Audi A3 Sportback Sport TDI S tronic

EIGHT years ago I was on work experience at this very newspaper when I reported the outrage of a Rotherham filling station selling diesel at 99.9p-per-litre billing it as the dearest derv available.

Audi A3 Sportback Sport TDI S tronic

Engine: 1,968cc, four-cylinder turbodiesel

Power: 148bhp and 236lb.ft. of torque

Performance: 0-62mph in 8.4 seconds and 132 mph

Economy: 62.8mpg (combined)

CO2 emissions: 119g/km

Price: £24,195 (basic)

EIGHT years ago I was on work experience at this very newspaper when I reported the outrage of a Rotherham filling station selling diesel at 99.9p-per-litre  billing it as the dearest derv available.

How times have changed.

It has taken far less time for the acceptable price for a premium hatchback to rise above £30,000, with BMW, Audi and Mercedes leading the charge.

Powered by a 148bhp two-litre turbodiesel engine, and with gears shifted by Audi’s dual-clutch S tronic gearbox, my A3 Sportback test car came in at £32,085.

Xenon headlights (£1,250) and a Technology Pack (£1,495) which includes Internet-access, Bluetooth hands free phone connection and parking sensors help to hike up the standard cost of £24,195.

Even sporting vibrant Misano Red and strands of attractive LED daytime running lights in its conservatively wrought panels are subtly classy rather than striking.

Experiencing the A3 Sportback’s true value requires a step inside a cabin which boasts the architecture and quality materials of more expensive Audis.

From the machined aluminium bezels of the rotary wing mirror adjuster and Sat-Nav and stereo control, to the seven-inch colour monitor which rises from the dash, the A3 Sportback’s interior is a tactile treat.

Tracing letters onto a touch pad on top of said rotary control to input post codes into the Sat Nav only adds to the sense of technological innovation.

Rear accommodation is superior to that found in a 1-Series or A-Class and there’s a useful 365-litre boot.

The A3 Sportback cannot compete with the 1-Series dynamically, though.

Striking a staunchly neutral balance, it tacks into bends neatly and the diesel engine pulls keenly, reaching 62mph in 8.4 seconds and a 132mph top speed, but there isn’t the adjustability of the rear-wheel-drive 1-Series.

The S tronic gearbox struggles with the balance between tardy and standing-start abrupt when pulling away from a standstill but delivers super-smooth changes once underway that are mega quick when called upon.

Fuel economy of 62.8mpg and 119g/km CO2 emissions are assisted by start/stop technology and regenerative braking.

The A3 Sportback is a seriously polished item  a car which offers quality and technology far superior to the established hatchback crowd.

In simple performance and economy terms, cheaper alternatives will do a similar job and the Mercedes and BMW hatchbacks are more dramatic visually.

But the sheer quality of engineering and technology in the Audi is impossible to deny. Though flawed, it may well be the class act of the bunch...

 

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