Audi A3 leads the small premium market

THE A3 offers premium luxury and fuel efficiency.

THE MARKET demand for fuel-efficient vehicles has risen strongly over the last decade, and this means small, lightweight sedans and hatchbacks in the B-segment or even smaller, as well as powerful yet fuel-efficient CRDi diesel pickups and sport utility vehicles.

The premium segment hasn’t escaped this trend. Speaking with some premium luxury vehicle owners, many share the same sentiment: We don’t mind paying for an expensive car, but we don’t like spending unnecessarily on running costs, particularly fuels.

So where does the market go if they want premium yet fuel-efficient, small yet refined, and answers the need for a safe, modern and highly convenient vehicle yet still offers driving pleasure?

Audi offers a most compelling destination: the third-generation A3, internally codenamed Typ 8V.

Globally, the A3 is available as a three- and five-door hatchback, a four-door sedan and even a two-door convertible. In the Philippines, the A3 is solely available as a four-door sedan, befitting the more conservative taste of the local premium market.

The A3 was first unveiled at the 2012 Geneva Auto Show, with the sedan revealed at the 2013 New York Auto Show. It won the 2014 World Car of the Year award, besting rivals from BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

Mastered and dominated

Audi, along with the rest of parent Volkswagen Group’s other brands, has truly mastered and dominated the art of platform and component-sharing.

The A3 is built on the VW Group’s MQB platform strategy sharing matrix. It shares its platform with other VW models such as the MK7 Golf GTI, Seat Leon and Skoda Octavia, yet it was only the A3 which was recognized as the World Car of the Year. That’s because despite sharing basic chassis, powertrains, electrical systems and the like, each brand tunes and hones their respective products specifically to meet their brand values and customer expectations.

“Vorsprung durch Technik” is a motto Audi is most famous for. It revolutionized the World Rally Championship with the Audi S1 E2 Ur Quattro rally car in 1980, thanks to an all-wheel drive; at the Le Mans in 2006 with the first diesel-powered R10 LMP1 race car; and again in 2014 with the first diesel-hybrid powered R18 Ultra LMP1 race car.

Most recently, Audi’s newest production sports car-based R8 LMS won the infamous and grueling VLN 24 Hours of the Nürburgring, ahead of rival BMW in its Z4 GT3 race car and fellow VW sibling Porsche’s newest 911 GT3 R race car.

Impressive plethora

The importance of this bit of news? Much of Audi’s motorsports program technology filters down to its road car program. As such, the A3 packs a plethora of impressive kit: turbocharged engines mated to six- or seven-speed dual-clutch transmissions; Audi’s aluminum-intensive and high-carbon-steel-infused lightweight technology on its chassis and suspension; the highly intuitive (and often highly praised) Audi MMI multimedia system; and a raft of standard safety equipment on all A3 variants: ABS-EBD brakes with multicollision brakes (a feature that deploys the brakes fully after impact to prevent a second one), traction/stability control, and six airbags as standard (dual front, front driver and passenger side and curtain airbags).

No Audi is ever complete without the LED daytime running lamps and xenon headlamps, fitted as standard on all A3 models.

The front suspension utilizes a MacPherson strut design, while the rear is a multilink arm setup, endowing the A3 with impressive high-speed stability and confident cornering prowess while providing a comfortable ride.

Trunk intrusion is minimal, allowing the A3 to swallow two medium-size golf bags easily.

The A3 hides its size well, being only 250 millimeters shorter than a previous generation B7 A4 sedan. Its exterior dimensions are impressive for a sedan in its class, boasting class-leading space despite the modest 4.46-meter length, 1.8-meter width and 1.4-meter height.

The secret is the wheelbase: a long 2.64-meter length which gives loads of useable interior cabin space, particularly great knee and leg room for even modestly tall passengers.

Overhangs front and rear are kept short, which imbibes the A3 with a dynamic feel, along with the “tornado lines” on the side profile.

The base-model diesel gets half-leather cloth seats, manual air-conditioning, and 16-inch alloy wheels; while the top-model diesel and gasoline variants come with full leather interior, 17-inch alloy wheels, and automatic climate control function.

Class and refinement

Regardless of what variant you get, the A3’s interior architecture oozes class and refinement: a minimum of knobs and switches, and just acres of cool and classy surfaces warm and soft to the touch.

On the road, the A3 is impressive. The 180 horsepower, 250 Newton-meters of torque, and 1.8-liter turbodiesel engine is punchy, revving eagerly to redline, helped by the seven-speed DSG S-Tronic transmission.

Engaging manual mode allows you to row through the gears, so to speak, using the lever in old-school sequential-shifter style, or flick through the steering wheel-mounted paddles for an even more intense, hands-on-wheel maximum-attack session through your favorite winding road or the racetrack.

With the diesel, the experience is somewhat different but just as satisfying. With a more modest 150 HP but a monstrous 320 Nm of torque, the TDI engine hums like a turbine yet throws you down the horizon in a calm yet composed manner while you’re mentally recalibrating your senses as to how such a tiny engine that delivers a 17-km-per-liter average on the highway can be so overwhelmingly powerful.

The TDI is the pick of the two engines, and like the petrol, you have full manual control by slotting the six-speed DSG to manual or sport modes.

The steering is light and effortless, but offers more than adequate feel. The brakes responds more than enough for the power, while the suspension gives impressive comfort and stability yet dynamically engaging in the twisties.

Audi’s A3 is impressive, extremely fuel-efficient, packed with technology, and highly enjoyable to drive. Plus it’s a small car, allowing you to navigate very easily through traffic and into the first empty parking slot.

And the brand with the four rings truly has impressive motorsports pedigree in WRC, Le Mans endurance racing and sportscar racing.

The automotive industry is at a golden age. You have cars like the Audi A3 that just seems to answer all your rational needs, while satisfying your emotional desires from a car.

Should you want more of the emotional stuff, Audi’s all-wheel-drive S3 Quattro is also available with a devastatingly quick 300 HP and 380 Nm of torque.