While the interior has its own character, it still retains all the quality and fine workmanship that Audi has built its reputation on.
Our friendly Audi PR contact stressed Audi's commitment to one of their core beliefs: Authenticity. Anything that looks like its metal is an alloy (a mixture of several different types of metal, in case there's any confusion) with no confusion about faux wood surfacing, since A3s don't really go that way. All the controls, from the thumbwheel volume and track/station selector on the steering wheel down to the clicky knobs for the climate control are standard Audi fare: precise actuation and supple feeling. Don't let me get started again on the gauge cluster or you'll be here until Christmas... wait, Christmas is just around the corner, maybe I can stretch this topic out. Naaaahhh...
It was also a bit of a relief not to have to worry about a Navigation system, which would have displaced the CD changer into the glove compartment... which would have meant I would have had to lean all the way over to load my CDs any time
I had a change of heart about my music selection, not to mention removing my girlfriend's CDs at the soonest opportunity available. Okay, I admit it, I'm lazy enough to go unnoticed in a houseful of cats. Does that expression even make sense? Whatever. Not having navigation also meant that I could spend more time driving and less time in a parking lot trying to figure out where to load my CDs. Yes, despite being smart enough to land what I consider one of the coolest gigs on the planet, I can still be fantastically obtuse at times, but that's a story about another car, really.
You've Made it This Far, Now We Talk About the Drive
As you may have noticed, I grew to think of my A3 tester as my Little Red Rocket, with no connotations whatsoever to Scud missiles or communism. This is no peoples' car. Though many simply won't be shopping for anything so expensive, too many people will be biased against its small size, although in my books that is no detriment. It is still capable of managing multiple hockey bags, as previously mentioned, or various medium-sized Ikea pieces (Ikea flat-pack boxes being the new universal car-interior measurement standard, if you hadn't heard), but nothing so large as an armoire or a refrigerator, of course.
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| While the interior has its own character, it still retains all the quality and fine workmanship that Audi has built its reputation on. |
It was also a bit of a relief not to have to worry about a Navigation system, which would have displaced the CD changer into the glove compartment... which would have meant I would have had to lean all the way over to load my CDs any time
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| If my tester were equipped with a Navigation system, the CD changer would have been displaced into the glove compartment. (Photo: Jonathan Yarkony, Canadian Auto Press) |
You've Made it This Far, Now We Talk About the Drive
As you may have noticed, I grew to think of my A3 tester as my Little Red Rocket, with no connotations whatsoever to Scud missiles or communism. This is no peoples' car. Though many simply won't be shopping for anything so expensive, too many people will be biased against its small size, although in my books that is no detriment. It is still capable of managing multiple hockey bags, as previously mentioned, or various medium-sized Ikea pieces (Ikea flat-pack boxes being the new universal car-interior measurement standard, if you hadn't heard), but nothing so large as an armoire or a refrigerator, of course.