Audi A3 vs Blue Tongue Overland XR

What's the difference?

Closing in on $60,000 for a small car isn’t cheap. Ask a car dealer and they might even say the hatchback is a good way to get someone into a showroom to eventually look at an SUV.

But I reckon you’d be doing the A3 a disservice to count it out. It’s always been one of those cars that does everything well, and with this current facelift manages to keep its practicality without becoming boring.

It looks good on the outside, it’s smart on the inside and it’s fun to drive while remaining sensible. Even if you get it in bright yellow.

The Overland XR Series 2 isn't quite the perfect camper, there's a few little things in the set-up that preclude it from that. Still, at the price and with the features it gets as standard, it's a really good value trailer. It's comfortable, it'll handle off-road trips with ease, and it the kitchen is really quite good.

Starting from what’s right in front of you as a driver, the steering wheel is the same as in bigger, more expensive Audis. That’s a good thing, because it’s nice to hold, has a good shape for the nine-and-three hand position and it’s not too thick. 

As well as the nice, clear buttons on the wheel, you’ve got some physical controls for the climate control and some of the vehicle functions like parking assist and stop-start under the multimedia screen.

For a car this size, the 10.1-inch central touchscreen is plenty big enough, and the fact it doesn't sit up high over the dash is great. It's like a perfect arm's length for your standard-sized adult (like me). I can reach the other side of the screen without needing to lean.

The fact there’s no head-up display is a bit of a let-down, but the now-standard 12.3-inch driver display is very good. It’s configurable yet clear, and means you can get detailed navigation information in front of you rather than having to look to the multimedia screen. 

The test A3 has genuine leather upholstery, which is $1100 extra. Not the most you’d pay for leather seats in a Euro, and the seats are comfortable. They're nicely bolstered, the drivers’ side is electrically adjustable and the leather doesn’t feel hard or rough to the touch.

Sitting behind my own seating position in the second row is a little tight, however. At 178cm, my knees almost touch the seat in front. There's also no sunroof, and even though there's just about enough light, that omission doesn’t help the cramped feeling.

There are, like the front, two USB-C ports and the air vents in the back, the latter separately adjustable to avoid arguments, though the cupholders in the armrest are in an awkwardly central position.

Behind that, under the 380-litre boot's floor is a space-saver spare tyre. That's better than some SUVs designed for family adventures that only offer up an inflator/repair kit. Keep that up, Audi. Good job. Well done. 

If you fold the rear seats, you get 1200 litres of space. Interestingly, those luggage space figures are the same as the BMW 1 Series.

As the lid becomes the floor, it's quite open inside the camper, with plenty of room to move around and space to do everyday things standing up, like get dressed, which is often more difficult in a forward fold, as there's not a lot of standing room inside them. There's also no stairs to climb getting in or out, as the hard floor is almost at ground level.

The tent seems quite well made. It's a 450gsm waterproof canvas with a tropical roof, windows all around the bed and three doors, one each side of the hard floor. Almost the whole passenger side can be rolled away, too, creating a giant opening into the camper, which offers a pretty good outlook on hot summer days at campsites by the beach.

There's no shortage of extra canvas, either. There are two awnings (although only one you'll use often, an ensuite tent and an optional kids room. The best of the awnings is the quick version, which is simply a rectangle of canvas that shelters the kitchen and only needs two poles to hold it up. A more complete awning, which also comes with walls and a floor, goes up reasonably easily, but it'd only be used if you were settling in for a week or more, I reckon, and then only if the weather was questionable. Its pitch has been improved over the Series 1, which had a flatter roofline and was more susceptible to pooling water. The ensuite room is gigantic – about the size of an actual small bathroom.

One of the biggest reasons to get a rear-fold over a forward-fold is the internal access to storage. As the rear-fold's is all under the bed, the four steel drawers make it easy to get to. Two of them are even accessible when the camper is shut, which just isn't the case in a forward-folding camper. A large, wide step makes climbing up into the bed easy, too. It has an innerspring mattress which is firm but comfortable and plenty big enough to spread out on if you are sharing it.

The Overland XR Series 1 was very well equipped electrically, maybe too well equipped. It was fitted with three 100ah batteries, which is not only a lot of extra weight, but that much battery takes ages to charge – if they were all flat, a day's driving probably wouldn't do it, especially if the car also had a second it needed to attend to. The Series 2 has dropped back to two batteries, which is far better suited to the camper and should easily be maintained by one of the optional 144W solar panel blankets. It can also be fitted with Redarc's Redvision, offering phone connectivity to the camper's electronics so you can not only monitor everything, but turn things on or off remotely.

The other side of the camper's forward storage is large enough to fit a generator or any other bulky camping appliance. As it can be accessed when the camper's open or closed, it's perfect for all manner of gear. A smaller box facing forwards is great for hoses and recovery gear or even a couple of jerry cans. Beware of loading this area up with too much really heavy gear, though, as the ball-weight's already on the heavy side. Fortunately, the camper has a flip-over luggage rack, which is ideal for heavier or bulkier items. Underneath, it can carry 155-litres of water in two tanks.

First things first, the A3’s exterior and S Line pack are a clue to the way the car drives. It’s probably not the perfect car if you like a cushy, soft ride. 

Its suspension errs towards the stiffer side of things, and certain bumps can feel more significant than they need to. But even on particularly bad roads or tram tracks in the city the dampers do a decent job of soaking up the harsh stuff.

It also means there’s more road noise than you’d like on some older highway surfaces, but only in a way that might get annoying if you’re on a road trip with the stereo off for some reason.

The upside of that is its steering feels well weighted and accurate. Plus, the way it handles and corners feels like a bit more grunt would make this a proper driver's car.

It’s not too intense, and there’s enough feedback to make it feel like the A3 shouldn't be a city-dweller only when it comes to driving.

Of course, it’s a hatchback, so you've got the advantages that come with less weight and a lower centre of gravity. 

It doesn’t have enough weight to push into understeer more than you’d like on a tight corner. But it also doesn’t feel so light that you’re not sure how it’s going to behave under sharp braking.

The A3’s drivetrain, despite looking underwhelming on paper, feels practical on the road. Sure, 110kW isn't anything wicked, but its 250Nm feel like they’re working in the right places - that being between 1500 and 3500rpm. 

It isn't blisteringly quick but even with the seven-speed transmission operating in default auto mode it usually feels like it's in the right place, let alone chipping in with 'manual' shifts via the paddles or shifting drive modes. The A3 has a choice of 'Normal' and 'Sport' shift settings.

You might be a little disappointed if you thought you’d be getting anything approaching a hot hatch, but for an entry-level model the A3 more than holds its own. It’s a solid platform that performs well without compromising too much when it comes to daily driving ability.

The Overland XR is very stable under tow, which has a lot to do with its ball-weight. Weight to the front of a trailer improves trailer stability (although reduces braking and steering efficiency), so there needs to be a compromise. At 180kg, that's actually a reduction on Series 1, and although that's quite heavy for a camper trailer, is on par with other modern rear-folds, like the Kimberley Kamper.

Well and truly off-road ready, the XR has independent coil-spring suspension and dual shock absorbers, standard, as well as an AL-KO 360° ball hitch, so obscure angles on a rough track won't cause any trouble.

The camper is quite tall, thanks to the spacing of the suspension arms, so clearance will rarely be an issue – when level, the ride height suits a lifted four-wheel drive.

Alloy wheels and 265/75 R16 all terrain tyres fit the bill nicely, and as they're a six-stud LandCruiser pattern, they, and the two tonne bearings, are easy to replace anywhere you find yourself.