Some might believe that C segment saloons are not popular in the north of Europe, but that’s an outdated view. Hot on the heels of the Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class, comes Audi’s challenger. Glenn Brooks assesses the A3 saloon.
Many expressed surprise when the UK was listed as one of the launch markets for this car, alongside other European countries, Australia and the obvious big two: China and the US, plus Canada. Yet, no-one who has been watching what has been going on here for almost two years now would doubt that launching any additional Audi model would be met with anything but success. In short, the A3 is an ever-growing sales legend and the booted model gives dealers yet another weapon in their armoury.
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The four-door version of the A3 had its world premiere at AutoShanghai in April of last year and Audi Hungaria began manufacturing it two months later at its ever-expanding Györ factory. The same facility has just started making the A3 cabrio ahead of the global roll out of that body style later in Q1. Hatchback A3s come from the company’s Ingolstadt works.
Audi stated last September that Volkswagen’s São José dos Pinhais plant in Curitiba would also build the A3 Sedan, to be followed by the Q3, in 2015.
While North America’s soon to be launched 2015 model year A3 sedan will be sourced from Hungary, cars for China will be made locally at the FAW Volkswagen joint venture’s new Foshan plant. That factory is also expected to make the Sportback for the local market.
The third generation of the A3 was first seen in three-door form at the Geneva show just shy of two years ago, with the Sportback (five-door) following six months later at September 2012’s Paris show. One detail of interest to MQB architecture obsessives: the A3 has a 2,601mm wheelbase, while the A3 Sportback and A3 Sedan share a 2,637mm wheelbase with the Golf and SEAT León. The A3 was the debut model for the Volkswagen Group’s Modularer Querbaukasten, or Modular Transverse Matrix.
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By GlobalDataSomething that Audi should be commended for is the weight of the A3 saloon. Most variants tip the scales at around the 1,250kg mark thanks to lightweight construction techniques.
In the German market there are five available engines. They displace 1.4, 1.8 or 2.0 litres and produce between 92kW (125hp) and 132kW (180hp). The cylinder on demand (COD) technology in the 1.4 TFSI with 103kW (140hp) deactivates two cylinders at low load. Power goes to the front wheels via either a six-speed manual gearbox or optional S tronic (dual clutch automatic), and there is also quattro drive for some variants.
Audi UK launched the saloon back in September with the 140hp 1.4 TFSI with COD, as well as the 180hp 1.8 TFSI and the 150hp 2.0 TDI. It was the last of these which I tested as a manual in Sport trim. This costs GBP23,630, though the Misano Red paint is an additional GBP525.00 and the alcantara/leather interior trim is a further GBP795.00. I would also recommend the LED lighting pack, though it’s a steep GBP2,000. The Bang & Olufsen sound system was a further GBP750.00.
The TDI engine puts you in tax band B, and the CO2 average is just 107g/km. Top speed is 136mph, zero to 60mph takes 8.7 seconds and the Combined fuel consumption average is 68.9mpg.
Standard equipment includes sports seats, Audi’s drive select adaptive dynamics system, dual-zone climate control, the MMI radio incorporating an 11mm-thick powered folding screen and DAB digital radio, preparation for SD card navigation, Music Interface iPod connection, a Driver Information System and Bluetooth mobile phone connectivity.
Choose S line spec instead of Sport, and you get part-leather-upholstery embossed with the S line logo, as well as an S line sports steering wheel with perforated leather grips and shift paddles (if you have ordered S tronic). There are also 18-inch alloys, an S line body styling kit and xenon plus headlights with LED daytime running lamps.
Audi allows A3 saloon buyers several suspension options. S line customers can not only swap their sports suspension for the comfort-focused standard configuration, but if they prefer a more dynamic handling set-up, there is another system which lowers the ride height by a further 10mm below the sports suspension.
Most press car come with the manufacturer’s latest infotainment system and the A3 saloon was no exception. In this case it’s called Audi connect, shorthand for the grouping of Google Maps, Google Street View, Audi traffic information online and Audi music stream. New features now include ‘Picturebook Navigation’, access to social media services such as Facebook and Twitter, the latest news, flight and train information, nearby refuelling locations graded by price, plus a ‘what’s on’ guide in specific towns and cities via its City Events service.
All in all, the latest model to join the A3 range is an impressive package and for me, is better than the CLA-Class, a car I admire, and which is fun to drive, but I just can’t recommend it due to how tight rear headroom is.
Next up for the A3 range is the arrival of the cabrio this Spring, to be followed by the e-tron, which is a Sportback with a plug-in hybrid powertrain (204hp 1.4 turbo engine+ electric motor). You’ll have seen the TV ads – it lands here in the UK next Autumn. This will also be the only A3 Sportback to be sold in the US – it goes on sale there towards year end.
