2010 Audi A3 2.0 TDI review: 2010 Audi A3 2.0 TDI

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2010 Audi A3 2.0 TDI

7.0

2010 Audi A3 2.0 TDI

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The Good

With its diesel engine, the 2010 Audi A3 TDI delivers exceptionally good fuel economy. Its iPod integration and the Bluetooth phone system both work very well.

The Bad

The DVD-based navigation system is slow and tedious to use. The S-tronic transmission didn't always operate smoothly.

The Bottom Line

Although diesel driving takes some getting used to, the 2010 Audi A3 TDI's excellent fuel economy makes it worth it, and its cabin tech provides some modern conveniences.

While test driving the 2010 Audi A3 TDI for this review, we showed it to friends and relatives, highlighting the fact that it gets about 40 mpg fuel economy. Inevitably, they asked us "Why aren't we all driving diesels?"

Being too close to the subject matter, we recited the history of diesel cars in the U.S., emissions regulations, and how the recession caused some automakers to pull back on their diesel plans. Five minutes into our lecture, our subject would go glassy eyed and comment on how the A3 looks like a really nice car.

Although the A3 is at the bottom of Audi's model lineup, it holds up Audi's premium car reputation with an overall look of quality and good materials. It really is a nice little car. However, being at the bottom of the lineup, Audi hasn't kept its cabin electronics up with the latest from the company, opting for what looks like the first generation of Audi's Multimedia Interface, with a DVD-based navigation system and interface controls mounted next to the LCD.

Diesel driving
Although the body and interior appointments of the A3 TDI are no different from the gasoline-powered A3, you will notice a difference as soon as you fire up the engine. The A3 TDI's turbocharged 2-liter four-cylinder-diesel engine makes a harsh, rattling noise at idle, but the cabin is mostly insulated from this noise and quiet. Likewise, a lightly sulfurous odor emanates from the exhaust, but doesn't invade the cabin.

Audi touted this car's diesel engine by plastering it with stickers.

Checking the car's specs, we noted that the only gearbox available is Audi's six-speed, dual-clutch, automated-manual transmission--S-tronic in Audi nomenclature.

In just about every car we review, one of the first things we do is stomp on the gas to see what will happen. With the Audi TDI, we, of course, had to mash the diesel, and the result was not the tire-smoking fury for which we hoped. Instead, the car hesitated a bit, exhibiting a combination of turbo and diesel lag, before creeping forward.

But those first tentative steps quickly developed into a gallop as the engine revved up to 1,750rpm, where the peak torque of 236 pound-feet gave the front wheels the full twist they needed to move the little A3. From there, we could feel the linear torque curve carry the car irresistibly forward.

Diesels are a little weird compared with gasoline engines, favoring torque over horsepower. The A3 TDI only has 140 horsepower, and that only peaks at 4,200rpm. But the engine redlines at 4,500rpm, which doesn't give a whole lot of room to play. That peak torque, although strong at 236 pound-feet, only runs from 1,750rpm to 2,500rpm.

The switch to low sulfur diesel fuel in the U.S. is responsible for bringing diesel cars back to market.

The Audi's dual-clutch transmission didn't always feel comfortable handling the odd power characteristics of this engine. First, it needs to shift gears much more frequently than with a gasoline engine, as the redline is so low. A couple of times while driving in typical urban congestion with the transmission in its Sport mode, we felt ugly thumps as the transmission downshifted abruptly, possibly confused by the low speeds and frequent stops.

Putting the transmission in manual mode, we threw the A3 TDI over mountain roads, braking and downshifting before each turn, then powering out. However, that low redline made manual shifting difficult, as we had to click the steering wheel paddles quickly to catch the gear change before the tach needle hit the ever threatening redline. Where a gasoline engine car would be quite comfortable coming out of a corner in third gear, we were in fourth, with a quick follow-up to fifth on the ensuing straight.

We settled on leaving the transmission in Sport mode for the fun roads, and standard Drive mode for urban and freeway driving. Under these circumstances, we couldn't complain at all about the car. In Drive on the freeway, traveling at 65 mph or 70 mph, the A3 TDI still had plenty of boost to pass other cars or climb hills. In urban driving it ran smooth, although we could have hoped for a little more initial boost for quick merges and the like.

The dual-clutch S-tronic transmission doesn't always handle the diesel engine well.

Driving hard in Sport mode, the Audi's engine and transmission played well together, giving the little A3 TDI the right amount of power coming into and out of turns. The A3 itself is perfectly good for this type of driving, exhibiting very good handling characteristics.

Of course, what will attract most people to the A3 TDI is the incredible fuel economy. During hard sport driving, the trip computer settled in with a 32 mpg average, but it shot way up into the mid-40s during steady freeway and highway driving. In heavy traffic, we watched the mpg average drop to the mid-20s, something that might be ameliorated if Audi adopted the start-stop technology that's beginning to catch on with other automakers.

The EPA fuel economy figures for the A3 TDI are 30 mpg city and 42 mpg highway. We averaged 38.5 mpg during hundreds of miles of varied driving.

Navigation system disappoints
At first glance, we weren't thrilled with the Audi's navigation system. The DVD-based system was slow to respond to inputs, the map colors were over-saturated, and it lacked the detailed 3D maps of the Audi Q5, which uses Audi's latest cabin tech.

However, on closer inspection, the map showed very good resolution, with crisp lines and easily readable street names. It also shows traffic information overlaid on the map and includes a list of nearby incidents. But this system isn't particularly sophisticated, so doesn't dynamically calculate routes based on traffic information.

The navigation system's route guidance graphics look good.

The navigation system's route guidance is also basic, and doesn't read out street names. However, its graphics are rich and explicit, indicating each successive turn. Typical for Audi, an auxiliary display on the instrument cluster also shows turn information.

As much as we didn't care for this navigation system, the car's stereo and Bluetooth phone system were both very good, up with the latest in Audi cabin technology. We've seen this Bluetooth system in many Audis. It paired easily with an iPhone, and quickly downloaded the phone's contact list, making it available through the Multimedia Interface. It also shows recent incoming and outgoing calls, making it easy to access frequently used numbers.

The stereo largely benefits from Audi's Media Interface, a proprietary port in the glove box with cables for iPod, USB, Mini-USB, and 1/8th inch auxiliary input. We relied mostly on the iPod connector, as it worked with our paired iPhone, presenting the phone's music library. Through the MMI, we could browse music by artist, album, and genre.

Slots for SD cards and the navigation system's map DVD sit behind the navigation screen.

Behind the fold-down navigation screen there are also two SD card slots, a music source Audi has offered for years. We loaded a 1-gigabyte card with MP3s and played them through the stereo. For SD cards, the interface only shows folders and files, without creating an index from ID3 tags.

Strangely, our A3 TDI didn't come with any kind of CD player. On the option sheet, Audi gives you the choice of either navigation with the Audi Media Interface or the CD changer. You can't have both. We certainly didn't mind, as an iPod is much more convenient than a big box of CDs.

The 10-speaker Bose audio system, a premium option in the A3 TDI, sounded very good. It isn't spectacular, its audio lacks some definition, but generally it did a good job reproducing the music we fed it. The system's bass, treble, and mids are all well balanced, not tending to extremes in either direction. The system didn't deliver really sharp or heavy bass, so wouldn't be satisfying for music that relies on those frequencies, but even drum hits come through distinctly.

Audi doesn't offer a lot of driver assistance features on the A3 TDI. It doesn't have a blind-spot-detection system or adaptive cruise control, but it did come with rain sensing windshield wipers, a nice feature in the off-and-on drizzling happening while we tested the car.

In sum
The 2010 Audi A3 TDI's main virtue is its fuel economy, which it gets because of its diesel engine. We generally like Audi's S-tronic transmission, but in this application, it showed some rough edges. The cabin tech, taken altogether, is merely good, weighed down by its older navigation system. The car high points include the Audi Media Interface, with its iPod integration, and solid Bluetooth phone system.

The A3 TDI is a good-looking little car, and we always appreciate the practicality of a wagon. However, its interface for the cabin tech doesn't hold up its end of the design bargain. Entering addresses into the navigation system isn't particularly intuitive, and browsing maps on the LCD is very difficult.

Spec box