Test drive Audi A3 1996 - 2003 hatchback

One day in life a3

This was only the first of the 183 days to spend the Audi in the editorial office
 
The new one, with the A3 needle - the next character of our traditional section - began its hard editorial service on a bustle day. She left the dealership in the morning, and got up to the parking lot for midnight, wrapping about three hundred kilometers. I don’t know how Audi herself, but I, oddly enough, is not particularly tired.
 
... already 10.30, a press conference in an hour, and you will have to make your way to the center through traffic jams. Therefore, having received the keys and the necessary documents, I immediately climb into the salon. To adjust the seat, a steering column and mirrors - a minute business thanks to a well -located levers and a wide range of adjustments. Everything is on the way!
 
But, I did not have time to drive away from the dealer and three hundred meters, as I rested on the tail of a huge traffic jam. There is nothing to do, it remains to show patience and study the salon. Better with music, to pure sound pouring from eight speakers of the Audi Concert system. Since the engine still works, you can change radio frequencies and volume using buttons on the steering wheel. Well, and how is the interior? And so that you can’t find anything: neither to the gaps (even funny to speak!), Nor to the quality of the finish (skin, wooden inserts, chrome rims of devices and the same ring on the lever of mechanical gearbox), nor to sound insulation - closed the window, closed the window, And the world around us becomes only a weak background. And the style? Yes, it is not a sin to pay for it - Ambiente equipment, the richest, from my point of view costs just as much as they ask for it. It has almost everything that is required - from a separate climate control system to xenon headlights. In addition to the fact that in this design the car provides a high level of comfort, it feels solidity, despite the modest size.
 
Finally, the cork resolved, and you can hurry. I did not expect such agility from a 1.6-liter 102-horsepower engine: not particularly zealous, I turned out to be faster than many others at the next traffic light. A3 1.6 is characterized by a certain sports anger. Yes, the acceleration is even, without special catchs at high speeds, but I do not want to especially torment the engine on the very first kilometers. And still - I’m going objectively fast! And the work of a 5 -speed gearbox is generally a song: such a short move and such selectivity, believe me, you will not find often. What else attracts attention immediately is the normal, and not the family -long adhesion pedal, with good feedback. And the brakes, of course, are good: it is easy to provide any degree of slowdown, up to hanging on a seat belt.
 
But the steering wheel is light. At low speeds, it can be rotated even with a finger, which, of course, will especially like the ladies. But what is surprising: you get used to such settings quickly - just as you evaluate the sharpness of the steering wheel, which is also noticeably heavy with an increase in speed. Emergency bypass, changing the strip, rearrangement - everything is easy, but, as they say, with feeling - that is, the car behaves exactly as you expect. What the pendants also contribute to - not too hard, leveling flaws of roads, but also not soft, preventing buildings or body rolls.
 
I managed to safely at the conference. Just as I got to the editorial office in time, I was not late at the airport, I did not force me to wait for friends at an evening dinner. In general, it seems to me that Audi A3 and I began to understand each other. At the end of this day, having finally parked the car, I caught myself on the feeling that I really wanted to sleep. But from convenient seats, I seem to be not tired at all.
 
The reader may ask how much this small car perfect for the bustle of the metropolis costs? It is the one that hit the AI \u200b\u200bis about 24 thousand euros. In general, A3 prices start at 21 thousand.
 
Yes, and here's another: I already spoke about the main advantages of this model in a report from a test drive (AI No. 8 (32), 2003). Who cares - read, and I will go to sleep all the same ...
 
P.S. At the time of writing this material, the odometer showed the number 1540. Already so many km managed to roll the car. His well -being is normal.
 
Andrey Osipov
 
Brief technical characteristics Audi A3 1.6
Engine volume, cubic meter. See: 1595
Number of valves per cylinder: 2
Power, l. With. at about./min.: 102/5600
Max. Torque, Nm/at about. min.: 148/3800
Acceleration to 100 km/h, p.: 11.9
Maximum speed, km/h: 185
Average fuel consumption l./100 km.: 7.0
Fuel tank volume, l.: 55
Dimensions, mm.: 4203x1765x1421
 

A source: "Automobile Izvestia"