Ben Timmins for Motor Trend:

From the looks of it, the A3’s interior is not business as usual. The dashboard is dominated by circular air vents and a pop-up LCD monitor, looking like a futuristic version of the current A1’s cabin. There’s basically nothing but cup holders fore of the shifter, and that’s because the controls for all of the non-HVAC systems are accessed through a revised controller aft of the shifter. It’s an advanced version of Audi’s current Multimedia Interface.

The system is controlled by a newly redesigned version of the MMI Touch system found in the A6, A7, and A8. This time, instead of a dedicated touch panel that allows drivers to draw letters on it, the touch-sensitive part has been moved to the top of the large wheel. It’s the larger of two wheels: there’s a smaller wheel aft of the large one and to the right, which provides instant audio control with on/off, volume, and forward/back track.

The addition of the touch sensitive controls was always very odd to me. While driving, how can you draw letters on a small touch surface to navigate the system? It’s very Japanese techy instead of German efficient.