The automotive world has numerous awards for car of the year, best car in its class, and so on. A category we think should be added is “most improved”.
Were there such an award, we know which car would be a shoo-in for the 2013 prize: the Audi A3.
Audi’s third crack at the compact hatchback still errs on the side of safe, especially in terms of design (in more ways too, we’ll come to that). It’s a good long way from hideous, true, but most would also be hard pressed to call it exciting.
Sterling build quality is great to touch and behold, and extends to unseen portions.
We could go on about how dark grey really isn’t the A3’s colour or how the 17-inch alloys on our test car aren’t exactly flattering. But all that would be nitpicking.
And that’s pretty much all we can do with the new A3, because it’s a really difficult car to fault where it counts, something we couldn’t quite say about its immediate predecessor, particularly with its restless ride and woolly chassis.
The new A3’s improvements are apparent from the get-go, an impression that begins from the moment your bum settles onto the duotone black-and-orange leather seats.
This orange extends to the contrast stitching on the seats and steering wheel. The door cards and speaker grilles are also orange, though for the added visual pop, Audi will want $5958 more.
Still, whether you decide to check off that rather pricey (rather frivolous) option or not, it has, far and away the best interiors in its class. The A3 excels in obvious areas – from the granite-like build quality of every panel to the crispness of the air-conditioning’s temperature display.
But where the A3’s quality really shines through is in how much thought Audi has put into the most seemingly mundane details. The lever to adjust the steering column locks shut with a solid thunk, the tactile clicks of the MMI infotainment system’s jog dial, and even down to the firm detents of the window winders.
For more proof, just look to the beautifully sculpted air-conditioning vents with a particularly clever method of reducing dashboard clutter. Twisting the metal bezel closes/opens the vents and pushing/pulling the central knob switches between a diffused or focused flow of air.
Tweaked MMI infotainment system also includes new jog dial with handwriting recognition touchpad.
Regardless, for all that quality on offer, we can’t help but feel that the A3 is wading in safe waters. It’s competent enough when push comes to shove, thanks to the new MQB architecture, which saves it some 80kg against its predecessor. This platform is appreciably stiffer, too.
However, while there’s grip aplenty, the A3 is short on liveliness. The familiar 122bhp 1.4-litre engine is more than adequate for the daily commute, but doesn’t quite like to be worked hard.
“Capri Orange” trim pack adds some visual zing… and $5958 to the price tag.
Again though, this could be seen as nitpicking. While it might not stir the driving fanatic, the A3 makes a supreme amount of sense. Audi claims it’ll be able to do 20km/L. As always, a manufacturer’s fuel consumption claims should always be taken with a pinch of salt, but what we managed (without too much effort), around 13km/L, can’t be sneezed at. That’s considering we spent large parts of our test run snarled in stop-go city traffic.
Of course, there’s also how it costs $169,150, even after factoring in a $15,000 CEVS rebate. Hardly cheap, but then again, neither are its closest rivals in the form of the BMW 116i ($171,800) and the Mercedes-Benz A200 Urban ($161,888).
To be fair, in choosing the A3’s sensibility, you’ll have to do without the arresting lines of the A-Class (which should win an award for most improved looks, now that we mention it) or the 1 Series’ zest for corners.
So just where is this marked improvement we talked about earlier, given that the car doesn’t quite shine in any area (except its interior)? Well, you’d just have to consider in how few areas the new A3 missteps.
Try as we might, all we’re reduced to is quibbling over the aesthetic details, which is easily rectified by specifying the “right” choices once you sign that cheque over at Premium Automobiles. And if even this doesn’t qualify it for “most improved” or, dare we say it, “hatchback of the year”, we don’t know what will.
This article was first published in the August 2013 issue of Torque.
2013 Audi A3 Sedan 1.8 (A)
ENGINE 1395cc, 16-valves, inline-4, turbocharged
MAX POWER 122hp at 5000rpm
MAX TORQUE 200Nm 1400-4000rpm
GEARBOX 7-speed dual-clutch with manual select
0-100KM/H 9.3 seconds
TOP SPEED 203km/h
CONSUMPTION 20km/L
CO2 EMISSION 116g/km
Read our review of the Audi RS3 Sportback here
Read about the Audi A3 Sportback 1.8 here
