Review: Audi A3 Sedan Diesel—Crafted With Class

By Jobo

For Indians, the four-ring emblem sets a status message like no other. For car enthusiasts, it is "the dream." So how does one convert that dream into something tangible? The only thing standing between you and your Audi is the excuse you have been giving yourself—that you can't afford one. Audi's latest plans for India could make that big turnaround for you. Want to know more? Hop right in, and read on...

Introducing the elegant and dynamic Audi A3—a four-door, premium, compact-sedan.

Recently coveting the ‘2014 World Car of the Year' title, the A3 sedan, is preparing for an August 2014 launch in India.

Just a few weeks before the official unveiling ceremony, I was fortunate enough to notch up over 200 kilometres in the A3, while zooming around in the serenely beautiful city of Udaipur, aptly christened the Venice of East India. This former kingdom of Mewar, once the oldest surviving dynasties in the world, was established around 1567 A.D. Royalty knows no bounds here and nobody understands Rajasthan's understated style better than Audi.

On my return from the Audi drive, I kept wondering if the car-loving corporate crowd who insist on making a style statement, need to be rethinking their new car buying options. With the A3 in tow, Audi has just opened up new avenues in offering compact luxury sedans at prices that India has never seen before.

Possibly giving BMW and Mercedes-Benz sleepless nights, the all-new A3 could just give its competitors a run for their money. Maybe that's being too optimistic? But I say, why not?

– Launched: August 7, 2014
– On-road price: INR 30 lakh onward

The review continues in the next section. Click through the slides for more:

Review: Audi A3 Sedan Diesel—Crafted With Class

2015 Audi A3 35 TDI—reviewed by Jobo Kuruvilla. Click on the next slide to continue with the review.

A snapshot of the A3 Sedan:

A snapshot of the A3 Sedan:

– Model: Audi A3 35 TDI S Tronic

– Fuel-type: Diesel

– Body-style: Sedan

– Seating: Five-passenger

– Engine: Inline four-cylinder

– Fuel economy: 20.38 kpl (ARAI certified)

– Transmission: 6-speed dual clutch

– Drive type: Front-wheel drive

Exterior & Styling

Exterior & Styling

French-Canadian Danny Garand is the lead designer behind the beauteous Audi A3. As always, Audi delivers with its premium design that is both timeless, and sensual. The A3 strikes an imposing, self-confident, ground-hugging stance that is indeed attractive.

The single-frame radiator grille, wedge-shaped headlights featuring a wave-shaped lower edge and large air inlets impart dynamic proportions for the front fascia.

Review: Audi A3 Sedan Diesel—Crafted With Class

When viewed from the side, you are quick to notice a sharp, crisp character line, "the tornado line"—as Audi calls it, running from the top edge of the LED headlamp back along to the top of the tail lamp. The flat roof line terminates at the c-pillar and merges seamlessly with the shoulder line. All this, gives the A3 the less flash and more substance look.

The A3 is a true three-box design (bonnet, cabin, and rear luggage compartment area). A three-box design is very classic and reserved; however, Audi has managed to integrate a muscular and sporty aura into the design with pumped wheel arches, and various creases which provide a light and shadow effect.

Review: Audi A3 Sedan Diesel—Crafted With Class

The progressive sportiness continues at the rear with rising taillights that wrap around the rear quarter panels, and a spoiler integrated in the trunk lid. The detail of LED taillights is such that from a distance you will be able to recognize the car and say, "That's an Audi."

Overall, the design language is striking; however, casual onlookers will have a tough time telling the A3 and A4 apart.

Review: Audi A3 Sedan Diesel—Crafted With Class

On the inside, at 90-odd kgs and 5'10 inches, the thought that the cockpit would be a snug fit quickly rushed in. I did however; settle in quickly and comfortably behind the wheel. The seating is comfortable, adjustable, and supportive. The A3 features a straightforward cabin with a Multi Media Interface (MMI), which pops out at the top of the dash.

The MMI menu system has a simple User Interface. The controls for cooling/heating are easy-to-use, and there are sufficient storage slots for cups, bottles, wallets and your iPhone (Is Audi ignoring Android users?).

On the whole, the cabin is roomy and offers a premium touch, making your driving experience very comfortable indeed.

Review: Audi A3 Sedan Diesel—Crafted With Class

The A3 can be considered as a family car. For a comfortable drive, two passengers instead of three (the back-seat) is preferred; however, tall passengers will likely face a headroom issue due to the car's coupe-like roofline.

Luggage Compartment

Luggage Compartment

The luggage compartment measures 425 litres, and can be expanded up to 880 litres with the rear seat bench folded. The flat sides of the luggage compartment allows for a square load area, which makes it even more practical.

Engine

Engine

Believe it or not, diesel engines are the need of the hour. All the A3s' lined up for our media drive were diesel-powered. Personally speaking (typical power-slave that I am), I found myself missing the more powerful petrol engine.

The inline four-cylinder, 1968cc diesel engine with variable turbine geometry (VTG) turbocharger produces a maximum power output of 143 horsepower at 3500–4000 rpm, and a maximum torque of 320 Nm at 1750–3000 rpm.

Factsheet:

Audi A3 Sedan (40TFSI S Tronic Petrol) is by powered by an inline four-cylinder, 1798cc spark-ignition engine, which produces a maximum power output of 180 horsepower at 5100–6200 rpm, and a maximum torque of 250 Nm at 1250–5000 rpm.

Transmission

Transmission

The Dual-Clutch Transmission (DCT) on the A3 offers dynamic, as well as smooth acceleration while driving through congested city traffic to high-speed highways. Best of all, it allows the driver the luxury of manually changing gears (via the gear shifter in sport mode) or letting the computer do all the gear shifting.

The DCT operates like a manual transmission, except, it does not have a clutch pedal, because computers, solenoids, and hydraulics are doing the actual shifting.

Performance

Performance

On the performance front, the A3 is satisfying. The compact-sedan grips the road well, and braking is sharp.

We managed to record 0–100 km/h in 9 seconds (Audi claims 8.6 seconds). On the top speed test we hit 180 km/h. Top speed is electronically restricted to 224 km/h.

Review: Audi A3 Sedan Diesel—Crafted With Class

Do take note, on high-speed corners the steering feedback is a little bit of a letdown. The electrically-assisted power steering hardly transmits a feel for the road, making it difficult to gauge how sharply you are turning.

Factsheet:

– Fuel tank capacity - 50 litres
– Fuel consumption (ARAI certified) - 20.38 kpl
– Fuel consumption (during review) - 16 kpl

5 Standout Features

5 Standout Features

The A3's standout feature undoubtedly goes to the Multi Media Interface (MMI) infotainment system, which snaps open at the top of the dash when the car is turned on.

The MMI technology is a standard feature on the A3; moreover, the ease of use in voice control, media navigation, and telephone functions (compared to other systems in the market makes) it one of the best luxury-brand multimedia system.

The A3's MMI is controlled by a circular knob just behind the gear stick. Similar controls are seen in Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Majority of owners prefer this over touch screen controls, as it is less distracting. This is simply because you don't have to lean forward to touch a button.

Factsheet:

A3's cutting-edge MMI is powered by Nvidia's Tegra 2 Processor, and is built on a modular hardware design that lets the service engineers swap chipsets. This in turn, allows it to stay up to date with evolving multimedia technology. For how long, that remains to be seen. Let's not forget, technology is evolving at the blink of an eye.

HVAC Vent

HVAC Vent

Keen attention to the little details is what luxury cars are known for. You cannot not miss the turbine-like round air conditioning vents. The focus on the HVAC vent (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) is impressive with its three-dimensional silver decorative inlays, and a knurled ring to control the airflow.

Instrument Cluster

Instrument Cluster

The dashboard has a minimalist approach. Quite naturally the same design philosophy has been carried out on the instrument cluster as well. The highlights include a clean-looking instrument cluster made up of four legible analog gauges (rpm, speedometer, engine temperature, and fuel level), along with a digital speedometer and trip computer separating the analog rpm and speedometer gauge.

Sunroof

Sunroof

Luxury par excellence promised Audi, and deliver they did. One look at the A3's sunroof and you will begin to understand their "never follow" principle. They create style, not copy it. The top-variant of the A3 features a panoramic glass sunroof that gives you a 'world's eye view' of the pristine blue sky or lavish night sky, whatever have you.

Alloy Wheels

Alloy Wheels

Thus far, the A3's attitude and personality has come across quite boldly. The final reflection of the trademark style is the alloy wheels. Full of character, the 16-inch, icy silver metallic wheels scream of alphabetical V's and Y's in their multi-spoke design.

Summary

Summary

Thumbs-up
– Striking design
– Efficient engine
– Daily drive car

Thumbs-down
– No manual transmission
– Tight back-seat headroom
– Steering feedback (lacking in feel)

Bulls-eye
– High on quality when it comes to looks, feel and drive.

Value for money
– Rating 4 out of 5
(5 being the highest value for money and 1 being the least)

Did You Know?

Did You Know?

Audi, established by August Horch in Zwickau on July 16, 1909 could not take its founder's name for competitive reasons. The name 'Audi' is based on the surname of the founder-Horch. In German, "Horch" means ‘listen', and when translated into Latin, the great 'Audi' resounds.

The End.

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Article Published On: Thursday, July 31, 2014, 14:18 [IST]
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