Photoshoot of the Week: March 23rd-29th 2020 – Biljana & Audi A3

The 2020 Audi A3 ranks in the middle of our luxury small car rankings. It has a well-equipped cabin and a range of powerful engine options, but most of its classmates offer more trunk space and much better predicted reliability ratings.
The Audi A3 has been one of the most popular small executive hatchbacks for a long time, but this generation’s time in the limelight is fading as more advanced rivals bring more technology and desirability to the segment. Nonetheless the A3 is still a good all-rounder despite the increasingly aggressive competitors: strong, efficient engines, stable, confidence-inspiring handling and the ever-appealing option of quattro four-wheel drive mean there’s a lot to like about Audi’s Volkswagen-Golf-related hatchback. The Audi A3 is a handsome premium hatchback that shares its engineering platform, powertrains and technology with the Volkswagen Golf and VW group stablemates the SEAT Leon and Skoda Octavia. They’re all built on a shared MBQ platform, but the Audi A3’s price premium means it’s generally the most expensive of the bunch.
Because the Audi A3 has been engineered to use lightweight parts, particularly up front, it has a lithe lightness on the road that the old A3 never had. Seriously – the handling is light-footed and playful in a way no mainstream Audi has yet managed. It grips hard, hardly understeers, even generates a semblance of feedback through the steering. Audi also offers three levels of suspension stiffness plus a trick magnetic ride option that’s well worth spending the extra on. The 1.4 TFSI and 1.8 TFSI petrol engines are effective, and more recent additions are the 1.2 TFSI and 1.4 TFSI ‘cylinder on demand’ motors, which bring a bit of diesel economy to the cleaner, quieter world of petrol cars. Most will still go for a 2.0 TDI, though there’s loads of choice if the post-Dieselgate world has put you off.
The Audi A3 is a very smart looking car on the outside, with a bold grille and handsome profile, as well as the sharply angled headlights. You get a similar look on the other A3 models on sale – the A3 saloon, open-top A3 Cabriolet and rapid S3 and RS3.
The Audi A3 is practical and easy to live with, too. Front passengers get plenty of seat adjustment and a good view of the road ahead and behind. Adults sat in the rear will also be comfortable with enough head, leg and shoulder room. Boot space is on a par with a VW Golf and a Ford Focus. All versions of the Audi A3 share one thing: an absolutely gorgeous interior, with top-level, class-defining fit and finish. The old A3 was, despite its age, at the top of its game in this area: the new one simply extends this leadership further, while bringing new features to the table too. These include on-board internet, fingertip recognition sat nav entry and Audi drive select. As for practicality, the hatchback ones are more flexible but the saloon has a huge boot.
In the end the Audi A3 founded the premium hatchback genre, and it remains the best one. While a Mercedes A-Class prioritises comfort and a BMW 1 Series focuses on sharp handling, the A3 strikes a great compromise between the two. It doesn’t cost much more than a VW Golf to buy, either, making it a better value proposition than you might imagine. And with loads of petrol engines to choose from – not least the quite barmy 400bhp RS3 – you’ve plenty of options if you want to avoid diesel. This generation of A3, while updated, has been around since 2012, yet it’s still a mightily strong contender.