Paul Talbot -- reviews the Audi A3 Sportback       

Luxury vehicles usually place more emphasis on comfort, appearance, and amenities such as technological upgrades and higher quality materials than on performance, economy, or utility but the Audi range is cleverer than that. It does both and with the introduction of Audi onto the Motability scheme, I was eager to try one out.  The range features the A3, A4, A6 and A8 having dropped the diminutive A2. Further up the range, there’s the new Q7, a sports utility vehicle and on the horizon is a brand new model, the A5, a two door coupe, purportedly to rival BMW’s 3 series coupe. My test model was the A3 sportback, a five door hatchback which will be available at an advance payment of £5237 for the range topping SE model I had. Compare this with an outright purchase price of £21,160 that includes options such as S Tronic six speed automatic transmission, parking sensors and an Ipod connection if you were buying it privately (although it would be a little less if you were VAT exempt), and it’s really quite a bargain if you choose to lease one through the scheme. 

Featuring Audi’s contraversial trade mark grille at the front, the car is instantly recognisable as part of the Audi family and features the new styling with grille and light clusters at the rear which modernises the car from the original version which was launched around ten years ago.  It has a fairly high waistline, a feature which is becoming fairly standard across designs and above this, attractive aluminium runners down the length of the roof. As with other Volkswagen Audi Group products, the indicators are integrated into the door mirrors. At the back of the car the rear lights form are integrated into the tail lights and there’s an additional stop lamp above.  The opening at the rear is low and wide which is excellent for access but the interior space only just accommodated my wheelchair and wheels separately leaving little space for anything else. The car was painted in a metallic silver and had alloy wheels which I thought was a good combination. 

I have to say that I think the A3 hatch has better aesthetics but the additional doors do aid practicality if carrying more than front seat passengers on a regular basis. Although, getting behind the wheel is not that difficult.  Once in, I was met with a three spoke wheel that adjusted for reach and rake and quality materials were all around which were nice to look at and touch. The driving seat adjusted for height too which together with the wheel made for the perfect driving position.   The air vents situated across the dash have chrome trims as do the climatronic air condtioning controls and the instrument panel is given the same treatment with white on black dials meaning that only a quick glance is needed to assess the speed of travel as they are so clear and easy to read.  

The indicator stalks have a nice positive action and as with other VAG products, variable speed and rain sensitive wipers are easy to control. Automatic lights also feature which are a good idea for the darker months that we’ve just left behind as they’ll come on automatically. It was also nice to see that there was plenty of storage space including the obligatory cup holders and that the door bins were a good size but I was disappointed with the radio controls. They felt cheap and completely plastic – a bit odd when the radio is graced with the title “concert” which makes you think it’s going to be rather grand.  The sound quality however, is excellent. 

The driving experience is excellent.  The steering is light and pleasant to use being nicely weighted at speed and lighter during manoeuvring.  Optional parking sensors make the job of parking in a tight spot very easy and I’ve got them on my regular car but these somehow seemed to be better with more reaction, the nearer I got to the fixed object. 

The car was fitted with the 140 bhp two litre diesel engine and a six speed automatic gearbox, now branded as S-Tronic. It’s the same as the direct shift gearbox in my own car but somehow it seems better as well with quicker and more seamless changes through the gearbox; yet another car I’m afraid where you’ll need to keep an eye on the speed as it can gain rapidly as it hurtles forward through the ratios. 0-62mph comes up in 9.2 seconds. You can also use the steering wheel mounted paddles to change gear but I preferred to leave well alone. I only had the car over a weekend but managed to do around 250 miles and I must say that I enjoyed every minute of it. Around town, the car purrs along despite its turbo diesel tag but I noted that it was more noisy than I’m used to as my own car uses the same mechanicals. I put that down to the fact that it’s a smaller car than my own at just 4286mm and width 1765mm.  

Using the car on the motorway I found that the business of overtaking is a swift safe manoeuvre and visibility from the driving seat all around is excellent. The car is so comfortable that even after this long trip I didn’t notice my regular twinges of back ache and I could have gone on and on. I wanted to, but the delivery company came back for the car. Rotters. I’ll have to hide the keys next time. 

If I was at the end of my contract I would give the Audi some serious thought. It’s expensive as a lease car but considering that they have an excellent reliability record apart from a spate of ignition coil failures (common to the group rather than simply Audi) it would be worth it. I’d probably go so far as to say that it’s probably the best car I’ve driven this year. Just where did I put that cheque book ? 

More information – www.audi.co.uk 

Alternatives 

Skoda Octavia 

Why spend over £21,000 on an Audi when you can have a slightly larger car with the same amount of equipment for around £18,500 ?  The Skoda remains good value and uses the same platform and engines as the Audi. Let’s not mention the amount of awards the company have won either. 

Volkswagen Golf 

The other major competitor in this sector. I’ve driven the Golf 2.0 TDI sport which had the same mechanicals as both of these and if it came down to price, I’d not be buying the Golf.  That said, the three featured here are very good cars. Priced around £19,145. 

Mercedes A Class 

The Mercedes also comes in a number of trim levels. This vehicle has become a familiar sight on the road with over a million models finding homes since its introduction in 1998 and over 50,000 orders since the launch of this new model.  I’ve now driven three A Class models and it has a more refined quality about it showing that Mercedes have spent some time fine tuning what was already a reasonable car. Prices range from £11,000 to £19.995.