REVIEW DETAIL PAGE

Audi A3 30 TDI

Expert Rating

75%

Owner Rating

0%

Ratings in comparison with other Premium Hatchbacks.

SENSE & SENSIBILITY

By Jonathan Crouch

Ten Second Review

The Audi A3 recipe is one that's reasonably familiar to customers. Certainly, this current model (for hatch buyers offered only in Sportback form) doesn't diverge from the template of high quality and a big car feel miniaturised into a compact hatchback shape. What has changed is the market the A3 competes in. This current third generation car now has to work harder than ever to win sales. Fortunately for Audi, it seems up to the task, especially in the entry-level 1.6-litre diesel '30 TDI' form we look at here.

Background

Why pay over the odds for surplus you don't need? It's a philosophy that works for all the big purchases you'll ever make, whether it be a house, a holiday or a car. Especially a car. It's so easy to be seduced into going large, just on the off chance you might one day need to carry five passengers or negotiate a muddy track. Then after a few years with the car, we realise that we only did that thing once or twice and would have been better off with something less ostentatious. Something like this Audi A3 1.6 TDI maybe. The formula for the A3 hasn't changed a great deal since it first appeared in 1996. Then, it weathered the accusations that it was a Volkswagen Golf in a posh frock then and it continues to do so today in an improved guise that includes a slightly smarter look. More significantly, Audi's latest Virtual Cockpit instrument panel makes an appearance as a desirable option and Ingolstadt's latest know-how when it comes to media connectivity is paraded in the redesigned MMI infotainment system. Let's check this car out in affordable diesel guise.

Driving Experience

The very first thing that strikes you when driving the Audi A3 is how quiet it is. That has traditionally been something that manufacturers of compact cars have struggled with in the past. Building suspension systems down to a price, packaging engines and ancillaries where it would have been nice to have extra soundproofing and the busy ride inherent in a short wheelbase vehicle were usually key contributing factors to why smaller cars never really felt like big cars to drive. That's changed with the latest generation of premium hatches and the A3 is probably the best of the bunch in this particular regard. It's wholly competent, if not a major entertainer. Should you want a bit of fun behind the wheel, the BMW 1 Series feels a more extrovert character and the Mercedes A-Class a more rewarding steer, but the A3 isn't far off that pace. It feels beautifully resolved when you thread it through a series of bends in that way that only seems to come from Audi. It's hard to ruffle it in any particular way, the control systems keeping a cap on any antics and the car feeling slightly disdainful at being manhandled along. Rest to 62mph in this 116PS 1.6-litre '30 TDI' variant takes 10.5s on the way to 124mph flat out. That's not far off the 8.5s and 135mph figures you'd get in the pricier 150PS 2.0-litre '35 TDI' variant.

Design and Build

Exterior changes to the A3 over recent years have been slight but the front still looks purposeful, courtesy of sharp lines for the familiar broad Singleframe grille. The headlights are flat, with distinctive outer contours and can be ordered in Matrix LED form, so they are significantly brighter and constantly adapt themselves to avoid dazzling other road users, plus of course they never need to be dipped. Equally subtle styling at the rear aims to accentuate the width of this car - with the horizontal illuminated graphics of the rear lights and the separation edge above the redesigned diffuser. Inside, the 'Virtual Cockpit' instrument display used in the TT and other pricier Audis is available in this one as an option. This displays the most important driving-relevant information in high resolution on a 12.3-inch diagonal TFT screen. The driver can switch between two views by pressing the "View" button on the multifunction steering wheel. In addition, the menu structure that works the centre dash MMI infotainment screen has been redesigned and is now more intuitive. Otherwise, everything is pretty much as before, with classy materials and strong build quality. The five-door Sportback hatch has a 365-litre boot - and there's still the option of saloon or Cabriolet bodystyles if you want them.

Market and Model

Pricing for this entry-level 1.6-litre diesel A3 '30 TDI' Sportback starts at around £25,000, with around £1,500 more necessary to get yourself S tronic auto transmission. There's no longer a 3-door Hatch option but you can have saloon or Cabriolet bodystyles. There's a choice between SE Tecknik, Sport, S line and Black Edition trim levels. The key option with this current model is the clever 'Virtual Cockpit' system replacing the conventional instrument dials with an eye-catching 12.3-inch TFT display. But of course, there's much else to select from. As for infotainment, well Audi reckons that this current A3 sets high standards here. An 'MMI radio plus' set-up with an electrically extending 7-inch diagonal monitor is standard, while the 'MMI navigation' system is fitted from 'SE Technik' trim upwards. Go further and specify the 'MMI navigation plus with MMI touch in conjunction with the Audi connect' package (what a mouthful!) and you can have many online functions in your A3 at high speed via the super-fast LTE standard. They include, for example, navigation with Google Earth and Google Street View traffic information in real time, as well as practical information on parking, destinations, news or the weather. There's also a free 'Audi MMI connect' app that enables other services, such as online media streaming and transfer of a calendar from a smartphone to the MMI. Mobile phones with iOS and Android operating systems can now be connected with the car via the standard Audi smartphone interface.

Cost of Ownership

Start cranking a bunch of options onto an A3 and you'll put a dent in what might be its biggest asset - the way it clings onto its value. It wouldn't require too much effort to push the cost of this 1.6-litre '30 TDI' A3 above £30,000 which, after a night's sleep, must feel vaguely terrifying. Better to stick with the standard equipment and add a couple of options that used buyers will increasingly look for such as navigation or Internet connectivity services. As it stands, the A3 has one of the best residual figures around. Buy an entry-level A3 '30 TDI' now and three years down the road it will still probably be worth over 45 per cent of what you initially paid for it. That's what makes this car worth paying the extra over, say, a well-equipped Focus or Astra, both of which have closed the gap in terms of quality in recent years. As long as you can afford the initial outlay, the Audi is going to work out cheaper to own. Perhaps the smartest thing about the Audi A3 is its efficiency. You'll have already justified the asking price of the car in terms of its build quality, equipment and power output, so getting excellent efficiency almost feels like a bit of a bonus. In its most frugal form, a 1.6 diesel '30 TDI' manages 53.3mpg (WLTP) and 114g/km of CO2. Or 54.3mpg and 103g/km in S tronic auto form. Which explains why this model is popular with fleet and private buyers alike.

Summary

The Audi A3 isn't the sort of car that naturally grabs the headlines, especially in this 1.6-litre TDI guise. It's just a little bit too sensible for that. The driving dynamics won't have magazine road testers getting all unnecessary and the styling isn't going to sell too many posters. It's the unsexy stuff that the A3 does so well. It studiously leverages the power of Audi's cherished brand. It's safe, efficient, discreet and makes sense financially when its crushing residual values are taken into account. So, a car that you buy with the head rather than the heart? Not entirely. The coldest pragmatist would gravitate to a Golf then realise that even better value could be had with a Skoda or a SEAT. No, the Audi A3 is all about walking a very fine line balancing value and badge equity. My personal take is that perhaps the A3 has become a little too cool and could do with a few more fireworks to really grab the buyer but you may well disagree. What's not up for debate is that this is a compact car that goes large on quality, refinement and maturity. Will continue to strongly challenge more recently designed models from Mercedes and BMW? You'd be foolish to bet against it.