Although you won’t mistake the A3 for Audi’s quieter and more comfortable-riding higher-priced cars, it handily outscores other entry-level competitors, such as the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe and Mercedes-Benz CLA. This is due to its well-built cabin, sharp handling, and remarkable fuel economy. We found it to be a thoroughly enjoyable car to drive in most ways, beyond some minor clunkiness and hesitation at low speeds caused by its dual-clutch automatic transmission.
If you enjoy picking up the pace on a twisty two-lane, the A3 could be the car for you. Our testers raved about the responsive steering and taut suspension that guided them smoothly through corners, and helped the little Audi carve deftly through our avoidance maneuver—a test which simulates swerving quickly, with a left-right-left steering sequence, to avoid a vehicle or obstacle on the road. The A3’s strong tire grip also helped it achieve impressively short stopping distances at our track. Our test car’s optional Sport suspension however, delivered a ride skewing on the firm side. Still, we found it more forgiving and livable than its BMW and Mercedes-Benz competitors.
A 201-horsepower, 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine and a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission come standard. The transmission’s clunkiness and hesitancy at low speeds (unfortunately all-too-common traits of dual-clutch setups) is mildly annoying, but once underway the engine provides decent power and responsive acceleration. The transmission gives smooth, immediate shifts, enabling the A3 to manage a competitively quick 0 to 60 mph time of 6.8 seconds for our all-wheel-drive test car (front-wheel drive comes standard). If that’s not enough performance for you, Audi offers the S3 model with a 306-hp turbo four-cylinder and the RS 3 with a 401-hp turbocharged five-cylinder engine.
The A3’s mild-hybrid setup, which uses a stronger 48-volt battery instead of the traditional 12-volt, likely contributed to the car’s class-leading 31 mpg overall on regular fuel. The mild-hybrid allows accessories, such as air conditioning, to operate seamlessly when the fuel-saving stop/start system turns off the engine while sitting at a red light. Of note, the A3’s stop/start system shuts off the engine while you’re still coasting just before stopping at a red light—this isn’t dangerous, but it can feel disconcerting the first time it happens. It’s also contrary to most engine stop/start systems, which typically don’t shut off the engine until the vehicle comes to a complete stop.
As befitting an Audi, the front seats are comfortable and supportive, with good side bolstering to hold you in place through corners, and we like that both the driver and front passenger seats come standard with four-way lumbar adjustment, even on the Premium base model (we tested the Premium Plus). The rear seat is snug, as with most in this class, but the A3 is especially tight on headroom—even smaller adults will likely brush their head against the roof. On the bright side, there’s ample foot space under the front seats, and the rear seat folds down into three sections, giving good cargo-carrying flexibility.
The controls and infotainment system are mostly user-friendly, with a mix of physical and touchscreen controls, and everything has a high-quality, precision feel. But we don’t know what possessed Audi to not illuminate the climate-control toggle switches when driving at night. We also don’t like that the cruise-control stalk is mounted low on the steering wheel, with overly-small text—it takes your eyes away from the road for too long to activate it. The instrument cluster is very clear, and it’s easy to navigate between trip information, phone, and audio tasks.
Forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane departure warning, and lane keeping assistance come standard. Blind spot warning, rear cross traffic warning, lane centering assistance, and adaptive cruise control come standard on the Premium Plus and Prestige trims, but not the base Premium.