2022 Audi A3 Quattro: Efficient fun in a small package

2022 Audi A3 40 TFSI Quattro vs. 2022 BMW 230i Coupe: Two little bits of fun.

This week: Audi A3

Price: $44,440 as tested. Premium Plus Package added safety features and LED lights for $3,300; 18-inch wheels, $800; gray paint, $595. More noted throughout.

Conventional wisdom: Car and Driver likes the “modernized interior, enjoyable handling, fantastic fuel economy,” but not that it’s “not as powerful as the previous generation, S3 drives even better, goofy toggle shift lever.”

Marketer’s pitch: “More than a sedan.”

Reality: A blast and a half — while saving fuel.

What’s new: Once in a while something comes along that wakes me out of my Mr. Driver’s Seat “Ho-hum, another brand-new car that I could never be driving” existence. (It’s a hard life.)

The A3 gets a redesign for the 2022 model year, with a new engine and hybrid system, bigger dimensions all around, and plenty of interior upgrades that put the joy back into driving.

Up to speed: Yeehaw! What a fun unit. The 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine creates 201 horsepower and gets the Quattro to 60 mph in just 6.3 seconds. (The front-wheel-drive model takes 6.6.) All 0-60 times are not created equal, and the A3 makes all its moves with the sprightliness that only a small sedan can bring.

Shifty: Shift levers are soooo 2015, but good alternatives seem hard to find. The dial from Jeep and Ford seem too easy to twist the wrong way. The buttons from Honda are unattractive. Being an old guy, I’m drawn to the joystick versions that most emulate the old shift lever.

Now along comes Audi with a shifter for its seven-speed transmission that looks like a giant toggle switch, and I think we have a winner. Flip it forward for Reverse, and pull It back for Drive or Sport. Simple, intuitive, attractive.

Drivers can change gears from paddles if they want. Shifting works well, though abruptly enough to remind you you’re not in a Lexus.

On the road: So much fun that the Lovely Mrs. Passenger Seat could barely hang on. The curves are sweet, corners can be taken at speeds far beyond those recommended, and highways and normal driving remain enjoyable, as well. Of course, this is with the all-wheel-drive version of the A3, but why would you have any other form? (OK, maybe spring for the S3.)

People. Ugh: So you’re just having a good old time enjoying life to its fullest when someone comes along to burst that bubble. Enter Sturgis Son-in-Law 1.0.

“That looks just like a Jetta.”

Guess who got uninvited to the beach this summer?

Driver’s Seat: Fortunately, Mr. Driver’s Seat can look past superficial standards of beauty; he looks to the interior.

Inside, the A3 does not disappoint. The seats are super comfortable for an Audi, although in a surprising turn of events, it was Mrs. Passenger Seat who complained that they were a touch too firm. I found them supportive and comfortable, but, no, I wouldn’t call them soft.

The Interior Style Package added birch inlays and nifty interior lights for $550.

Friends and stuff: Tall Sturgis Kid 4.0 didn’t complain about the legroom in the rear, which surprised me, but he did say the headroom was tight.

I found it much the same. It’s not uncomfortable, and Audi has managed to make the center seat not too high a perch without making the seat feel 1970s bench-seat flat.

Trunk space is a tiny 10.9 cubic feet, but fold the seats for some extra storage.

Play some tunes: On the bright side, the Bang & Olufsen sound system has superb reproduction. (It’s part of the $2,250 technology package.) Songs probably sound even better than on recording day in the studio, an A+. And this came without any adjustments on my part.

On the down side, I gotta buy a new wire. Only the slick new USB-C ports are available in many European models, and the A3 was one of them.

The USB-C became a goal because Bluetooth operation was a real challenge. My phone often took forever to load, and then it dropped out more than once.

Volume control is a light clockwise-counterclockwise motion over the tiny radio control button on the console. Otherwise, it’s touchscreen city for operations. Audi’s special haptics give the touchscreen a sense of movement when you hit your target, and this makes for a nicer experience, as well.

Still, the infotainment portion is a delight. The 10.1-inch touchscreen is big, the menus easy to read and follow, and Audi’s MMI Navigation Plus (also part of the tech package) uses Google Earth, making navigating so much nicer.

Keeping warm and cool: Toggles across the bottom of the dashboard control all the changes simply.

Fuel economy: The simple display made it easy to see that the A3 was averaging almost 30 mpg before I got my mitts on it. It dropped precipitously while I was roaring around near home, but I slid it back up to 30 after a highway trip.

Where it’s built: Ingolstadt, Germany

How it’s built: Consumer Reports predicts the A3 reliability to be a 3 out of 5.

Next week: BMW 230i Coupe