Audi A3 2013 review

The problem with the A3 has been not so much what it is as what it isn't. It's been too much of a Volkswagen Golf and not enough of an Audi. Still, if you're going to embark on badge engineering you could do no better than to base your compact hatch on the same platform as that of the Golf, especially the deliriously received new Mk VII.

If you're going to call it an Audi and charge a bulging premium before the buyer so much as ticks an option box (of which there are not a few), it had better boast some pretty dramatic points of departure. Or so goes logical thought.

Audi's new boss Andrew Doyle will tell you, however, an A3 punter simply doesn't consider a Golf. Imagine a Grange lover going in for Koonunga Hill. If you don't do plonk, imagine eschewing a long neck of Cooper's Pale Ale for a can of VB.

It's not that the A3 is better than the Golf in a functional sense because it isn't. This time though, it's different enough. Besides - and this is kind of its point - you look better in an A3 at the golf club.

VALUE

This A3 starts at a new low price. So does the Golf (less than $23K) but enough of that for now. The auto trend of the year is affordable, compact, prestige hatches. The A3 belatedly joins BMW's 1 Series, Benz's A-Class and the V40 Volvo at the $35K starting point. It's been out for ages - before the Golf, in fact. (Sorry - it just keeps cropping up.)

In entry level Attraction trim, the kick-off sticker is $35,600 for the 1.4 petrol and $36,500 for the 1.6 diesel with its meagre 3.9L/100km. Ambition is the top level before quattro and S models arrive later in the year. Starting price for both 1.8 petrol and 2.0-litre diesel is $42,500.

All are decently equipped but Audis are built as essentially blank canvases to be coloured with options. There are no less than six bundles of these, Assistance package being the least expensive at $1800 for adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and high beam assist, which dips the lights automatically as a vehicle approaches.

For $2K more a Style package adds xenon lamps with daytime running lights and 17-inch alloys to Attraction variants. The Ambition version of that gives you the lights, 18s, sports suspension and 15mm lower ride. A Technik pack hits you for $2990 and adds navigation system with touchpad, seven-inch monitor and park assist with rear view camera.

Had enough? Then chill with the Comfort kit, a $2200 ask for electrically adjustable and heated front seats with lumbar support, keyless go, auto dimming rear vision mirror and folding exterior mirrors with kerb view.

Ambition owners can also chuck $4200 at the S line pack, which adds some of the above to 18s and go-fast-looking bits. These are largely superficial but it's almost necessary to add some - any - visual flair. Dual-clutch auto transmission is standard on all models. You want a manual? Really? It's special order - a free option no one will take.

TECHNOLOGY

Here's where the Audi begins to depart from its sister model. You begin to suspect you're in a good thing when, without prompting, a senior executive of another German car company starts praising the A3 for its use of aluminium to save weight. This model is up to 85kg lighter than the one previous with commensurate savings in fuel.

If CarsGuide can at times appear infatuated with small and uber-efficient German turbo engines it's only because we are. Especially those that run on petrol. So sharp have these become that the economy advantage of turbo diesels - which is in any case largely denuded in urban traffic - is ever more slight. Generally it's a matter of about 1.0L/100km.

Of the four VW Group engines in the starting line-up, the one unique to the A3 (oh, and Skoda's new Octavia) is the 1.8 TFSI, which CarsGuide drove earlier this month. No doubt capable of greater outputs than its 132kW/250Nm, this is nevertheless enough for a 0-100km/h sprint approaching that of a hot hatch - 7.3 seconds isn't much outside a MkV Golf (whoops) GTI. Its 5.6L/100km, however, would keep the A3 going long after the latter had dried up.

Whether you call them S tronic, DSG or Fred Smith, the shift quality of twin-clutch automatics varies wildly between not just model lines but different cars. Audi's have as a rule been among the nicer to live with but they still frustrate those of us who believe the left foot is for braking. If you're not careful to lift clear of the stop pedal before pressing the accelerator, the throttle is electronically cut and an agonising pause can result - often just when this is least desirable.

DESIGN

The car you see here is the new A3. No, really. Look again. All right, look closer. Understandably Audi has gone for design continuity, wishing to create from this still fairly recent model line the dynastic sense of, um .th.th. the Golf. This aspect of the brief just might have been taken too seriously, because if you can on first glance distinguish the new one from the 2005 model, I'd like the number of your optometrist.

Our test car was of a dull grey hue. We used images of the red 90 TFSI, because these are not adjacent to invisible. Of course there are differences between old and new. For instance, the standard alloys are not as ugly as those previous.

Open any of the Ambition's doors and the generational change becomes obvious, especially (but not only) up front. Not as overt as Benz's A250, this is still one of the inside stories of the year, a compacted but not diluted take on one of Audi's bigger luxury devices, such as the $80K A6.

In S and special-edition variants, this interior will doubtless be embellished with coloured stitching and such-like, but not I hope to a distracting extent. The feature here is the four big circular air nozzles. As simple, functional and pleasing as these appear, they contain more than 30 separate parts, which reflects either over-engineering or pig-headed perfectionism.

SAFETY

Premium active safety technology is optional. To a land where the overtaking lane is for cruising below the limit and car makers might as well save themselves the cost of including indicator stalks, comes Audi's side assist.

At 30km/h and above, two radar sensors in the rear monitor the area to the side of and behind to some 70 metres. If it detects activity in the blind spot or approaching it at pace to imperil a lane change, it flashes a warning in the relevant side mirror. If you are among the rare breed to activate the indicator, it blinks brightly and rapidly.

DRIVING

Previously Audi was apt to so stiffen its less able cars that they both rode and handled poorly. New platforms, lighter engines and the realisation that alert dynamics needn't mean busting your fillings have come to prevail.

Even with its sporty embellishment the ride/handling character of our 1.8 TFSI is more in keeping with that of a compact grand tourer than a hellfire hatch.

The steering still isn't sufficiently well-weighted for full-on apex hunting and after nearly 400km I still found myself readjusting through longer corners. It never conveys enough information as to what the front end is doing. There's a sense that more than a little is being kept in reserve for the overt variants, which arrive in coming months.

Not that it lacks for straight-line pull. All of the 1.8's grunt arrives at 1200rpm and hangs in there until 5800rpm. It's difficult not to be in the fat of the range, the auto kicking down smartly for overtaking. The GT motif is emphasised by refinement not always or even often found in a small hatchback, especially not in the back.

VERDICT

If you want $80K Audi refinement and luxury in a $50K five-door, here it is.

Audi A3 Sportback 1.8 TFSI

Price: from $42,500 ($49,940 as tested)
Warranty: 3 years/unlimited
Capped servicing: No
Service Interval: 12 months/15,000km
Resale: 58 per cent
Safety: 5 stars
Engine: 1.8-litre 4-cyl turbo petrol; 132kW/250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed twin clutch auto; FWD
Thirst: 5.6L/100km
Dimensions: 4.3m (L); 1.78m (w); 1.4 (H)
Weight: 1280kg (unladen)
Spare: space saver