Test drive Audi A3 1996 - 2003 hatchback

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhs!

... And then I whispered softly: Leonid Ilyich, this is not oh-oh-oh, but the Audi emblem. (From the memoirs of an employee of the nine).

 

The car made his debut last year in Paris. Its appearance was preceded by two years of planning leaks in various kinds of media. These leaks did not portend anything unexpected and sensational for the public. Everyone already expected the car from Audi even more compact than A4. Sooner or later, this was supposed to happen, and the company of four rings should have a model parallel to Volkswagen Golf. Actually, such a parallel has already happened. In the mid-70s, in the Audi range there was a model of 50, at 99.9%, which was VW Golf-I and differed only by emblems. But later, to give Audi cars more prestige, it was decided to dilute both brands in different corners at the top of the concern. So the small branch in the Audi lineup was interrupted in the next two generations of its cars.

 

But times are changing. And already the main competitors of Ingolstadt - Munich and Stuttgart, do not consider it shameful for their image and respectability to engage in folk cars and even car. At first, BMW launched its blue-white propeller into this market sector, having beaten off the COMPACT share at the VW Golf itself. Then, the most important elephant came to the container-Mercedes-Benz, announcing the launch of his A-class since the fall of 1997 ...

 

The reaction of Ingolstadt to what was happening was unequivocal - Audi returns to the Golf class. Moreover, it was much easier for her to do this than anyone else. The easiest option, like 20 years ago, is the replacement of the nameplate and the emblem on the existing third -generation VW Golf, plus a more exquisite finish and gamut of engines, narrowed to 2-3 most powerful. Option two - on a fundamentally new VW Golf platform, create your original car. This is more expensive than the replacement of the nameplate, but more promising.

 

So the Audi A3 was developed in parallel with VW, and at the same time with Skoda Octavia. Everyone has a common body platform, chassis, gamut of engines and transmission. Different design, prices, buyers. Only, oddly enough, the Audi and Skoda models have already been published, and the new Golf, on the platform of which the first two cars are made, will present in the near future as a 1998 model.

 

So, Audi A3. If in a nutshell: car - class! In any case, when he got out of it, nothing, except for being taken into the heading, could not say ...

 

It is clear that this is not enough for the reader. The reader requires a detailed explanation of four 0!

 

I'll start with the wheels. It seems to be illogical, but the harsh reality of the long test Kia Sephia LEO (by the way, also from the GOLF class) makes you meet the car on clothes ... on shoes. First of all, the expensive wheel size is striking. And if the 15-inch discs on the GOLF-class cars are no longer rare, then only on super-low-pro-proofile rubber-55% and lower. And there is no particular need to explain what such wheels turn into with the suspension after several thousand run along the Central Russian Upland. But the Audi A3 should be a pleasant exception. The standard size of its tires is 195/65 R15. You just imagine the dimensions of such a tire compared to A3, the Volvo 940 was shocked on the same size - the car is two classes higher! Therefore, for the walnut of the small -leafing A3 along our roads, you can not worry. Checked on tram rails, wells and borders ... Not a single hint of an intensive suspension stroke - the tires work well for it all the bumps that can be found without moving away from the roadway. About hard breakdown, if not jumping by car from the overpass, there is no question.

 

Suspension. The driver recalls the fact that between the wheels and the body of this car there is a complex combination of levers, springs and hinges, the driver recalls only in high-speed turns when he notices the redistribution of the mass of the machine from one side to the other. Judging by the behavior of the Audi A3 in the bend, the machine is perfectly balanced and the suspension operation is reduced only to stabilization of a light natural roll.

 

From the suspension we move on to controllability, since all this is interconnected. Rounding again enjoys. The behavior of the machine does not even have to predict, because the Audi A3 is fully controlled by the driver. Very easily and clearly gets into turns. Therefore, from the side, the car in motion resembles an iron that will be sent where it will go there and trample. To remove this iron from a state of equilibrium and tore one of the axes into the skidding, you need to apply a purely racing temperament. Frankly, I don't have it.


 

Rolling power steering with acute, informative characteristic, no fiber. There is no need to constantly argue the steering wheel. The car is obediently shifted from the turn to the turn.

 

Next is the dynamics. The most dead in the entire range of 1.6 liters of the motor (101 l.) Very briskly removes the car from the start. Wheel slipping is noted even in second gear. And this is with healthy wheels. I am sure that, having changed into low rubber, we could leave long black rectangles on the asphalt in third gear. To whom and this is not enough-there is a 150-horsepower 20-valve 1.8 l of a turbo engine.

 

It is noteworthy that Volkswagen preferred not yet to share with the Audi his new V-shaped 2.8 l six (190 hp), which is intended for Golf-IV. But it is possible that this motor will become easy prey of tuning companies engaged in Audi cars ...

 

The engine promotion with the pressure of the gas pedal occurs very quickly, confidently and is not width. By the way, thanks to the smoothness of the stroke and good noise and vibration isolation, the feeling that the speed of the car was not so high did not leave. In fact, the speed in the A3 recharges no worse than in many large cars.

 

The step of the gear rates of the transmission allows you not to resort to frequent switching. But subjectively, the machine is a way of receiving largely due to the elasticity of the motor, and not the selection of the box. In any case, the acceleration and burden of the car left the best impression.

 

The box lever is almost completely placed in the palm of your hand, hence its short moves and the rapid sticking of the gears. True, it would not hurt to install a smoother brand-tuning rod on the lever.

 

Brakes. There are more than enough for a car even with such a frisky dynamics. The pedal move is short. The trigger occurs instantly. The case did not even come to turn on the ABS even with a sharp hit on the brakes, when one side of the car was dried, and the other settled after the watering. Gas and brake pedals are close to each other. This makes it possible to clearly dose the brake force, because only the ankle joint can be used to press the brake. And a light slowdown, which is not always possible to achieve with a short pedal, occurs by a simple foot transfer, without applying force.

 

If there is any inconvenience in the car, then it is located under the left foot - this is a clutch pedal. At the same time, not the location of the pedal itself is embarrassed (the ergonomics is thought out to the smallest detail, including the side site for the leg), and its long -term. As a result, the clutch is noticeably late. And if the work of two right pedals tunes the driver in an active way, then the left brings a certain dissonance. However, you get used to it.

 

What was it like to steer? Unusual. Audi A3 did not leave the feeling of mini-vanosity. Firstly, a relatively high landing over the road - in addition to the fact that the wheels are large, also the seat is raised above the floor. Secondly, visibility: only the edge of the hood is visible through a highly tilted windshield. There are no dead zones in front or on the sides. In the lateral mirrors, an unusually wide viewing sector opens. In the back, things are not so good - the high edge of the glass is highly raised limits the view, and when reversing, you need to very slowly and carefully choose the dimensions of the car.

 

Comfort. Here is the driver's seat in the first place. The seat with very good anatomy is moderately harsh, with severe lateral support. In addition, it has a pillow adjustment in height. Working in such a chair is a pleasure. In the driver’s place, everything is at hand - from the joystick of the mirrors to set the climate control keys. And all before the eyes - the speedometer and tachometer are outlined by huge scales. Inside them there are indicator lamps, the light of which is visible even with the bright sun. A pleasant trifle - the console separating the front seats when turning on the headlights is gently illuminated. You will not have to fumble to the touch in search of cigarettes.

 

The salon is spacious. The ceiling does not press, by no means. The rear passengers are not constrained even with the front seats posed to capacity. The space of the cabin is stuffed with pockets for different travel junk. The pockets are laid with piles so that the contents do not rattle. In the front doors are hidden in the folding organizers for documents and roadmaps. Well, the luggage compartment of a very solid volume completes the car.

 

I read somewhere that the British scolded A3. An explanation of this can arise one thing: perhaps they got a car with a left -handed steering wheel ... So they pulled from an habit instead of a lever of the box of the door handle. How not to swear later? The driving of this car caused me a pleasure. Who said that A3 is the same golfs, only in profile? No, Audi-this is oh! -Oh! -Oh! -Oh ...

 

Ivan V. Paderin
 
 

 

Source: Magazine Motor