The original Audi A3, launched in 1996, was created to marry the VW Golf Mk4’s humdrum chassis with crisp, sporty styling from Audi and an interior and build quality from the class above. It established such a successful formula that, helped by the five-door Sportback version introduced in 1999, Audi has followed it with two more generations
The three-door hatch looks sporty, but the Sportback seems rather disappointingly conventional alongside crossover coupé-estates of the past such as the Reliant Scimitar and Lancia Beta HPE, which blended pace, space and sporting style in an unusual package.
