A3 still going strong after 25 great years
Audi’s premium hatch plays to the brand’s strengths, writes Matt Allan
I was astonished to realise that the Audi A3 will be 25 years old this year but perhaps that’s moreareflectionofmyadvancing years than anything else.
Over that quarter of a century it has carved itself out a niche as one of a handful of premium alternatives to regular family hatchbacks and in 2020 this fourth-generation A3 made its debut aiming to maintain that position.
The three-door version has been ditched and the A3 is now sold either as a five-door Sportback or a four-door saloon. Both are sharper looking than their predecessor with deeper creases along the flanks, more prominent wheel arches and a bigger, more aggressive grille.
The A3’s interior is new as well, more minimalist and more focused on being “digital”. That means a 10.1-inch touchscreen and a 10.25-inch digital instrument display as standard. There are lots of sharp angles and creases, with two lines slashing across the dashboard and neatly encasing the media screen and full-width air vents on the passenger side.
Passenger space is impressive for four average-sized adults and it’s comfortable even on long journeys. Everything
feels well put together and it’s lessy fussy than either the BMW 1 Series or Mercedes A-Class. A minor niggle is the deletion of the media system’s scroll wheel in favour of voice and fiddly touch controls. At least the A3 retains physical switches for the heating system instead of the idiotic “sliders” in the related Golf.
Like that Golf, the A3 is available with a standard selection of VW Group engines and our test car featured the 2.0-litre, 148bhp diesel with a seven-speed dual-clutch auto.
It’s a familiar package and in this latest iteration is quiet, smooth and linear. There’s an abundance of torque that pulls the A3 along easily and matched to the (mostly) slick S tronic transmission it makes for an almost effortless drive.
As one of the higher-output models, our test car came with independent multi-link rear suspension rather than a torsion beam setup. It’s more dynamic than before but as with previous A3s, it feels secure and capable rather than particularly sporting. It is comfortable though. After years of being hammered for poor ride quality, Audi has worked wonders and made the A3 refined, pliant and smooth.
As with every new model, the latest A3 is packed with new technology.
Along with the alwaysconnected infotainment system, it features vehicle-to-X technology to allow communication between the car and infrastructure such as traffic lights.
Driver aids include a standard collision detection and mitigation system and lane departure warning while the £1,400 driver assistance pack adds adaptive cruise control, rear cross traffic warning, lane keep assist, high beam assist and parking assist.
Prices start at £24,900 while our car was £30,725 before options and a whopping £37,480. It’s a lot of money but the truth is that a similarly equipped 1 Series or A-Class will cost a similar amount and with the proliferation of PCP deals, it’s more about how good a monthly deal you can find than the top-line price.