Inside Story: 2009 Audi A3 2.0T S-Line

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January 29, 2009

2009 Audi A3 2.0T S-Line. Click image to enlarge

Manufacturer’s web site
Audi Canada

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Review and photos by Michael Clark

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2009 Audi A3

Where’s my tray?

When you nitpick interior features to supplement your day-job income, you tend to become hypersensitive to the loss of an item that threw in an assist on the previous A3′s five-star rating. While the Audi corporate styling direction of bright, not just white, LED headlamp eyebrows may be pleasing to the eye, you’ll need more than a wink and a smile to un-jade this Inside Story scribe. We’ll get to the tray snub in a moment on this week’s tester, an Oh-Nine A3 2.0-litre turbo quattro DSG with Premium and Titanium trim packages, tipping the MSRP scale at $42,050. (Pricing shown does not include freight, taxes, or regional incentives.)

The Cockpit/Centre Stack

Controls continue to be well placed within the A3, with the utmost attention to precision feel. The manual tilt/telescoping column holds the multi-function wheel, which apparently is Bluetooth-prepped, with no wireless handshake occurring during the usual switch fumble.

2009 Audi A3 2.0T S-Line. Click image to enlarge

Note the well-positioned shifter paddles for the six-speed DSG automatic. The DSG can also receive manual shift inputs at the floor level. Kudos to Audi for the separation of the manu-shift gate and the Sport shift map mode. More often than not, manu-shift automatics include the Sport mode as the first point of shift logic, when the lever is slapped into the manu-gate. Bump the shifter, and you may find yourself more involved than you originally intended. It may seem like a petty annoyance, but a sudden shift in weight transfer due to an engine braking downshift could quickly alter your intended direction.

The central information display is easily accessed by the steering wheel-mounted trackwheel system. Headlamps retain their Auto detent, while wipers employ an EZ-Adjust toggle for raindrop sensitivity. Dual-zone climate controls use spring-loaded dials to fetch the proper temperature, though a particular sniggle that presented itself during these colder climes times was the inability to mix heat and frontal defrost equally. The stability control and hazard flasher switches are within easy reach.

A single-CD audio head unit is simple to navigate, though the scrolling verbiage regarding the station and artist is both annoying and oddly entertaining, especially when it starts to slice up the words into something comical. The driver’s door pod houses Auto ascent/descent controls for all windows, power toggle to the exterior heated mirrors, and power release switches for the fuel and tailgate release.

2009 Audi A3 2.0T S-Line. Click image to enlarge

Cubbies!

The locking glovebox gets a major letdown with the owner’s lit. There are two upper compartments, which one would think would at least reserve one cavity for the info packet. Not even close, in this proverbial homage to the Square Peg/Round Hole dilemma. A saving grace is the tip-out compartment at the bottom of the front passenger seat cushion.

The front cupholder uses three collapsible bladder cinchers for the primary cavity, while the rear portion is a step-up pressure fit. I’m starting to wonder how long this bladder idea is going to last, especially with our extreme variances in temperature. The centre console gets an armrest cubby, with a roll-top door below that reveals two 12-volt DC powerpoints, and the auxiliary audio input. The armrest can be positioned at varying angles for maximum comfort. The rear centre armrest houses a thin storage cavity and a pop-out dual cupholder with spring-loaded C-clamp cinchers. Rear seatbacks add see-through mesh pockets.

Side door pockets exist for the front panels only. Now, about that cubby of my discontent. The previous A3 had a slide-out tray next to the hazard flasher switch, which has now been replaced by dummy switches.

2009 Audi A3 2.0T S-Line. Click image to enlarge

It was a perfect portal for parking passes, business cards, even loose change. Let us please observe a moment of silence for its untimely demise.

The overhead

The interior rearview mirror includes the much-appreciated auto-dimming photocell. The front sunroof uses a mesh deflector, AKA butterfly net. The second row moonroof is a fixed pane. Both panes use retractable mesh screens as a heat shield. You won’t mind the extra heat that occurs in minus 30 degree weather because of these downright see-through panels. Check back with me in July. The moonroof system appears to disallow the use of a roof rack, with no easy access points for attachments.

Seat treat

There’s plenty of heat for the front seat passengers, with six-position dial controls in the HVAC real estate. The driver’s seat is power-positioned, including lumbar. The rear seat provides a respectable flat-fold for cargo conundrums. The Inside Story Comfort Dummy handed the baton to an unsuspecting six-foot, 240-pound member of the El Diablos Car Club for rear seat comfort testing, during a weekend search for an elusive and wily and rusty ’67 Laurentian. “Jimmmay!”, as he is affectionately known, was bordering on needing assistance to be removed from the rear seat at our various ports of call.

Cargo embargo

Meet the Happy Hooker, a common sight amongst Audi and VW products. The spring-loaded bag hook is incorporated into the underside of the rear parcel shelf. The cargo cavity includes tie-down points, a mesh pocket on the right-hand wall, and a third 12-volt DC powerpoint. Note the pass-through door on the centre of the split-fold seatbacks.

Spare care

An additional tab on the backside of the parcel shelf holds the cargo floor up for easy access to the spare tire and tools. Audi will change it for you, during the first four years of ownership, with no mileage limit.

2009 Audi A3 2.0T S-Line. Click image to enlarge

The mill

Nix the six. This is the mill you want for the long haul, the 200-horsepower 2.0 TFSI four. Why? Because it will keep the expletive-deleteds to a minimum, as well as labour costs when it’s time for servicing. Fluid fill points are easily accessed throughout the engine bay.

The verdict

There’s a lot of regular back-track when it comes to the animal that is the Inside Story. This means that the Kudos given are constantly being re-evaluated. A dash-mounted card tray is by no means a deal-breaker for most, but a more sensible HVAC system is definitely needed, an omission that would only present itself during colder periods. And don’t forget an owner’s lit-specific glovebox cubby. The Oh-Eight’s five-star ruling has now dropped to four for Oh-Nine.

Next week: Subaru Legacy PZEV