Audi A3 1.8 TFSI
- Brand: Audi
- Body Type: Sedan
This is the Audi A3 Saloon, the first four-door iteration of the company’s C-segment car released a year into the mk3 model’s life. It rivals the recently launched Mercedes CLA and is priced to undercut it, starting at $34,275. Order books are open now.
Engine and performance
If you’ve read any motoring press in the last 12 months you’re probably familiar with and possibly a bit bored by ‘MQB’, the architecture beneath all new transverse front-engined VW Group cars that cuts their development costs, resulting in yet more niche-exploring, as exemplified here. The A3 Saloon’s predominant markets will be China and North America.
Front and rear track widths are up by 20mm over the A3 Sportback, while the Saloon’s 425-litre boot is 45 litres bigger. Perhaps confusingly, Sports Suspension is 15mm lower than basic but is standard-fit, though can be deleted as a no-cost option, while sportier S-line trim comes with the option of a further 10mm drop. Each of the A3 Saloons sold at launch weighs less than 1400kg.
Engines are the usual mix of turbocharged petrols and diesels; the latter will hoover up most sales but the options for the former are more interesting. A 138bhp 1.4-litre TFSI unit with ‘Cylinder on Demand’, where two of its four cylinders are shut out during low throttle load, helps achieve a similar CO2 figure to a comparable diesel. But it’s this 178bhp 1.8-litre TFSI which acts as a range-topper until the 296bhp S3 arrives.
What’s it like to drive?
Audi road test cliché bingo cards at the ready: this is a car that doesn’t step out of line with the company’s typical dynamic profile at all. Firm, occasionally wheel-thumping ride? Check. Light, numb steering? Check. Safe, understeer-biased handling? Check. It’s Audi by numbers, but that brings its positives, too: the interior possesses quality and a level of feel-good factor that other VW Group cars made from a similar box of bits can’t match.
