Stylish luxury. That’s what the Audi A3 offers. It’s a good looking, sophisticated five door hatchback that’s large enough to take five away on a long trip. Finished in dark metallic green, there is rear privacy glass with the Audi logo and bonnet grille finished in black.
I last drove an Audi about eight years ago so I am delighted to find myself behind the wheel of one again. I put it through its paces on a journey to the East Midlands that takes in three counties: Northamptonshire, Leicestershire and Derbyshire. Covering over 600 miles allows me to see how it performs in varying circumstances; we crawl in jams on the M1, cruise when we’re able to and travel faster along more accommodating rural roads.
While eldest daughter Harriett (13) admits that legroom is a little tight behind my seat, we all travel happily enough in our supportive black leather seats. The driver’s seat is electrically adjustable and I can’t grumble about the driving position; I fit snugly. I usually complain about cars these days only being equipped with boring automatic gearboxes… Well this is no different, there’s a seven speed auto and there are paddleshifts for manual-like driving. However, I currently have painful tendonitis in my left foot and have been hobbling about for two weeks; it’s getting better but very slowly. So the fact that this is an automatic and there’s a foot rest for my left foot is actually helpful and over the course of the week long loan, I can feel an improvement in my big toe where the problem is, so thank you Audi.
This model has a little over 1,000 miles on the clock, which means the brakes have barely been bedded in, so braking has to be done carefully otherwise we all kiss the windscreen. It hugs the road and has ample acceleration to keep up with the best of them. The black interior is hardwearing and I like the fabric that has been incorporated on the ergonomically pleasing dashboard. There’s also an electric tilt/slide glass sunroof so that lets more light into the cabin. The sat nav certainly helps to make a journey less stressful but this one can be frustrating in terms of instructions not being as clear as they could be and the information not always being displayed on the head up display projected onto the windscreen in front of the driver.
The boot allows for a couple of suitcases and it’s necessary to remove the parcel shelf for son Henry’s scooter and our coats. Over the course of the journey it returns around 47mpg and will travel about 490 miles on a tank. Cruise control gives reasonable peace of mind when speed cameras are involved, however, it does gather speed when travelling downhill, which can be bothersome.
Overall, it’s an impressive hatchback.
Facts at a glance:
Audi A3 Sportback Sport 35 TFSi
Price: from £30,500 upwards
0-60mph: 8.1secs
Top speed: 140mph
Power: 147bhp
Economy: 47mpg approx
Tim Saunders is a travel writer and photographer regularly contributing to publications with a combined audience exceeding 100,000 readers. You can read more from Tim on his website travelwriter.biz and www.testdrives.biz.
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