Test Drive Notes Library
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Pros
- Really nice car to drive. Good road and steering feel, great handling, and at the same time, good ride quality. Nice balance overall between comfort and sportiness.
- Convertibles, because of their lack of a steel roof, are structurally weaker than other types of cars. So structural reinforcement is necessary to keep them from handling poorly. Whatever Audi did on this car works, because it feels rock solid.
- The “manual shift” option on the six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission works particularly well on this car, and gives you another way to really enjoy driving it.
- We got an impressive 32 mpg overall, doing more highway than around-town.
- High quality interior and sharp exterior design makes it feel like a “real” Audi, even though it’s Audi’s least expensive model.
- Front seats are very comfortable.
- Small and maneuverable.
- Cruises effortlessly and comfortably on the highway, goes exactly where you point it.
- Cloth convertible top is well made, fits tightly, and does a good job with noise insulation, especially around town. On the highway, you do hear some buffeting wind, but it’s not bad. The A3 seems like a convertible you could drive all the time, without feeling like you’re camping out on non-sunny days.
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Cons
- No backup camera. On a $40,000 Audi, with a rear window the size of a #10 envelope? Seriously? Because of the convertible top, the A3 Convertible has a small rear window to begin with. And without a back up camera, you’re basically Mr. Magoo trying to park or back out of a driveway.
- Rear seat is pretty much unusable for adults. You could sardine someone in there for a short ride, but it’d be an uncomfortable short ride. It’s a “turn sideways and try to squeeze your legs in there” situation.
- Trunk is also small. Pack carefully. If you think of this as a two-person car, and use the back seat and trunk for cargo, you’ll be fine.
- Infotainment system could use a little more computing power. There’s sometimes a wait while the system says “loading.”
- No USB connection for iPhone or Android phone. Instead, Audi carries over its old proprietary connector, which fits the iPhone 4. Audi, trust us, no one in an Audi showroom is still using an iPhone 4—not even the help. Audi scrambled to add a USB port this year in the center console for charging devices (also necessary), but you still can’t hook up a modern phone to Audi’s infotainment system, which is kind of crazy, since the people who buy Audis are the same people who run right out and get the latest iPhone.
Test Drive Notes Library
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