yes, it's head and shoulders above the civic for fit and finish as well.
They "compair" them in car mags, but it's a bit of a lop sided comparo because the VW is really alot bigger car! Maybe the length and width are similar, but the interior dimensions are hugely different.
0-60 is not great (6.8 sec) but highly tweakable engine...just too bad it's not AWD.
The A3 AWD model jumps up to 42,000 dollars! Big jump to get AWD (although it is also an S line loaded), I'll have to price the S4's as I have seen them NOT SELLING WELL, so I have seen them LOADED for 50,000.
But although the 28,000 GTI loaded is temping....I'm still contemplaiting the 14,000 stripped car.....then in a few years....M5.
Mike