MotorMouths

The Audi A3 TDI is sporty, attractive and comfortable. Throw in decidedly decent road manners and you have a very compelling set of wheels. Nothing, however, proved to be quite as appealing as the diesel engine. It delivers power without penalty.

The A3 is in a class all by itself and if its price seems like a lot to spend for a compact wagon, one spin is all it really takes to sell the A3 TDI, it really is that much fun to drive.

With diesel now roughly back at parity in price with gasoline, the Audi A3 TDI will soon offer a premium compact with good handling and excellent fuel economy.

The 2010 Audi A3 TDI diesel uses today’s technology to create an exciting driver’s car. The bad news is that the luxury hatchback’s power and efficiency come at a stiff price.

The 2010 Audi A3 TDI is incredibly cute, fun to drive and gets great mileage, but it’s a squeeze for my family of four in a way that makes road trips seem forbidding.

With its understated Audi interior, you could think of the A3 TDI as a hot hatch for grownups—with a grownup price. We got 40 MPG without even trying. And had a blast doing it. Try that in a Prius.

The A3 TDI is a compromise, then, but a good one. The price remains within reach of those early in their careers and the car offers stellar fuel economy for commuting, but at the same time you get a sexy-looking, reasonably sporty hatch instead of a penalty box.

Fuel-thrifty, smaller cars aren’t always plain, utilitarian and boring. Audi’s entry-level car, the A3, proves it. I couldn’t believe the fuel mileage display as I tested the A3. I was not driving at all for fuel economy. Yet, the car registered just over 36 mpg.

The Audi A3 TDI is low on firepower compared to the 2.0-litre turbo gas version. From here on, the rest of the car is pure A3. That means a dynamic drive, with a nicely-balanced chassis, very precise speed-sensitive steering and a high fun-to-drive quotient.

Is a Prius more efficient? Yes, but the A3 is more comfortable, more luxurious, and much better looking by a huge margin. There are few vehicles on the market that meld green and luxury so well. But we couldn’t help but feel that there was more Audi could do.

One of the great features of the U.S. car market is that it that there is room for idiosyncratic cars like the Audi A3 TDI. Too bad that its appeal will be limited to those willing to pay a high premium for the ability to limit their fill-ups.

Does the Audi A3 TDI make the perfect compromise between performance and economy? Unfortunately, no, because it, like all other cars, had to compromise somewhere: price. You can get a fully-loaded Golf TDI for under the price of a base A3 TDI. And since Quattro isn’t available on the A3, why wouldn’t you?