Test Drive: 2015 Audi A3 1.8T Premium Plus

See how the Buick performed against its peers in our Entry Luxury comparison test.

These days, it would seem every large volume luxury car maker wants in on the entry level market. Acura has the ILX, Mercedes has its CLA250, and BMW has its new 2-series. Even Buick has entered the fray with the new Verano. Audi, on the other hand, has had its hand in the entry level market for quite some time now with the A3.

The previous generation US market A3 was built on the old Volkwagen Golf platform, and shared many of its components with the GTI version of the Golf, including the engine and transmission. For the newest generation, the A3 is built off of Volkswagen's newest "MQB" platform, which is the VW Group's newest transverse, front-engine, front-wheel drive platform. This is the same platform shared with the newest Mk. VII Volkswagen Golf, and many of the new A3's components are shared with the Mk. VII GTI. The previous generation A3 was often ridiculed as being a rebadged Golf GTI. Can this new generation shed that dressed-up economy car image?