| Test drive | Audi A3 Saloon |
Key Facts
Model tested: Audi A3 Saloon 2.0 TDI
Pricing: £24,275 basic; £35,600 as tested
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder diesel
Transmission: six-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Body style: four-door saloon
Rivals: BMW 2 Series, Mercedes-Benz CLA, Volkswagen Jetta
CO2 emissions: 107g/km
Combined economy: 68.9mpg
Top speed: 136mph
0-62mph: 8.7 seconds
Power: 150hp at 3,500- to 4,000rpm
Torque: 320Nm from 1,750- to 3,000rpm
Our view:
Mainland Europe (and indeed our Atlantic neighbours in Ireland) loves small saloons. Here in the UK, we're not so enamoured. Which makes the Audi A3 Saloon look like a lost cause before we've even begun. Yes, the thee-door A3 hatch and Sportback siblings offer more practicality, and the recently-revealed second-gen Cabriolet added visual élan, but to dismiss the A3 Saloon would be a huge mistake - it's a fabulous car and one that makes us wonder if you really need to consider the Audi A4 at all.
Because there's no doubting that, as three-box saloons go, the A3 is right on the money. It is a sensationally good-looking thing with not a bad angle to it, especially finished in optional Misano Red pearl effect (£525) and with £1,500-worth of 19-inch 'Wing' alloys fitted. Minimal overhangs, a compact wheelbase - which eliminates the slightly saggy appearance of an A4 or A6 in profile - and striking, angular rear light clusters make the Saloon very appealing and probably one of Audi's best-looking cars this side of an R8. It certainly drew plenty of stares from other road users during our time with it; although that could have been down to the bright paintwork rather than its relatively rarity.
The interior? It's an Audi. We think you know by now how good it is in there, although with the driver's seat at its lowest setting the headroom is quite tight for the taller driver and rear headroom also proved stingy for a six-foot passenger - although he did have enough legroom. Standard fit equipment includes the 5.8-inch screen that pops up out of the dash, dual-zone climate control and the MMI infotainment interface, but you can have proper, premium additions too, such as the £750 Bang & Olufsen sound system fitted to our car. It was as good as expected, by the way.
Dynamically, the A3 Saloon is very pleasing. Being a saloon, it has an extra bit of structural bracing behind the rear seats in the form of another bulkhead, and it feels sharper than its A3 relatives as a result. Criticism of Audis past revolved around three areas - poor ride, nose-heavy handling and numb steering. The A3 Sport Saloon, while not one of the company's most overtly performance-orientated cars, addresses two of these three and therefore gets the thumbs up from us.
Even on those massive 19-inch wheels, two inches up from the regular wheel size, the A3 maintains a luxurious air on both rutted back roads and glass smooth four-lane motorways, with a ride that's never less than superb. It adds to the air of refinement by restricting any vibrations in the driveline from making their way to the cabin, remaining whisper quiet at lower revs and keeping tyre roar and wind noise levels well suppressed - the latter of which is contrary to what we found when we first drove the car in Hungary. For serenity, it feels every bit the match of A4 and A6 Saloons.
Yet its smaller dimensions make it more entertaining if you decide to go at a B-road like you're 17 again, with none of the understeer-heavy feeling of Audis of old. It's only a front-driver, so this road-holding ability is both surprising and most welcome. The 2.0 TDI engine, which can very occasionally feel a bit sluggish if you catch it below 1,500rpm, comes into its own here, bestowing ample acceleration on the A3, while the gearbox is lovely to work through the well-spaced ratios. The brakes are also strong, with none of that over-assisted action you can get on many Volkswagen Group products, and it's once again the steering that lets the side down - weighty, yes, but communicative? It's not awful, but also not as chatty as it could be. Still, ride and handling taken into due consideration, I suppose two out of three ain't bad.
OK, if you're looking at this car's final price with wide eyes and wondering why on Earth a 150hp diesel costs more than a basic S3 Saloon, we'd understand your concern. But pick and choose options more carefully, and you'd end up with a sub-£30k car that feels the best part of £10,000 more. The fuel economy never got close to the official 68.9mpg figure quoted (budget for a more realistic mid-50s on the motorway), but at least being in VED Band B you'd only end up paying £20 road tax annually after the free first year, so we'll let it off this transgression.
All of which makes the Audi A3 Saloon a difficult car to sum up. If you need a big boot, its five-door relations will be the obvious choice. But the sheer style of the Saloon, plus its appealing driving characteristics, make it hard for us to ignore. We'd like to see more of them on the road in the UK, because it's a great car that deserves to be a sales success.
Alternatives:
BMW 2 Series: you get something more dynamic for more or less the same cash, but you'll have to wait for an as-yet unconfirmed Gran Coupé variant if you want four doors...
Mercedes-Benz CLA: more curvaceous and less saloon-like... and less practical for it. CLA 220 CDI not as nice to drive as A3, either.
Volkswagen Jetta: it wouldn't be an Audi test if there wasn't a comparable, cheaper Volkswagen to match it. Jetta looks like a smaller Passat - so a bit boring, essentially.
