Audi A3 Sportback review

I was astonished to realise that the Audi A3 will be 25 years old this year. To me it still seems like a fairly new addition to the brand’s range but perhaps that’s more a reflection of my advancing years than anything else.

Over that quarter of a century and three generations it has carved itself out a niche as one of a handful of premium alternatives to regular family hatchbacks like the Volkswagen Golf, and in 2020 this fourth-generation A3 made its debut aiming to maintain that position.

The three-door version has been ditched and the A3 is now sold either as the tested five-door Sportback or a four-door saloon. Both models are sharper looking than their predecessor. There’s a clear connection but the new model features deeper and sharper creases along its flanks, more prominent wheel arches and, as is traditional, an even bigger and more aggressive grille.

The new A3’s interior is new as well, more minimalist and more focused on being “digital”. That means a 10.1-inch touchscreen - nicely integrated into the dash rather than popping out the top like before - and a 10.25-inch digital instrument display as standard. There are lots of sharp angles and creases (like the exterior) with two distinct lines slashing across the dashboard and encasing the media screen and full-width air vents on the passenger side. The driver’s air vents are mounted high either side of the instrument binnacle, meaning they’re well positioned for cooling/heating and don’t interfere with the position of the touchscreen.

The new A3 is longer and wider than before but the wheelbase remains unchanged, so there’s no extra legroom. Despite that there’s still decent room for four average-sized adults inside and it’s a comfortable space even on long journeys. As ever, everything feels well put together and high quality and it’s lessy fussy and gaudy than either the BMW 1 Series or Mercedes A-Class - its two key rivals.

It might seem like a minor thing but in an otherwise well put together package, removing the scroll wheel for the media system feels like a backwards step. It’s been replaced by a combination of more touch and voice controls and a weird little touch-sensitive circle on the centre console which is far more fiddly to use. Audi will insist it’s because you can use the in-car voice assistant but heaven help you if you have a regional accent. At least the A3 retains proper physical controls for the heating system, with real switches instead of the idiotic “sliders” in the related Golf.