Audi A3 SPORTBACK RANGE
Audis A3 Sportback Offers A Little More Of What You Fancy. Andy Enright Takes A Look At This Elongated A3
Launching a new car isnt as straightforward as you might think. On the face of it, you just invite a bunch of pampered journos to some salubrious Mediterranean resort, house them in a palatial flop, feed and water them well and hope they write nice things about the car you subsequently insert them into. Often manufacturers make great play about inviting you to drive what amounts to a restyled grille and headlamp set and at other times they keep things very low key. Such was the case with the old
Audi A3 five door, a car that was in dealerships before many potential buyers even realised such a thing existed.
Audi have ditched the softly-softly approach with the latest A3 five-door, the Sportback.
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Part of the reason
Audi didnt give the old five-door A3 the big fanfare was, when all was said and done, it was just a three door A3 with an extra pair of doors wedged in. The A3 chassis was always very tightly packaged and with five doors, the styling lost something and the back
seat was only ever any good for kids or rather squashed adults. This time round, Audi have approached the problem in a more expansive manner, leaving the regular A3 as a sleek three door and offering a longer bodied five-door model that really does the job for those looking for added versatility. Prices start at £16,015.
Although it lacks the nuggety compactness of the three-door car, the five-door Sportback isnt a bad looker at all, certainly a good deal easier on the eye than the rather challenging
BMW 1 Series. An 83mm increase in body length and extra wide opening rear doors adds up to easy accessibility and far better rear knee and head room than its three-door counterpart. Space up front is equally good, the transverse engine and front-wheel drive transmission minimising intrusion into the passenger cell. Quattro four wheel drive will be offered on certain variants.
Given that the current generation A3 is 65mm longer in the wheelbase than its predecessor, its obvious that rear seat passengers will be a whole lot happier in the Sportback than the old A3 five-door. The luggage compartment also grows by 20 litres giving a total of 1,120 litres of space with the rear seat folded flat.
"Rear seat passengers will be a whole lot happier in the Sportback than the old A3 five-door"
The engines offered mirror the choice available for three-door A3 range and include the 2.0T FSI powerplant, cranking out a hefty 200bhp punch. This will accelerate the Sportback to 60mph in just 6.9 seconds and on to a top speed of 150mph.
The two most popular engines are the 150bhp 2.0-litre FSI petrol engine thats been so successful in the A4 range and a 140bhp 2.0-litre TDI diesel that many buyers will rightly choose. You can also order a more affordable 105bhp 1.
9-litre TDI and a less affordable 240bhp 3.2-litre V6. A 102bhp 1.6-litre petrol engine is also offered as an entry-level model and above that theres a 1.
6-litre FSI option. The V6 is fitted with quattro all-wheel drive transmission as standard its available on the 2.0T FSI as well as the 2.0-litre diesel.
The 2.0-litre diesel offers the sort of performance youd expect from Audi. It hits 60mph in 9.2 seconds and tops 130mph, which makes it only marginally slower than the 2.
0-litre FSI. With 60% more torque, however, theres no doubt which of the two cars will feel the stronger when accelerating down a motorway on-ramp. Its pull matches the 3.2-litre V6 model, a car which makes 60mph in 6.
7 seconds and tops out at 153mph. Driving manners across the range have been improved with even the humblest versions riding on multi-link rear suspension. Where Audi really pulls clear of the non-VW Group opposition is in the availability of its revolutionary Dynamic Shift Gearbox (DSG) on the most powerful petrol and diesel models. First seen in the TT 3.
2 V6 coupe, this system is based around a sequential manual gearbox but utilizes an ingenious twin clutch system to ensure creamy smoothness. Engage first gear and the gearbox will pre-engage second gear in advance, the second clutch engaging as soon as you flick up to slot instantly into second gear. This means a seamless flow of power. The electronics predict what gear youre about to engage, depending on whether youre accelerating or braking and the result is astonishing, making every other gearbox look distinctly clunky.
The other option is to slip it into D and drive it like a normal automatic. Even in this mode its butter smooth and makes other attempts at sequential manual systems such as Ferraris F1, BMWs SMG and Alfa Romeos Selespeed appear distinctly clunky and yester-tech. Standard safety equipment includes window airbags, electronic stability control, ABS, brake assist, a part-electric power steering system and anti-whiplash head restraints. The cabin has been restyled to offer a little more design flair, Audi realising that high quality alone isnt enough to lure buyers into showrooms.
There has to be some style on display too. The fascia struts ape the interior design of the TT, as do the round air vents and chrome-rimmed dials. Its still not what youd call revolutionary, but its beautifully executed. The A3 Sportback range is available in standard, SE and Sport trims with the S-Line upgrade pack to consider and an optional Open Sky twin sunroof system is also available for order.
If, as one suspects, youll be hearing an awful lot more about the Audi A3 Sportback, its probably a sound indicator that Audi is proud of their elongated A3. First impressions suggest they have every right to be.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Audi A3 Sportback range
PRICES: £16,015-£24,890 on the road
INSURANCE GROUPS: 9-18
CO2 EMISSIONS: 142-258g/km
PERFORMANCE: [2.0T FSI] 0-60mph 6.9s / Max Speed 150mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: [1.6] (combined) 39.2mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front, side and window airbags, electronic stability control, ABS, BAS
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Height 4271/1765/1421mm
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