Audi A3 Sportback 2020 In-Depth Review - A Brilliant Premium Hatchback

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The premium compact car. If that concept means anything to you, then it's the car we look at here, Audi's A3 Sportback, that might well come to mind. True to the brand's Vorsprung durch Technik philosophy, this model once again aims to set fresh standards, incorporating a completely digitalised interior and cutting-edge infotainment, plus more unique light signatures, powerful engines and a suite of innovative assistance systems enveloped in a completely redesigned, yet immediately recognisable body. The result is a car that should show you just how far things have recently progressed in this segment.

Background

The Audi A3 firmly established the premium compact class in 1996. Now, more than a quarter of a century further on, the fourth generation of this highly successful model is ready to make its mark. These days of course, this Audi faces strong competition, but back in 1996 when we first saw the A3 model line, the idea of being able to move a car up-market in class and appeal without increasing its size was new and rather different.

Cynics dismissed it as a way of dressing up ordinary family hatches and charging a lot more for them. Customers though, loved the idea and by the time the second generation A3 arrived in 2003, BMW and Mercedes rivals had also arrived to swell the market. Initially, those two brands struggled to produce products good enough to overtake Audi and the result was that nearly a quarter of a million MK2 A3s were pounding global roads by the time the third generation model arrived in the Autumn of 2012. It sold for nearly eight years until this more cutting-edge MK4 model arrived.

Driving Experience

Everything about this car is designed to deliver on the concept of a Volkswagen Golf with just a touch more polish - and the driving experience it offers is no exception. If you're an A3 regular - or a graduate from a Golf - you'll find that this Audi now has even more of the mature drive dynamics you'll be looking for, helped by a fully digital at-the-wheel experience and the optional embellishment of hybrid power and self-driving tech. Differences with this MK4 design initially seem quite subtle, primarily centred around slightly sharper steering and handling that's now a little more responsive. That's thanks to a wider track and the introduction of a 'modular dynamic handling control system' that, based on steering movements, predictively co-ordinates interplay between all the car's dynamic systems - like a conductor with an orchestra - so the car can always be one step ahead of the drive inputs you want to make. As before, you'll need to avoid the lowest-powered petrol and diesel variants if you want the brand's suppler, more sophisticated multi-link rear suspension set-up.

Ah yes, engines: they've evolved too: the two volume petrol units - a 110PS 1.0-litre three cylinder and the 150PS 1.5-litre four cylinder powerplant we tried - both get Audi's latest mild hybrid MHEV electrified tech, provided you order them with the 7-speed S tronic auto transmission that most A3 folk tend to want. That MHEV set-up sees an integrated 48-volt 'BAS' belt alternator starter-generator powers a 12-volt main electrical set-up in which a 48-volt compact lithium-ion battery in the boot stores energy harvested via a 'KERS' kinetic energy recovery system. If you don't care about Friends of the Earth, you can do better with the alternative conventional 30 TDI diesel model of course - which now develops 116PS using a larger, more efficient 2.0-litre unit with the brand's latest 'Twin Dosing' tech. There's also a 150PS 2.0-litre 35 TDI model option. The better eco-minded alternative though, is the 40 TFSIe Plug-in Hybrid, which mates a 150PS 1.4-litre TSI petrol engine to a 6-speed DSG auto gearbox, the combination working with an 85kW electric motor powered by a 13kWh lithium-ion battery which, when fully charged, can offer a WLTP-rated all-electric driving range of up to 41 miles. If you purely prioritise performance, you're more likely to be drawn to the S3 quattro hot hatch, which, as before, uses a 310PS 2.0-litre TFSI turbo petrol unit, which is now exclusively mated to S tronic paddleshift auto transmission.

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