Item: Audi A3 Sportback 2013-2020
Rating: 4

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The Sportback is the five-door member of the A3 family and very popular it is, too, with around six times as many of them on the used car market as there are three-door models. The two extra doors make the Sportback’s appeal easy to understand, plus it has a bit more presence about it, being slightly longer and taller.

We’re talking about 2016-reg cars and newer, by the way. The year matters because that’s when this upmarket hatchback, launched in 2013, was facelifted.

The longer Sportback has more rear legroom than the standard A3
Nic Cackett
Road tester

The 2016 facelift brought new headlights, a more angular single-frame grille and restyled tail-lights and rear bumper. The engine range gained a couple of new petrol units: a 113bhp 1.0-litre turbocharged three-cylinder and a more conventional 187bhp 2.0-litre turbo. They joined the existing 148bhp 1.4 petrol turbo, which has cylinder-on-demand (CoD) tech for better economy, and two diesels: a 108bhp 1.6 TDI and 148bhp 2.0 TDI. Also carried over were the Audi 296bhp S3 and extreme 395bhp Audi RS3.

Trims range from entry-level SE (16in alloy wheels, standard suspension, xenon lights and the A3’s party trick, a retractable 7.0in infotainment display) through SE Technik (sat-nav, rear parking sensors) and Sport (17in alloys, dual-zone climate control) to S line (stiffer suspension, 18in alloys, a bodykit, LED headlights and sports seats). Oh, and one more: top-spec Black Edition, with black detailing and a premium sound system. Across the board, safety tech includes semi-autonomous traffic jam assist, a smarter lane assist system and a cross-traffic assist function.

Used Sportbacks are split 50:50 between petrol and diesel. Of the two diesel engines, the 1.6 TDI is more numerous but you’re better off with the 2.0 TDI, which is quicker and more relaxed at a cruise but almost as economical. It was more expensive new, of course, but thanks to diesel’s fall from grace, its premium has all but vanished.

Of the petrols, the 2.0-litre is a rare bird and expensive. In any case, the 1.4 TFSI CoD (it was replaced by the more economical 1.5 TFSI CoD in 2018) is the pick. It’s a punchy thing that produces its maximum torque from as low as 1400rpm all the way to 4000rpm. That’s a wider powerband than the 2.0-litre diesel. Add good fuel economy and uncanny refinement, and it’s the engine to have. The manual gearbox is more involving, but once you’ve spent time with the seven-speed S tronic auto, you won’t look back.

The 1.0 TFSI plugs into the fashion for small, hard-working three-pots and is perky and, if you’re careful, economical enough. However, used ones are at least as expensive as 1.4 TFSIs so we’d give it a miss.

Read on to see what we thought about the Audi A3 in 2013

Verdict

Model tested:

Rating: 8

Used Audi A3 Sportback 2013-2020 review

Good

Outstanding ride quality

Impressive build

Refinement

Bad

Steering lacks feel

Stodgy handling

Functional but dull interior

DESIGN & STYLING

The Audi A3 is underpinned by the Volkswagen MQB platform which will underpin every car in the VW group of Volkswagen Golf size or above with a transverse engine mounted in its nose. The key to the structure is not just its light weight (the Sportback is over 100kg lighter than even its BMW equivalent) but its extreme versatility.

Extending the wheelbase of a mass-produced car whose platform was not designed to be pushed and pulled in every direction would be a prohibitively expensive business: for Audi it’s sufficiently cheap to make business sense just to provide a little extra differentiation between three and five door versions of the same car.

The Sportback has a 35mm longer wheelbase than the A3
Matt Prior
Editor-at-large

Like all other MQB-based cars, the A3 has strut-type front suspension, but all versions carry the more sophisticated multi-link rear end denied those who buy the cheapest Volkswagen Golfs.

All the engines are either new to the A3 or substantially renewed but the lion’s share of sales will be split between the 148bhp 2.0-litre diesel and 1.4-litre petrol motor. Which to choose is not as simple as figuring out whether you are a diesel or petrol kind of guy or girl.

For a start Audi charges a substantial premium for the diesel engine, steep by any standard, which in cold financial terms would take even a very high mileage driver a couple of years to recoup. We suspect that, to most people, it will likely be longer than they hold the car, although much will be recouped in superior residual value.

But you have still to factor insurance for the diesel in, which is substantially greater than for the petrol, as well as the 85kg weight penalty that undoubtedly affects the car’s handling.

The alternative engine choices – the smaller three-cylinder petrol and diesel units – may not command as many sales, but broadly follow that same pattern.

INTERIOR

Can ‘timeless’ also mean ‘dull’? It can when describing the interior of the Sportback. All the usual things that instantly annoy about poorly planned interiors – those tacked-on pieces of ill-advised trim, the irritatingly alternative typeface on the dials, the occasional invisible button, the slightly displaced driving position and the odd blind spot in your vision around the car – are all absent.

Instead, you’re presented with an interior with a design cleanliness to bring a tear of nostalgia to the eye of a retired heart surgeon. There’s nothing superfluous here, no eye-catching gimmicks to divert your attention from some more fundamental failing. In simple ergonomic terms, this cabin is close to perfect.

The cabin is elegant, well built and ergonomically excellent
Nic Cackett
Road tester

You can see how Audi has distilled once-separate elements of design into single concentrates. The fuel gauge and water temperature gauges now form part of the arc of the revcounter and speedometer respectively. The MMI control system for navigation (if fitted), media, radio and information systems has boiled down to one rotary knob and two switches. All the ventilation controls are laid out in a single line. In terms of pure ergonomic efficiency, it’s something of a landmark.

But in terms of providing occupants with surprise and delight features to brighten up your journey, it would score a big, fat zero were it not saved by the way the colour display screen disappears into the dash when not in use. That aside, this interior is as straight-laced as the UN Security Council Christmas party.

Never do you feel this more than when sitting in the back. You might think there would be space to spare here, but you’d be wrong; headroom is limited and kneeroom merely adequate, despite that extra 35mm of metal between the wheels.

The seat is comfortable, but the view out is unrelieved and grey. As for the boot, it’s well shaped and easily accessed, and while it offers a pretty paltry extra 15 litres of space over the three-door A3 with the seats up, fully folded there’s an extremely useful additional 120 litres of room for your clobber.

Maybe you will find more joy on the standard equipment levels on the core five trims. Opt for an entry-level SE model and you'll find 16in alloys, xenon headlights, heated wing mirrors, cruise control and automatic lights and wipers on the outside, while inside is dominated by Audi's MMI infotainment system with its retractable 7.0in display, DAB radio, Bluetooth, smartphone integration and USB connectivity.

Upgrade to SE Technik and the additions are limited to the inclusion of sat nav, Audi's online services and rear parking sensors. If that isn't enough tech for you maybe the Sport model can appeal with its additions limited to 17in alloy wheels, dual-zone climate control and more chrome and aluminium trim, while the S-line models get sports seats, lowered, tauter suspension, LED headlights and interior lighting, 18in alloy wheels, a sporty bodykit and additional cubby holes as standard.

The range-topping Black Edition model chiefly adds black exterior trim and tinted rear windows, while those opting for the hybrid Sportback will get a brake recuperation system and numerous Audi safety systems including, lane assist and active city braking, while the MMI infotainment system also gains a 10GB hard drive. Those wanting more power for their premium hatchback have the choice of the S3, which gets an aggressive bodykit, an Audi Sport breathed on suspension set-up, heated front seats and a Nappa leather upholstery, while the S3 Black Edition come with additional black trim parts and a Bang & Olufsen sound system.

ENGINES & PERFORMANCE

It’s hard not to conclude that the 2.0 TDI is the engine with it all: extremely strong performance coupled with exceptional fuel consumption and correspondingly low CO2. Compared with the 1.6 diesel, it’s over 20 percent quicker to 62mph but not even 10 percent less economical.

What the figures won’t describe is the mid-range torque of the big diesel, or how quiet it is at cruising speeds. The size of its all-round performance envelope makes it quite clearly the engine to have – provided, of course, you can afford the substantial premium charged for it.

Base petrol unit aside, the engine line-up is impressive
Matt Saunders
Road test editor

The good news for those who can’t or won’t is that the 1.4-litre petrol motor is no kind of poor relation at all. It has 148bhp at its disposal and although its torque figure is less than the diesel unit, those figures reveal nothing about how that power is delivered.

First, the engine is startlingly smooth and quiet, enough to make the diesel feel quite unrefined under strong acceleration. It is also exceptionally flexible, providing maximum torque at just 1400rpm, lower than either diesel variant, and capable of maintaining it all the way to 4000rpm. This means it can maintain peak torque over a band 2600rpm wide; true, the 2.0 TDI engine has far more torque, but it can maintain it for less than half the range.

The bottom line is that, whichever of the two core engines you choose, you are unlikely to regret it, as long as it is appropriate to your circumstances.

Buyers looking to stray from these core engines need not be disappointed, either, the 1.6 diesel returns impressive running cost figures and enough pace to keep up with the ebb and flow of traffic. However, there is nothing remotely inspiring about its pace; it'll keeo up, but never more.

The 1.4-litre petrol mated to Audi's ACT cylinder on demand technology, which shuts down two cylinders under low engine loads to improve fuel economy is gutsy engine and gives good pull, but the trade-off between better economy and performance is noticeable at higher speeds.

The 1.0-litre TFSI petrol is also a handy little unit, with its low running costs and emissions not hiding any issues on the power front, as it is a perky little unit which has sparkled in the Volkswagen Golf and the Skoda Octavia, and does so again here.

Both the six-speed manual and seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearboxes are excellent and provide broadly similar performance and economy in most variants. However, we’d be inclined to go for the smooth-shifting three-pedal option.

RIDE & HANDLING

Drive a Volkswagen Golf and an A3 one after the other and you’ll be left in no doubt as to the amount of leeway provided for each chassis team to tune each car to their requirements.

With the Sportback, Audi has elected to hunt down every last scrap of ride quality it can extract from its raw material, and the good news is has produced what must be, by some margin, the finest-riding vehicle ever to visit this class of car.

As a bunch of testers brought up castigating Audi for its inability to bequeath even acceptable ride quality on even its most luxurious cars in the past, this is a welcome transformation for the better.

The ride is far better than previous A3 models
Matt Prior
Editor-at-large

The car gives the impression of having a structure so massively stiff that you could drive it into a pothole big enough to swallow the entire car without it flexing. This unshakeable platform has allowed Audi to set up the A3 uncharacteristically softly and, perhaps aided by that small wheelbase extension, produce a ride normally associated with far larger, more expensive and luxurious cars.

But there’s a catch: the Sportback is about as exciting to drive as watching television in a power cut. That’s not to say it’s a poor-handling car; for that, it would need some degree of ineptness or unpredictability, and nothing could be further from the truth.

On the contrary, the overwhelming impression it leaves is of a car that handles exactly as its maker intended and that they intended it to be stable, accurate and entirely undemanding of its driver. The fact that this also means there’s nothing to be found for the enthusiast on a decent road was either an irrelevance or regarded as a price worth paying for such predictability and that superlative ride.

While we don’t expect it to behave like a Toyota GT86, some feel through the steering and life in the chassis would have been appreciated. Instead, you get a car that reacts to all attempts by the driver to have fun with, at best, grudging tolerance.

MPG & RUNNING COSTS

To expect either a petrol or diesel Sportback to get anywhere near Audi’s consumption claims is to court potentially quite severe disappointment, but only because those figures are simply not credible.

So, no, the 2.0 TDI - for example - won’t do the 67.3mpg suggested for it in normal driving, but it might quite easily manage 55mpg, which, for a car that can reach 62mph from rest in 8.7sec and carry four adults and their luggage in comfort, is still a fine achievement.

The lighter MQB platform permits efficiency gains
Nic Cackett
Road tester

The same can be said for all the other units: the official claims (set under strict test conditions set for the car companies, not by them, lest we forget) are generally unachievable, but that shouldn't distract from the fact the real-world figures are good.

Any Sportback should also prove a fine long-term bet relative to most other cars in the class. A3s are not exactly rare on our roads; indeed, they have dominated the class since launch, but not even ubiquity has done much damage to residuals. We expect resale values of this third generation of A3 to stay strong for years to come.

The Sportback comes with a three-year/60,000-mile warranty, extendable to five years only at considerable expense.

VERDICT

Verdict

Model tested:

Rating: 8

Used Audi A3 Sportback 2013-2020 review

Good

Outstanding ride quality

Impressive build

Refinement

Bad

Steering lacks feel

Stodgy handling

Functional but dull interior

The most impressive aspect of the Sportback is that it can only really attract serious criticism for one reason, and that is its almost total absence of joie de vivre.

Should that matter when a car is so capable, and when even the entry-level car in the most base specification feels like an item of real craftsmanship and quality? What’s a bit of fun when the car you're driving is so well suited to your life in heavy traffic or on the motorway, where the fact it doesn’t turn into corners with quite the same élan as a Mercedes A-Class is no less than an irrelevance? Are you really going to let that get between you and a car with class-leading performance and economy, bulletproof construction and all-round ability?

A great car which lacks dynamic sparkle
Nic Cackett
Road tester

If you read Autocar, you just might. Were such tests matters of the purest objectivity, you’d now be looking at the best car in the class. On paper, its strengths are too varied and widespread to be countered. It is an immensely impressive car.

But it's also a rather dull one. Even on the boring roads, there’s no sparkle in the clinically faultless environment it provides. And on a decent road, you’re going to wonder why you didn’t stick to the motorway.

The result is a car we admire to our boots. Whether the fact that you’ll never see it as more than a quality machine tool to do an important job to a high standard should decide whether you should clutch it to your chest, or look elsewhere.