2017 Audi A3 vs 2018

What's the difference?

Audi says each model is not only more fuel efficient and, despite modest price rises, is better value with up to seven grand more stuff depending on the model. The surprise packet in the range is the 1.0-litre entry level. While it feels slow off the mark, it’s quite jolly once on the move and the low starting price means you can load it up with stuff if you don’t mind the pedestrian performance.

The sweet spot is a line-ball decision between the 1.4 COD and the 2.0 TFSI Quattro. Both are great to drive, basically the same to look at and have good bang for buck compared to the front-drive 2.0 TFSI. 

The update has been subtle on the cosmetic front, but the new A3 is quieter, better value and a bit more fun into the bargain. Whether it can maintain its lead with such a quiet visual change remains to be seen, but a good car is now better. 

The Audi A3 is now five years into this current generation and it’s beginning to show its age in terms of tech and styling in the cabin, despite updates adding new equipment. It’s expensive compared to most small cars but is spot-on for a prestige vehicle. 

The Sedan is, in my view, the best looking small sedan on the planet and offers the biggest boot space in the A3 range. The Sportback, however, is arguably more practical, with better legroom, headroom and cargo carrying ability (with the rear seats down). The Cabriolet has the same perfect proportions as the sedan, but like all good convertibles doesn’t make practicality a priority. 

The sweet spot of the range would have to be the Sportback 2.0 TFSI quattro S Line with its $50,000 list price making it the most affordable but most 'specced up' A3 in the entire range.

The third-generation A3 is a familiar sight on our roads and you’ll need your specs on to spot the differences. There’s new bumpers front and rear, new headlights and taillights and the usual detail changes to the front grille - it’s now wider and a bit more aggressive (though not very much).

The Cabriolet and sedan are both handsome designs while the hatch is fairly demure, although the new front and rear bumpers add the tiniest of edges. Some may feel the sedan looks “too much like an A4” as though that’s an insult. You won’t miss the new Vegas Yellow, one of four new colours.

New wheel options are available too, but that’s about the speed of it. Get used to this A3, too, because word on the street is that the A3 will be with us for a while longer than usual due to the sins of parent company Volkswagen.

Inside is largely the same, although you can now specify the fully digital 12.3-inch Virtual Cockpit that is shoe-horned into the existing pod on the dash. There wasn’t a lot wrong with the A3’s interior, so it’s been left almost completely unchanged. The 7.0-inch screen still slides silently out of the dash and runs an updated MMI system familiar from the new Q7 and A4.

The A3 comes in three body styles: a five-door hatch, which Audi calls the Sportback; the four-door Sedan, and a two-door convertible which it refers to as the Cabriolet. It may not surprise you to learn they're all different sizes, too.

The Sportback doesn’t look like the shortest of the three but at 4313mm end-to-end it’s 145mm shy of the Sedan and 110mm shorter than the Cabriolet. But those exterior dimensions don’t tell the whole story on interior space. So, which one is more practical? We’ll get to that.

But first, the looks. The Sportback has a wagon-like appearance with its large (for a hatch) rear quarter windows. If you think it looks longer than a regular hatchback, you’re right: a Volkswagen Golf is 50mm shorter even though it shares the same platform as the A3.

However, unlike the Golf, there’s something about the Sportback’s proportions which doesn’t seem balanced.

Then there’s the A3 sedan. Now this is a perfectly proportioned car. Looking like a miniature version of the A8 limo, the A3 is one of the only tiny sedans on the planet that looks fantastic.

The Cabriolet is based on the Sedan, and it too looks beautifully proportioned. Soft tops, when they’re up, never do much for a car’s profile. Be it a Bentley or an A3, they always look better down. When the roof is down the A3 appears lower, sleeker, and tougher.

While all A3’s have the same grille and headlight design the rear treatment of the Sedan and Cabriolet is more refined with their blade-like tail-lights and boot lid lip, than the Sportback, even if it does have a roof-top spoiler.

Interiors are identical across each A3 grade, the cabin benefiting from excellent fit and finish and the use of high-quality materials. But if you like bling-tastic cockpits, maybe you should be looking at a Benz A-Class because even the fanciest A3 money can buy, the RS3, comes with a small display screen and a rather low-key interior design. 

As for rivals, the new A-Class (which I’ve just reviewed) is a glitzy competitor in hatch form, with a soon-to-arrive sedan going head-to-head with the little Audi as well.

Or there’s BMW’s 1 Series hatch and 2 Series Coupe. The 1 Series hatch is seriously ugly, the 2 Series is stunning and looks fast standing still.

Virtually nothing has changed on the practicality front. There’s the same four cupholders, the same four bottle holders and the volumes and passenger comfort all remain identical. Naturally, the Cabriolet's lack of rear doors means it loses two bottle holders.

The Sportback’s boot will swallow 380 litres with the seats up and 1220 seats down, the sedan’s 425 (just 55 off the A4’s) and the Cabrio will take a still-okay 320 litres, although the shape is a bit weird.

Front and rear space for passengers is adequate for most. Rear passengers will find headroom fine and kneeroom less fine but every car in this segment has the same problem. It’s probably the least compromised in that respect.

Cabriolet passengers are rather less well looked-after. Roof up it's claustrophobic and dark while dropping the lid will only reinforce just how little space there is between the front and rear seats. Makes a Jetstar seat look positively luxurious.

The Sportback and Sedan have five seats, while the Cabriolet has four. Leg and headroom in the back row for all body styles is limited. The Sportback will give you the most rear legroom, while the sedan has a few millimetres more space for your knees than the Cabriolet. 

At 191cm tall I can sit behind my driving position in the Sportback with a pinkie finger’s space, while my knees brush the seatback in the Sedan, and the Cabriolet won’t accommodate my long legs back there at all.
  
Rear headroom in the Sportback isn’t bad with enough room for my big head to clear the ceiling thanks to that tall(-ish) flat roofline while the sedan is a tighter fit but I just make it under. The Cabriolet’s low fabric roof means only small adults or kids will be able to sit up straight back there – unless the top is down and then you have literally unlimited headroom.

Boot space varies obviously depending on the body style. The Sedan has biggest cargo capacity with 425 litres, the Sportback offers up 340 litres, but fold those rear seats down and you have 1180 litres at your disposal, plus a bigger aperture to fit stuff in. The Cabriolet’s folding roof eats into the boot space, but you’re still left with 320 litres even when it’s down.

The folding roof is automatic and can be raised or lowered at up to 50km/h, but it’s slow - I’ve timed it and it takes about 20 seconds to open or shut.

Storage throughout the cabin is limited, too. There are two cupholders up front in all cars, while the Cabriolet is the only A3 to have two cupholders in the back (they’re between the rear seats). If you want cupholders in the rear of the Sedan and Sportback you’ll have to option the $450 fold-down armrest which houses them.

All grades above the 1.0 TFSI come with storage nets in the seatback and front passenger footwell, 12-volt sockets in the rear centre console and boot, plus cargo nets back there, too. There’s a USB jack in the centre console of all A3s.

The A3 isn’t great value for a small car, generally speaking, because while you are getting a high-quality prestige vehicle, it doesn’t come with a mountain of equipment that you might find on a more affordable little hatch or sedan.
 
Look at it this way: take $40 into a fish and chip shop and you’ll walk out with your arms full of food, take the same amount into a Michelin-starred restaurant and you’ll be lucky to get an entrée. Same with buying a prestige car – and the A3 really is a starter on the Audi menu.
 
Coming standard on the entry-grade $36,200 1.0 TFSI Sportback are xenon headlights with LED running lights, cloth upholstery, dual-zone climate control, a 7.0-inch touchscreen with sat nav, reversing camera, multimedia system with voice control, eight-speaker stereo, Bluetooth connectivity, CD player, front and rear parking sensors, rear view camera and 16-inch alloy wheels.

Only the Sportback comes in this 1.0 TFSI grade. The rest of the body styles start with the 1.4 TFSI ($40,300 for the Sportback; $41,900 for Sedan; $49,400 for Cabriolet) which comes with the 1.0 TFSI’s equipment but swaps the cloth seats for leather upholstery and adds paddles shifters, aluminium-look interior elements and 17-inch alloy wheels.

Stepping up to the 2.0 TFSI Sport ($46,400 for Sportback; $48,000 for Sedan; $55,500 for the Cabriolet) adds leather sports front seats, aluminium door sills, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and 17-inch alloys with a different design.

The 2.0 TFSI quattro S line ($50,000 for the Sportback; $51,600 for Sedan and $59,100 for the Cabriolet) brings in lowered sports suspension, 18-inch alloys and LED headlights.

Each grade also attains more safety equipment, which we’ll cover further on.

I’ve also reviewed Mercedes-Benz’s new A200, which is a good model comparison for the A3. At a list price of $48,200 the 1.3-litre four-cylinder A200 is pricier than the 1.4 TFSI, but offers better value than the A3 2.0TFSI with more equipment, including two 10.25-inch display screens.

As for paint colours, only 'Brilliant Black' and 'Ibis White' won't cost you a cent more. Optional colours include 'Cosmos Blue', 'Tango Red' and 'Monsoon Grey'.

The model refresh brings Audi’s 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo (only for the Sportback), lifted from underneath the A1’s bonnet. Generating 85kW and 200Nm, you're not losing much to the 1.4 TFSI it replaces. In the case of torque, you’re not losing a single Newton millimetre. The triple is lighter and just four tenths slower to 100km/h, coming in at 9.9 seconds for 1200kg hatch. Power reaches the road via a seven-speed S-tronic auto (DSG to you and me).

The 1.4 COD (cylinder-on-demand) soldiers on unchanged, developing 110kW and 250Nm and fitted with the seven-speed twin-clutch gearbox.

The new 2.0 TFSI supplies more power and torque than the outgoing 1.8. Power is up 8kW to 140kW while torque is up an extremely handy 70Nm to 320Nm. Audi says much attention has been lavished on the combustion cycle, reducing consumption and emissions while increasing power.

You can have the 2.0 with front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive Quattro along with the newly-developed wet clutch version of the seven-speed S-tronic transmission. The new gearbox has been designed for higher torque values, which explains why past diesels and quicker petrol Audis used the six-speed. The new one has shorter first and second gears for quicker off-the-line performance.

All engines feature stop-start and cut out as you slow or coast to a halt once you drop below 6km/h.

Now on to the engines. Yes, I’m doing this in what may seem a strange order, but trust me, it’s to guide you safely through the A3 range without anybody getting lost. We don’t leave anybody behind here, not on my watch.

The grades indicate the engines in the A3 line-up – the higher the grade, the more powerful the engine. So, the range starts with the 1.0 TFSI which has a 85kW/200Nm 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine, and steps up to the 1.4 TFSI which has a 110kW/250Nm 1.4-litre four-cylinder with cylinder on demand (COD) letting it run on two cylinders when not under load). Both are front-wheel drive (FWD) cars.

Next rung up is the 2.0 TFSI Sport and that has a 2.0-litre four making 140kW/320Nm with drive going to the front wheels. The top of the range is the 2.0 TFSI quattro S line which has the same engine but is all-wheel drive (AWD).

Those are all turbo-petrol engines – yes, no diesels and no manual gearbox option either. All have a seven-speed dual-clutch automatics shifting the gears. 

If you’re after something more hardcore in the same package, there are two halo ‘models’ that sit above the A3 range: the S3 with a 213kW/380Nm 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four and the RS3 with its 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbo-petrol making 294kW/480Nm. 

Given they are almost stand-alone models, the S3 and RS3 aren't included in this review, but you can read about them separately by clicking those links.

The 1.0 TFSI delivers a 0.1L/100km improvement over the 1.4-litre it replaces on the combined cycle while producing the same amount of torque. The 1.4 COD is the same and so the figures are unchanged while the new 2.0-litre TFSI uses 0.3L/100km more on the front-drive but 0.4L/100km less on the Quattro models. Part of the reason the Quattro is relatively frugal is the updated all-wheel drive system that disconnects the rear wheels when not needed to reduce mechanical drag and therefore consumption.

1.0 TFSI: 4.8L/100km Sportback
1.4 COD: 5.0L/100km Sportback / 4.9L/100km sedan / 5.1L/100km Cabriolet
2.0 TFSI:  5.9L/100km / 5.8L/100km sedan / 6.0L/100km Cabriolet
2.0 TFSI Quattro: 6.2L/100km Sportback / 6.1L/100km Sedan / 6.4L/100km Cabriolet

Fuel usage depends on the engine and body style, with weights varying across the range. The most fuel-efficient engine is the 1.0-litre which is only offered on the Sportback, and Audi says over a combination of urban and open roads you should see it use 4.8L/100km.
 
The 1.4 TFSI Sportback uses 5.0L/100km, while the Sedan uses 4.9L/100km, but the heavier Cabriolet drinks more at 5.1L/100km.

My most recent A3 test car was a 1.4 TFSI Sportback and the trip computer reported 7.6L/100km over a mix of city and country kays - not bad.

The 2.0 TFSI Sport Sportback uses 5.9L/100km, the Sedan needs 5.8L/100km, the Cabriolet a bit more at 6.0L/100km.

The 2.0 TFSI quattro S Line Sportback uses 6.2L/100km, while the Sedan will go through 6.1L/100km and the Cabriolet again is highest with 6.4L/100km.

That raises the question of how much more does the Cabriolet weigh? About 170kg more than the Sedan and  Sportback thanks to the extra reinforcement needed to strengthen the body to compensate for the rigidity it loses by not having a fixed metal roof.

Across the board, the new A3 is a very quiet, composed and relaxed car. While it may not look a lot different, there’s clearly been a fair bit of work going on underneath the car to improve the driving experience.

Starting with the 1.0 litre, it’s got a little bit of character although some of that comes out in mildly undesirable ways. It’s a very refined unit and is almost as easy on the fuel as the official figures suggest, even in the hands of hooligan motoring journalists (who fought tooth and nail over the car on the launch program). In traffic you’ll barely notice it’s not particularly powerful as the seven-speed is well-matched to the engine and keeps you rolling along nicely on the impressive-for-its-size torque figure.

You know it’s a little engine when it wakes up at the traffic lights, though - start-up elicits a cough and a shudder that you’ll feel through the wheel. The low rolling resistance tyres are also a bit iffy, moaning as you change direction at even moderate speeds. Clearly this car isn’t aimed at the enthusiast, but a bit more grip would be welcome. When driving inside the tyres’ modest limits, it’s a very pleasant place to be, though. This car will tempt a few higher-end Japanese or Korean hatch buyers if they can stretch to a couple of options to make it all a bit more comfortable and on gadget parity. You'll really want to add the Comfort Package and smartphone interface to bring yourself up to speed, nudging you ever closer to $40,000.

The 1.4 COD is, as ever, an impressive machine. The torque figure ensures swift, relaxed progress as long as you’re not expecting fireworks and is unobtrusive in operation. There’s little wind or road noise and as a total package, it’s difficult to pick between it and the next model up, the 2.0 TFSI, except you'll have several thousand dollars to spend on options.

There is a big jump in performance between the two, however, and the addition of the sports suspension is now less of a drama. Over the years Audi has ironed out the bone-shaking ride of its sportier suspension tunes. The latest evolution is quiet, composed and a very useful increase in handling ability without surrendering much of the ride quality.

The Quattro is barely quicker or different to drive in most conditions and it’s only when the surface is loose or slippery where you’re going to notice any real difference between the front-wheel drive machines. In the dry it will dole out the torque more efficiently and get you to 100km/h a bit quicker, but it isn’t starkly different to drive unless you’re absolutely caning it. The Quattro is also slightly noisier with fatter tyres and extra moving parts underneath. But, with such a comparatively small distance between the pricing, you’d be mad (or on already the edge with your budget) not to go to the Quattro.

The Cabriolet is still very much a cruiser. In 2.0 TFSI form it's quick and capable but with the roof down, its body feels a little more flexible than a 2 Series drop-top. It is, however, quieter but it's irritating that seat heating and blow-in-your-ear neck heating is an $1170 option (similarly with the BMW).

I’ve driven all A3 variants from the 1.0 TFSI to the 2.0 TFSI quattro S Line, plus the S3 and RS3, but most recently I tested the 1.4 TFSI Sportback, which I’ll focus on here.

Our car was fitted with two optional packages – the 'Style Package' which adds LED headlights, 18-inch alloys and sports suspension, and the 'Technik Package' which brings a virtual instrument cluster, an 8.3-inch display and sports steering wheel.

Those larger 18-inch alloys wearing low profile 225/40 Hankook Ventus S1 Evo2 tyres look great, but like thin-soled shoes you’ll feel every imperfection on the road giving a harsher texture to the ride, plus they can be noisy on course-chip bitumen. 

I’d stick to the standard 16-inch wheels. Sure, they don’t look as racy, but the ride from those, on 55 profile tyres, is a lot more cushioned.

Despite that grittier feel from the tyres the sports suspension is excellent and manages to soften bigger bumps well. Handling is good too, thanks to that suspension keeping the body well controlled.

Good visibility, steering that’s light but offers decent feel, and a comfortable seating position make the A4 pleasant to pilot,  but not hugely engaging. If you're after more of a driver’s car, the S3 and RS3 will deliver – trust me.

Acceleration isn’t bad from the 1.4-litre, with 0-100km/h claimed to be 8.2 seconds. That dual-clutch transmission is a quick shifter and smooth even in bumper-to-bumper traffic, but only if you turn off the stop-start engine system (jerky and hard to tolerate). 

I’m also not a fan of the way the stop-start system switches the engine off as you coast to a stop at traffic lights and intersections. For me, that borders on a safety issue, particularly when needing to turn on an amber only to find you momentarily lack steering or power.

As mentioned in the engine/transmission section, the 1.4 TFSI Sportback is a FWD car. Put it on a steep hill, as I did on our test incline, and even in dry conditions it’ll lose traction under hard acceleration. Traction control reins the slippage in, but AWD 'quattro' cars won’t struggle for traction in the same circumstances. 

The A3 has a maximum five-star ANCAP rating from its 2013 crash test, which applies to the Sportback, Sedan and Cabriolet.

While the Sedan and Sportback have seven airbags, the Cabriolet has just five, missing out on the head-level curtain bags.

The amount of advanced safety equipment increases as you step up through the grades, but AEB is standard across the range. Lane keeping assistance, blind spot warning and rear cross traffic alert becomes standard from the 2.0 TFSI Sport upwards, while the lower grades can attain these with the optional $1500 'Assistance Package'.

For child seats there are two ISOFIX mounts and two top tether anchor points across the back seats in the Sedan, Sportback and Cabriolet.

The A3 comes with Audi’s three-year/unlimited kilometre warranty and three years roadside assist.

Three years/45,000km of servicing can be pre-purchased for around $1700. Covered items are laid out on the website but buyer beware when it comes to “scheduled servicing.” Audi expects to see you once a year or every 15,000km, whichever comes first.

The A3 is covered by Audi’s three-year/unlimited kilometre warranty. Servicing is recommended at 15,000km/12-month intervals. A three-year/45,000km service plan is available and costs $1680.