Audi A3 review – The benchmark for premium hatchbacks

A five-day stint in the new A3 Sportback 35TFSI S Line has made it clear that this is still the premium hatch to beat in South Africa.

The A3 we reviewed had a price tag of R812,700, thanks to an impressive list of optional extras.

This included rear parking sensors and dual-zone climate control, an upgraded virtual cockpit, and autonomous parking.

Now, I’m not saying you should pay R12,800 to give your A3 the ability to park itself – but it sure is cool seeing the steering wheel turn itself while you only work the throttle and brake into a parking spot.

The drive

The new Audi A3 35TFSI comes with a 1.4-litre, turbo-petrol engine generating 110kW and 250Nm that is sent to the front wheels via a smooth, quick-shifting eight-speed automatic.

The official 0-100km/h time is rated at 8.2 seconds and top speed comes in at 219km/h.

These figures would have made the A3 35TFSI a hot hatch in the early 2000s, which is not bad considering the size of the motor and its place in the manufacturer’s extensive line-up of cars.

But, straight-line speed is not all there is to it – and this is where the pretty Audi took me by surprise.

The A3 drives like a car that is more expensive than it is.

It has a sport suspension system and low-profile wheels in its S Line guise so the ride is harder than, say, your average luxury sedan.

True to its sporty nature, the Audi goads you on to whip it around corners and use every bit of power, while it’s equally as accommodating when slowly cruising in traffic.

There is a slight disconnect between the driver and tarmac, as the cabin is well isolated and road feedback on the thickly-bolstered steering wheel is muted – but this is more a symptom of premium modern cars than of the A3 itself.

With the supple, flat-bottomed Sports Contour steering wheel in hand, however, the A3 did not step a centimetre out of line when encountered with urgent steering inputs and liberal use of the accelerator.

These personality traits I’ve come to expect from top-of-the-line cars, which made it all the more impressive to experience them in an Audi A3.

Living with the A3

Living with the A3 Sportback was bliss.

It might be a hatchback, but it offers generous cabin space and when parked next to something like a VW Polo, you can see the A3 is not all that small.

Want to take the family on a weekend getaway? Easy. Want to load in three or four friends and drive to a braai? No problem. The A3 can do it all and looks incredibly stylish while doing so.

Inside, there are premium materials and soft-touch surfaces that lend the interior a high-end look and feel. Despite there being more plastic than in the previous-generation A3, these panels are placed out of sight so that you don’t have to touch them all that often, and when you do they still feel high quality.

There is also a healthy mix of touch-sensitive and physical buttons inside the cabin, with every physical button giving a satisfactory click when pressed.

Additionally, the seating position is ever-so-slightly higher than its bigger sibling, the A4. I realized this when stopping next to one at a red light and looked down at its driver to see if he’d acknowledge that we’re both driving Audis (he didn’t).

As for the features, I would say you don’t need that many optional extras on the A3.

The standard model already has automatic headlights and wipers, cruise control, a digital instrument cluster, a multifunction steering wheel, and an infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

If pushed, I would say the R26,500 S Line interior option is probably the one to get – as it adds snug Sports seats wrapped in a leather/leatherette blend, dark aluminium accents, stainless steel pedals, a black headliner, and cool S emblems.

You can also get powered front seats (R19,300), electric lumbar support (R4,400), front-seat heaters (R5,500), a panoramic sunroof (R17,000), a 30-colour ambient lighting system (R2,500), and a rear-view camera (R6,500) – which were all installed on this A3 and all worked like a charm.

This particular A3 also had the R5,800 lane departure warning extra – which operated in a less intrusive manner than in other cars I’ve tested before – as well as a R13,500 Bang & Olufsen stereo.

If I’m honest, I would not need this over a standard sound system.

One assistance feature that did stand out, though, was the autonomous front braking system.

In bumper-to-bumper traffic, the A3 sensed when I was lazily closing in on the car in front and then gradually applied braking pressure until it came to a standstill at a safe distance – without manual inputs.

The autonomous parking was also very cool to use, and watching the car steer itself into a bay never got boring.

Verdict

The Audi A3 Sportback 35TFSI is an excellent car and is the yardstick against which other premium hatchbacks can be measured.

It is a capable daily driver that can double as an enthusiast’s car when the opportunity presents itself.

It’s also good-looking, has a reasonable amount of features in base spec, and is frugal when it comes to fuel spend – I got just over 350km on half a tank.

Added to this is that in the S Line spec, it feels like you are driving in a luxury car – which is why you often go German in the first place.