mReview: Audi A3 Sedan 1.5 – Cheap(er) And Cheerful

The new Audi A3 blends top-notch build quality, remarkable efficiency, and the pedigree of the four rings into one lovely little car. It’s also now available with a Cat A COE as well, opening up the world of Audi to a wider audience than before in impressive fashion.

I got my first taste of the Audi A3 in a rather unique scenario, an efficiency challenge that was put on by Audi Singapore, aimed at testing the limits of the new A3’s fuel economy. The 760km route put us to the test, and the reduced speeds of hypermiling also allowed me to get to know the A3 in detail. 

I’ve had a couple more days in the A3 since, although this time it was away from the relative calm of Malaysian highways; instead, I was mired solely within the congested confines of our Singaporean streets.

The District Green Metallic paint job is understated and classy, just like an Audi should be.

As such, I’ve been able to suss out the A3 in nearly every use case, and I’ve come away rather impressed.

For starters, I enjoy the way the A3 looks. All Singapore-bound A3s are fitted with the S line bodykit as standard, which means sportier-looking front and rear fascias for an overall more aggressive appearance. There are also optional Matrix LED headlights with changeable digital light signatures a la the new A5 and Q6 e-tron we looked at earlier in the year.

One of my favourite interiors of any modern car.

The interior has also been well thought out, featuring above all else, physical buttons and switches on the steering wheel and centre console. Rejoice! The A3 also sports twin digital displays, one for the gauge cluster, one for the infotainment system. They run on Audi’s MMI system, which remains one of the best in the business. 

The A3 comes standard with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto which you can use to crank your tunes through the optional Sonos sound system, although the standard stereo does the job just fine as well. The infotainment system also houses the controls for the full suite of Audi's driver assistance and safety systems which work seamlessly to make the A3 a smarter and safer vehicle to be in.

There is a small hump in the middle, but at least there are AC vents to keep your gonads cool.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the A3’s smooth and gentle powertrain. While its 116 horsepowers are unlikely to set the drag strip on fire, the 220Nm of turbocharged torque give it some proper peppiness in city driving. As a German car bred for the Autobahn, the A3 (despite its Cat A COE friendly engine), is also happy to sit at both Singaporean and Malaysian highway speeds (if you catch my drift). The ride quality is excellent and the car fantastically stable when cruising. 

Our slightly extreme approach paid off in the end, but not by much.

Of course, we also discovered just how efficient the A3’s power plant is. If you want to read in detail how we did it, check out our story on the eco-challenge here. But here’s the TL;DR, the official claimed figure is 16.1km/L and we managed to average 27.6km/L. However, we had the air-con off and had taped up the rear wheels and panel gaps, the other team didn’t do any of that and they still managed to average 26.7km/L. 

That means that the new A3, even in its bone stock form, is able to vastly outperform its official consumption figure with just some mindful driving. In the couple of days I tested the car in Singapore, I still managed to average 16.6km/L, even with traffic and much more start-stop driving.

To me, that’s a remarkable feat and it adds to just how enamoured with this car I’ve become. I think the A3 is a brilliant option as either a bougie choice for your first car, or a well deserved upgrade to your current ride. 

It might not be the flashiest or fastest or techiest Audi out there, but I will happily say it is one of my favourite cars in the entire Audi range. 

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