Why you should buy this car: You always wanted a German performance sedan but care too much about what others think about you to get a BMW; you really like Audi but the wife won't let you get "that station wagon," also known as the A3.

Why you shouldn't buy this car: You've got a little too much "flava" to go with the automotive equivalent of a fine gray suit. After all, there are a lot of choices in this price segment.

Suitability Parameters:
· Speed Merchants: Yes
· Fashion Victims: Yes
· Treehuggers: No
· Mack Daddies: No
· Tuner Crowd: No
· Hairdressers: Yes
· Penny Pinchers: No
· Euro Snobs: Yes
· Working Stiffs: No
· Technogeeks: Yes
· Poseurs: No
· Soccer Moms: No
· Nascar Dads: No
· Golfing Grandparents: No

Also Consider:
· Infiniti G35/G35x Sedan
· BMW 3-series
· Mercedes-Benz C-class

Vitals:
· Manufacturer: Audi
· Model tested: A4 Sedan 3.2 Quattro S-line
· Model year: 2006
· Base Price: $34,840
· Price as Tested: $40,835
· Engine type: 3.2-liter DOHC 24-valve V-6
· Horsepower: 255 hp @ 6500 rpm
· Torque: 243 ft.-lbs. @ 3250 rpm
· Redline: 7000 rpm
· Transmission: 6-speed manual
· Curb Weight: 3649 lbs
· LxWxH: 180.6 x 69.8 x 56.2 in
· Wheelbase: 104.3 in
· Tires: P235/40R18
· Drive type: all-wheel-drive
· 0 - 60 mph: 6.5 sec.
· Fuel economy city/highway: 17 / 27
· NHTSA crash test rating: front 4/4 (driver/passenger); side: 5/4 (front/rear); rollover: 4

Related:
Jalopnik Reviews: Audi A4 3.2 Quattro, Part 1, Part 2 [internal]

Exterior Design: ***
My man MCA's got a beard like a billy goat, which is exactly what the oversized grill on the A4 resembles. But, unlike on most people, the A4 rocks the goatee well. And it's got a little bit of flava in the headlight and taillamp treatments to give a little bit of soul to the normal Bauhaus sterility of Audi design. But only three stars, you say? Yes. It's a good-looking car, but hardly worthy of study-hall sketches or bedroom wall posters.

Acceleration: ****
From a stop the A4 3.2 is faster than it feels, but the engine really shines in mid-range passing. 90 percent of the 243-pound-feet of torque is available from 1,900 rpm (thank you, press release). The throttle feels smooth but could be more responsive, kind of like Teri Hatcher's botox'd skin.

Braking ****
The brakes are one of the A4's strong suits. They feel good, resist fade, and bring you speeds down in a hurry. Sure, the A4 isn't cheap, but it makes you wonder how so many cars make it to market with craptacular brakes.

Ride ****
Actually a bit of a surprise here. The A4 handles bumps well and cruises down the highway like it's driving on velvet. Okay, it's not quite that smooth, but it's still good.

Handling ****
Again, the A4 pleasantly surprises. It's front-heavy and deliberate in the way it attacks a corner, but the A4 can do a rendition of Shake Your Rump good enough to tell our memory that it got served. Our test car had the S-line package, which includes a 30% stiffer suspension that's lowered by 20 millimeters. And wouldn't you know it, it actually does give "more dynamic and sporty driving without without sacrificing driver/passenger comfort." For once, the press release isn't full of hyperbolic b.s. But, if it's so good, why not make that the normal suspension? Oh, snap!

Gearbox ***
The six speed manual is better than previous Audi stick shifts, but it's still a little to damped to feel what gear you're selecting and the clutch, while light, is too abrupt.

Audio/Video ***
The standard radio features an in-dash 6-CD changer and a tape player. Sound performance is good, as are the radio controls.

Toys **
Not only buttons on the steering wheel, but an actual click-wheel to control volume or moving through radio presets. Our test car lacked a multifunction trip computer found on most VW/Audi vehicles.

Trunk *****
It's big and lined with carpet. This is how every trunk should look.

Value ***
$40 grand is a lot for a car, but if you consider the price for the top-of-the-line engine in the competition, the A4 isn't too much of a rip-off. Be careful with the options an you could keep the price down closer to $37 large.

Overall ****
Like we said before, this is the anti-Banglemobile. And in many ways it looks better and it easier to use. What's more is that the A4's styling, even two generations old, has aged well. If you're not the new-every-two leasing type, chances are you'll still look somewhat cool for years to come.

[by Mike Austin]

Related:
Jalopnik Reviews: Audi A4 3.2 Quattro, Part 1 [internal]

Why you should buy this car: The A3 has the world s best gearbox, and it isn t afraid to use it.

Why you shouldn t buy this car: $40k for a hatchback?

Suitability Parameters
· Speed Merchants: Yes
· Fashion Victims: Yes
· Treehuggers: No
· Mack Daddies: No
· Tuner Crowd: Yes
· Hairdressers: No
· Penny Pinchers: No
· Euro Snobs: Yes
· Working Stiffs: No
· Technogeeks: Yes
· Poseurs: Yes
· Soccer Moms: No
· Nascar Dads: No
· Golfing Grandparents: No

Vitals
· Manufacturer: Audi
· Model tested: A3 3.2 quattro DSG
· Model year: 2006
· Price as Tested: $37,700
· Engine type: 3.2 liter V6 DOHC
· Horsepower: 250 hp @ 6300 rpm
· Torque: 236 lbs-ft @ 2800 -3200 rpm
· Redline: 6500 rpm
· Wheels and Tires: 17-inch 5-spoke cast alloy wheels with 225/45 all-season tires
· Drive type: Haldex quattro all-wheel drive
· 0 - 60: 5.9 secs.
· 1/4 mile: 14.4 secs.
· Top speed: 130 mph (limited)
· Fuel economy city/highway: 21 / 27
· NHTSA crash test rating front/side/rollover: NYR

Related:
Jalopnik Reviews: 2006 Audi A3 3.2 Quattro DSG Part 1 , Part 2 [internal]

Exterior Design: **
You know this small station wagon thing is out of control when an Audi hatchback is a miniature version of a miniature version of the A6 Avant. With its gaping maw (never shown with a US license plate), the A3 s front end simply overwhelms the rear. Although we understand the need to differentiate the Audi A3 from the cheaper, equally mental VW R32, switching from Bahaus to Analytic Cubism was the wrong answer.

Acceleration *****
This dog will hunt. Although max power lives in the penthouse, the grunt elevator gets you there in a hurry. In other words, if you thrash it, it will fly.

Braking ***
The brakes are effective enough, but there s far too much pedal travel before you get any serious bite. [NB: Could be a played press car.]

Ride ***
If you like ride comfort — if you even know what the term means — the A3 s suspension is a federal case waiting to happen: cruel and unusual punishment. If you like to drive like a hoonatic, well, you pay s your chiropractor, you takes your scalps.

Handling ****
In stupid driving mode (jinking, sweeping, passing), the A3 inspires tremendous confidence. In rally-style cornering situations, platform-related understeer is a real passion killer. It s still a weapon: benign at the limit, plenty of heads-up tire squeal and Nanny has stepped out for a ciggie.

Gearbox *****
The world s best gearbox. It s a silky smooth automatic that s ready to kick down and kick ass. It s a hot-to-trot Sport automatic that even blips the throttle as you brake (now that IS clever). It s a paddle shift that shows the supercars how it s done (put THAT in your iDrive and smoke it, Mr. New M5), offering Playstation possibilities. Clutch pedal RIP. Note to Porsche: You WANT me in your cars. You NEED me in your cars.

Audio/Video ***
You can add sat nav, but we re already talking about a $37k hatchback. The stereo kicks.

Toys ****
That s it; I m fed-up with over-complicated luxo-barges. From now on, I m going to give cars four stars for NOT having mouse-driven controllers, heated rear window shades and suchlike; for leaving me alone to drive the damn thing. As long as it has power windows and driver s seat, adequate HVAC and MP3, I m good to go. (If it has a killer app, I ll give it five. The A3 doesn t.)

Trunk *****
Surprisingly capacious, even without folding down the rear seats. We love hatchbacks.

Overall ****

[by Robert Farago]

Related:
Jalopnik Reviews: 2006 Audi A3 3.2 Quattro DSG, Part 1, Part 3 [internal]

The manual transmission is dead. Long live DSG. Yes folks, it s true: the Direct Sequential Gearbox is ready to turn tripedalists into I remember when you had to coordinate your hands and feet like a flamenco dancer to drive to the record store old fogies. The last time I checked Audi s clever two-clutch paddle shifting jobbie, I was wearing the 04 Audi TT. It was a reasonably righteous cog swapper attached to an engine that wouldn t get out of bed for anything less than 3000 revs — and then had a straight-to-the-redline hissy fit. If only the DSG had a companion that could torque a good game. Or so I thought.

Ensconced here, in the A3, with the exact same 3.2-liter engine, it s perfect. Not adequate, not OK, not really rather good. Flawless. New software, new era. You can now use the DSG to wring every last ounce of horsepower from the A3 s 250hp mill, upshifting or downshifting anywhere in the rev range with instantaneous results. With six cogs to choose from and no way to blow up the engine without resorting to explosives, the A3 driver offers something very much akin to a videogamer s sense of freedom. Just press and play.

This installation does have a downside or three. For one thing, the A3 s tires must think you re blind and the pavement is Braille; every lump and bump is transmitted directly to your spinal cord. For another, the A3 is built on the fifth gen front-wheel-drive VW Golf platform. With 60% of the weight over the front wheels, the A3 is constantly hot-hatching a plan to understeer its way out of trouble. The Quattro system does its level best to push you through the corners, tire squeal lets you know when enough s too much and the ESP traction Nanny doesn t cut in until, well, ever. Even so, this is not the kind of 10/10ths lateral G-force generator that fully committed corner carvers crave.

And then there s the fact that the A3 is ugly. It s one of those cars where you walk around the side and say Is that it? To my eyes, the A3 s sloping rear roofline and awkward quarter glass make the miniature machine look like nothing so much as an upmarket cut-and-shunt job, cursed with Barbara Streisand s schnoz. Although Audi s probably saving the body mods for an S3 or RS3 derivative, something this homely needs a tattoo or twin pipes or something to say You looking at me? Either that or they should have made it a plain old one-box hatch and called it good.

Of course, you don t really want a $35k car to look like a VW Golf do you? (I do; but my driving style mandates as much stealth as possible.) Sticker shocked customers are advised to recover their financial courage inside the A3 s Zen rock and roll garden. Ingolstadt s interiors are peerless pleasure domes, and this one s no different. If you don t get a feelgood vibe from the A3 s infinitely tasteful, haptically honed cabin — complete with the world s best steering wheel and blissfully minimalist switchgear — you re dead.

Those of you who live to drive, and drive to a workplace that pays you enough money to afford a $35k car, can do the fandango in the A3, complete with thunderbolts (the rapid-fire paddles flanking the helm) and lightning (the rock solid zizz of the 3.2 at full chat). With the DSG mixing the tunes, the A3 is a hit: a return to the top of the charts for Germany s hot hatcheries.

OK, Audi s only going to shift about 10k of these bad boys in the US this year, but you can t blame them for trying. If the MINI Cooper S can make it at the lower end of the market, the A3 3.2 DSG should find a place further up the food chain. Meanwhile, think of DSG as meaning "Deserves Some Gas;" I reckon there are very few more entertaining ways to burn up a bit of fossil fuel. [by Robert Farago]

Related:
Jalopnik Reviews: 2006 Audi A3 3.2 Quattro DSG Part 2, Part 3 [internal]