What's the difference?
Can a hatchback still be a fun and fashionable way to get around when the SUV has become such a status trend?
The facelifted Audi A3 certainly makes a case for it.
The refreshed 2025 A3 is, as Audi puts it, more competitive than before when it comes to not only value but also, you might agree, style.
Last year, before the update even arrived, the A3 sold almost as well as its Volkswagen Golf corporate sibling. In fact, it’s Audi’s third most popular model behind the Q3 and Q5 SUVs.
It’s also third in its segment of ‘Small cars under $40,000’, behind only the MG4 electric car and, you guessed it, the VW Golf.
As such, it also outsells its actual closest rivals the BMW 1 Series and Mercedes-Benz A-Class, both of which are close to the A3 on price.
Now that it’s been given a bit more razzle dazzle, let’s see if the A3 can keep that momentum going.
Lamborghini is famous for making glamorous supercars whose pilots seem so carefree they don’t appear to need a boot, or back seats, or even families.
They don’t even seem to mind them being so low they have to get in and out on all fours – well that’s how I need to do it, anyway.
Yup, Lamborghini is famous for these exotic race cars for the road… not SUVs.
But it will be, I know it.
I know, because the new Lamborghini Urus came to stay with my family and we torture tested it, not on the track or off-road, but in the 'burbs doing the shopping, the school drop-offs, braving multi-storey car parks and the potholed roads daily.
While I never like to give the game away this early in a review, I need to say the Urus is astounding. This is truly a super SUV that is every bit as Lamborghini as I hoped, but with a big difference – you can live with it.
Here’s why.
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.
Lamborghini has nailed it. The Urus is a super SUV that’s fast, dynamic, and has Lamborghini looks, but just as importantly it’s practical, spacious, comfortable and easy to drive. You’re not going to find those last four attributes in a sentence about an Aventador.
Where the Urus loses marks is in terms of warranty, value for money and fuel consumption.
I didn’t take the Urus on the Corsa nor the Neve, nor Sabbia and Terra, but as I said in my video we know this SUV is capable on the track and that it can go off-road.
What I really wanted to see was how well it handled regular life. Any competent SUV can deal with shopping centre car parks, dropping kids off at school, carrying boxes and bags, and of course fitting and being driven as you would any car.
The Urus is a Lamborghini anybody could drive, pretty much anywhere.