury sedans, this new A3 is one of the best.
| Total Body Repair Costs: | None |
| Total Routine Maintenance Costs: | $379.38 (over 12 months) |
| Additional Maintenance Costs: | $1,398.53 |
| Warranty Repairs: | Replace NVLD sensor |
| Non-Warranty Repairs: | Replace oil sump, oil pan baffle, gasket, drain plug, oil filter and oil as a result of damage, new non-matching tire after blowout, two more new matching tires to bring it back to original specification. |
| Scheduled Dealer Visits: | 2 |
| Unscheduled Dealer Visits: | 1 |
| Days Out of Service: | 5 |
| Breakdowns Stranding Driver: | None |
| Best Fuel Economy: | 35.1 mpg |
| Worst Fuel Economy: | 17.8 mpg |
| Average Fuel Economy: | 26.2 mpg |
| True Market Value at service end: | $29,091 (private-party sale) |
| Depreciation: | $10,654 (27% of original MSRP) |
| Final Odometer Reading: | 20,305 miles |
The manufacturer provided Edmunds this vehicle for the purposes of evaluation.