Audi A3

Cars like these seem to have enough punch to be interesting in a wide variety of situations. Coming out of a corner in the A3, you get acceleration that feels firm and satisfying, though it isn’t amazingly fast. The thrill lies in running through the gears without endangering everything in your path. Below this minimum torque and power level, you always feel like you want more grunt. Going above the minimum is better to a point, but also expensive. After all, almost regardless of your budget, there is such a thing as diminishing return on investment.

The A3 engine’s torque curve is fun to exploit, in part because it is pretty flat. You get good pull from 2000 rpm on up, and the nonlinearity of some turbo cars, like the Porsche 911 and the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII is missing. I’m sure some folks enjoy the blast of torque reached around 3500 rpm that some heavily boosted cars provide. If you’re one of those, the A3 won’t be for you. The A3’s turbo set up feels more like a normally aspirated motor with larger displacement.