The latest Audi A3 made its UK debut in September 2012, but the best-selling body-style in the range is the five-door Sportback.
It has always fared well against compact upmarket rivals from BMW and Lexus, but now Mercedes-Benz and Volvo have credible alternatives in the sector with the new A-Class and the V40.
Customers who need the extra practicality have had to wait until spring 2013, but early signs suggest it is well worth the wait.
It has always fared well against compact upmarket rivals from BMW and Lexus, but now Mercedes-Benz and Volvo have credible alternatives in the sector with the new A-Class and the V40.
Customers who need the extra practicality have had to wait until spring 2013, but early signs suggest it is well worth the wait.
The new A3 styling is more evolutionary than revolutionary, but underneath the skin are some key changes.
At the rear of the car is a new third window and an additional pillar, creating more space for back seat passengers.
The new A3 Sportback is also 90kg lighter than its predecessor (100kg lighter than its equivalent competitors), 58mm longer than the outgoing model and comes with a bigger boot.
The styling improvements continue inside the car with a fancy driver-focussed wrap-around dashboard.
Initially the A3 Sportback comes with a choice of three engines: a pair of petrols (1.4 and 1.8 litres) and one 2.0-litre turbodiesel unit. And because all new A3 engines are linked to efficiency-enhancing systems like start-stop and energy recovery the average consumption across the range has been dropped by 10 per cent.
Three main trim options are offered: SE (30 per cent of sales), Sport (£1,225 more and 30 per cent of sales) and S-Line (£2,150 more and 40 per cent of sales).
The model I spent the majority of time driving, and the one which will prove to be the UK best seller, was a very nice 148bhp, 2.0-litre diesel.
This oil burner does 67.3mpg in manual transmission and has CO2 levels of just 108g/km.
Those wanting something even more frugal should wait until May for the 1.6TDI that promises to reach 74.3mpg and produce only 99km of CO2. Although be warned, it will take 11.9 seconds to do 0-62mph.
While on the media launch event I also found time to test my driving skills behind the wheel of the fastest A3 Sportback in the range so far – a twin-clutch semi-automatic 1.8-litre petrol.
The very capable twin-clutch semi-automatic transmission will be available on all engines in the near future, but perhaps more exciting than that will be the introduction of quattro four-wheel drive technology later this year followed by the sizzling hot RS3, which could come as soon as 2014.
It’s been confirmed that Audi’s hottest hatch will hit the market little more than a year after the recently-revealed S3, shown at September’s Paris Auto Show, although it is still too soon to talk about specifics.
All of the engines are smooth and quiet and are extremely relaxing over all kinds of road surfaces.
The A3 is fun to drive, it’s nimble, handles well and is equally as enjoyable on short and long distance road trips.
There is a huge array of technology on offer including a head-up display and the MMI touch operating system that connects to Google earth and integrates with the navigation route.
By Richard Jones
At the rear of the car is a new third window and an additional pillar, creating more space for back seat passengers.
The new A3 Sportback is also 90kg lighter than its predecessor (100kg lighter than its equivalent competitors), 58mm longer than the outgoing model and comes with a bigger boot.
The styling improvements continue inside the car with a fancy driver-focussed wrap-around dashboard.
Initially the A3 Sportback comes with a choice of three engines: a pair of petrols (1.4 and 1.8 litres) and one 2.0-litre turbodiesel unit. And because all new A3 engines are linked to efficiency-enhancing systems like start-stop and energy recovery the average consumption across the range has been dropped by 10 per cent.
Three main trim options are offered: SE (30 per cent of sales), Sport (£1,225 more and 30 per cent of sales) and S-Line (£2,150 more and 40 per cent of sales).
The model I spent the majority of time driving, and the one which will prove to be the UK best seller, was a very nice 148bhp, 2.0-litre diesel.
This oil burner does 67.3mpg in manual transmission and has CO2 levels of just 108g/km.
Those wanting something even more frugal should wait until May for the 1.6TDI that promises to reach 74.3mpg and produce only 99km of CO2. Although be warned, it will take 11.9 seconds to do 0-62mph.
While on the media launch event I also found time to test my driving skills behind the wheel of the fastest A3 Sportback in the range so far – a twin-clutch semi-automatic 1.8-litre petrol.
The very capable twin-clutch semi-automatic transmission will be available on all engines in the near future, but perhaps more exciting than that will be the introduction of quattro four-wheel drive technology later this year followed by the sizzling hot RS3, which could come as soon as 2014.
It’s been confirmed that Audi’s hottest hatch will hit the market little more than a year after the recently-revealed S3, shown at September’s Paris Auto Show, although it is still too soon to talk about specifics.
All of the engines are smooth and quiet and are extremely relaxing over all kinds of road surfaces.
The A3 is fun to drive, it’s nimble, handles well and is equally as enjoyable on short and long distance road trips.
There is a huge array of technology on offer including a head-up display and the MMI touch operating system that connects to Google earth and integrates with the navigation route.
By Richard Jones
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