I have owned a number of VAG products in the past and have been very happy with them. I had also driven a previous model A3 in Europe and liked it there.
I wanted a well made 4 door sport hatch back. At the time I purchased the car the A3 was the only car on the market that met that description.
I like 4 cyl turbocharged cars and I will not drive an automatic car. 200hp is the "right amount of power" for this car. Audi should sell the 2.0T in AWD with a manual transmission.
In 2006 the car was offered with 4 years free maintenance.
Nimble sure footed car that handles the curves with easy and is as comfortable at 80 on the highway as it is at 55.