In order to keep costs down, car manufacturers have been reducing the sheer number of unique platforms and powerplants. Most of the builders are sticking to a couple of high-tech skeletons that can easily be modified to accept different drivetrains or for various types of vehicles. Volkswagen is not a rookie in this business. Their fourth generation Golf/Jetta chassis served as a basis for the New Beetle, the previous A3 and even for a few Seat and Skoda models. The trick is to build a good backbone and work with it.
This road test has found me soaking up every kilometre in a 2006 Audi A3. This is the first time that North America gets the A3. It has been around in Europe for a while and only now can we finally get to see them on our roads. The A3 is actually built on the same platform as the new fifth generation Volkswagen Jetta and upcoming Golf. They also share many mechanical components.
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