Blame the Small Trunk on Quattro - 2015 Audi A3 Long-Term Road Test

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Blame the Small Trunk on Quattro - 2015 Audi A3 Long-Term Road Test

Our 2015 Audi A3 has a fairly small trunk in terms of rated capacity. Quattro all-wheel drive has something to do with that.

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legacygt

Not sure that "disappearing gooseneck hinges" are such a great deal. It does look a little neater and keeps you from crushing bags. But it results in less space as they need to build up the walls around the hinges. Sure it's just a couple inches but it adds up. A few years ago it looked like goosenecks were going away. Reviewers were trashing any car that had them. Now I see them cropping up with greater frequency, including in supposed luxury cars like the A3.

mercedesfan

That's a little surprising. Cars like the MB CLA and Volvo S60 offer almost identical Haldex-style on-demand AWD systems (the A3 does not have real quattro), but their trunk volume doesn't change if you choose a FWD version. I wonder why Audi wasn't better able to package their system?

5vzfe

I appreciate whenever I'm using a car with "disappearing hinges" like this A3. This way, you know exactly how to pack the trunk without fear of having the hinges smash items or have the trunk lid unable to close. I feel that any space taken up by the walls that cover the hinges is negligible at best, since the hinges will occupy that space when the lid is shut. Our 2011 Jetta does not have this setup, and I've had to reposition fragile items and completely repack the trunk on a few occasions because of its hinge design.

pinhead_907

So what uses 155/80R13 tires?

miata52

Audi should move the oil pan to the trunk

fordson1

miata52 said:

Audi should move the oil pan to the trunk

Yeah - saw that. I guess they're just getting a little variety instead of the constant diet of new windshields...

actualsize

mercedesfan said:

That's a little surprising. Cars like the MB CLA and Volvo S60 offer almost identical Haldex-style on-demand AWD systems (the A3 does not have real quattro), but their trunk volume doesn't change if you choose a FWD version. I wonder why Audi wasn't better able to package their system?

I know, right? I need to see a 1.8T in person (preferably up on a lift) to see exactly what is going on. At first I thought the extra space was due to the lower profile of the rear twist beam axle, but that setup only appears on the TDI. The FWD 1.8T uses the same multilink rear suspension setup as our 2.0T with Quattro. The only major attribute the TDI and 1.8T share back there is their lack of rear drive.