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First drive review: Audi A3 and S3

Monday, 26 July 2021

Here's how Audi's 48-volt mild hybrid system powers up the A3.
No drastic changes in appearance for the new A3, but things are a bit more angular and aggressive, particularly on the S3.
No drastic changes in appearance for the new A3, but things are a bit more angular and aggressive, particularly on the S3.
Familiar Audi design cues abound – the S3 gets the sporty bonnet ‘nostrils’ that aren’t functional, but look cool.
Familiar Audi design cues abound – the S3 gets the sporty bonnet ‘nostrils’ that aren’t functional, but look cool.

You know the A3 – it’s Audi’s Golf. Or more specifically, it's the car that largely invented the “premium hatch” segment when Audi decided to take its upmarket badge appeal down to the small hatch segment with the first model way back in 1996. Now there is a new 4th generation model, and it has just landed in New Zealand.

Make me an instant expert: what do I need to know?

The new A3 is the 4th generation of Audi’s small hatch.
The new A3 is the 4th generation of Audi’s small hatch.

The 4th generation A3 is, in line with a veritable flood of VW Group cars landing here at the moment, based on Volkswagen’s MQB platform, meaning it shares its basic underpinnings and architecture with the likes of the Volkswagen Golf and Skoda Octavia, as well as the Seat Ateca, Cupra Formentor… the list goes on.

**READ MORE:

The A3’s interior gets a fresh new design with the familiar VW Group stubby gear knob.
The A3’s interior gets a fresh new design with the familiar VW Group stubby gear knob.

* Road test review: Volkswagen Golf GTI vs Skoda Octavia RS

* Audi RS 3 will be the last of a special breed

The S3 brings more power to the A3, with a 228kW 2.0-litre turbo engine.
The S3 brings more power to the A3, with a 228kW 2.0-litre turbo engine.

* Audi unleashes new 294kW RS3

* Audi announces fresh S3 Sportback and S4 Avant

Quad tailpipes mark out the Audi S3’s more sporting intentions at the rear.
Quad tailpipes mark out the Audi S3’s more sporting intentions at the rear.

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To that end, there are a few things we can go into this expecting – everything else we have driven so far handles brilliantly, rides well and some (well, mainly the VW Golf) have had slightly disappointing interior quality.

The S3 gets a higher quality interior with S-specific touches throughout.
The S3 gets a higher quality interior with S-specific touches throughout.

So how does Audi’s version shape up in those regards?

Well, of course it handles brilliantly, the ride is good – except for one glaring and odd caveat – and the interior is not disappointing, but neither is it spectacular.

But more on that later. The A3 comes to New Zealand in three forms at launch, with the entry A3 35 TFSI Advanced kicking the range off at $57,900.

The A3 35 TFSI was the surprise of the bunch, with a delightfully eager 1.5-litre engine.
The A3 35 TFSI was the surprise of the bunch, with a delightfully eager 1.5-litre engine.

For that you get a 110kW/250Nm 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo engine with a 48-volt mild-hybrid assist system driving the front wheels through a seven-speed dual clutch transmission.

The 35 comes very well-equipped as standard with things like 17-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights and taillights, dual zone climate control, LED interior ambient lighting, Audi’s ‘virtual cockpit’ display, a leather steering wheel, wireless phone charging, Audi Connect (free for three years) and satellite navigation.

The entry A3 35 also bags Audi’s full suite of safety and driver assist systems, including adaptive cruise control, lane change assist, high beam assist, front pre-sensing and a backing camera.

The S3 is now easily in the hot hatch category, thanks to its 228kW of power and tenacious handling.
The S3 is now easily in the hot hatch category, thanks to its 228kW of power and tenacious handling.

The A3 40 TFSI quattro S Line comes next and lands at $69,900. This brings a bigger, more powerful 140kW/320Nm 2.0-litre turbo four and drops the 48-volt mild hybrid system, but adds in AWD instead.

The 40 quattro also adds 18-inch alloy wheels, ‘dynamic’ LED taillights and adaptive cruise control with emergency assist to the 35’s standard kit.

Then there is the powerhouse (so far) of the new A3 range – the S3 quattro.

The new A3 doesn’t do anything revolutionary, but it does what it has always done extremely well.
The new A3 doesn’t do anything revolutionary, but it does what it has always done extremely well.

The S3 lands at $89,500 and winds up the 2.0-litre turbo engine’s output to a healthy 228kW of power and 400Nm of torque, retaining the same AWD/seven-speed dual clutch transmission drivetrain.

Aside from the big power bump, the S3 also adds 19-inch alloy wheels, sports suspension with damper control, rear privacy glass, heated ‘aluminium look’ door mirrors, heated Nappa leather sports seats, Virtual Cockpit Plus with a huge 12.3-inch screen and a number of interior and exterior accents exclusive to the S3.

Where did you drive it?

In what is becoming something of a recurring theme for recent Auckland-based car launches, we headed north of the city up into the Rodney District to Okaha Beach for a pleasant lunch. At least it would have been pleasant if it hadn’t been a thoroughly awful day.

Still, the torrential rain did handily show off the S3’s fantastically sure-footed nature thanks to its excellent quattro AWD system. Unleashing all 400Nm on the soaking wet roads only reveals strong, insistent acceleration, with literally no drama, accompanied by a satisfying growl that is probably largely fake, but way better than the obviously fake tones of some of its platform-mates (looking at you, Skoda Octavia RS…).

While we obviously weren’t going to start hammering into the corners at 10/10ths on such an awful day, the S3 proved itself to be a delightfully accurate and agile thing, with superb steering response and nice feedback (not something you can always take for granted from a hot Audi).

After lunch we swapped into the 35 TFSI (the 40 TFSI quattro wasn’t available for the launch) and it proved to be the surprise of the day by being surprisingly responsive down low (thanks to the beefy 48-volt mild hybrid system that fills in the gap before the turbo spools up), wonderfully agile and eager to change direction.

Interior-wise, both versions of the A3 we drove had an attractive, well laid-out interior, but neither quite reach the lofty heights of quality of a more expensive Audi. Which is to be expected, but neither did they plumb the depths of plastic nastiness that the cheaper A1 delves to either.

The S3 had a more premium feel, thanks to its extra leathery bits and fancy accents and stitching, but the entry 35 was still pleasant enough and, most importantly, a few notches above a Volkswagen Golf in terms of design and quality.

So that’s handling and interior quality, what about that earlier ride question?

Well, that is where the A3 in particular falls down a wee bit – something we thought we noticed in the S3 before lunch reared its head far more noticeably in the A3 35 TFSI after it, and it wasn't because we were carrying extra weight after lunch either.

While the ride in both erred towards the firmer end of the spectrum, it was perfectly fine and largely something you expect from an Audi anyway. What wasn’t expected is the way larger bumps, holes and imperfections are transmitted into the cabin.

There is a brittle, harsh response to larger irregularities, and coarseness to the way they make it into the cabin. It was far more noticeable on the 35 with its basic suspension and while obviously not a huge problem, it is disappointing when the rest of the ride/handling equation is so damn good.

What’s the pick of the range?

That is a tough one.

The S3 is a thoroughly fantastic thing, being essentially what used to qualify as a hot hatch not all that long ago (the S3 was always more of a ‘warm’ hatch to the RS 3’s hotness) and masses of fun because of it.

But the A3 35’s delightful eagerness and crisp engine responses were wonderfully good, and far better than what we would usually expect from the smallest engine in the entry level mode, even when it costs $57k.

The reality of it is, however, that there will be very few (if any) Audi customers weighing up the pros and cons between the 35 and the S3. It will be when the 40 TFSI quattro arrives that the real comparisons can begin.

Why would I buy it?

Because you want a slick, quality premium small hatch that is frugal and impressively responsive (A3 35) or fantastically quick and refined (S3).

Why wouldn’t I buy it?

Because you don’t much care about badge appeal and know the Seat/Cupra Leon is also available now and costs WAY less…