Audi A3 Sportback 35 TFSI Black Edition Driven

We got our hands on the Audi A3 Sportback 35 TFSI Black Edition, which is now part of a dying breed of passenger cars in the motoring landscape.

South Africa used to be hatchback country. New car buyers flocked to these practical little cars in their thousands. We’d guess you, or at least one family member, owned a hatchback with a Toyota or VW badge at some point in your life. However, this, once popular, segment has lost major market share to its high-riding cousin the crossover aka SUV.

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With that in mind it was rather refreshing to see the Audi A3 Sportback 35 TFSI roll up to our driveway a few weeks ago. It has been a while since we’ve reviewed a hatchback. There’s been a slew if SUVs occupying the parking space at our office. The car in question is the Black Edition variant, which isn’t mechanically different from its sibling, with the bulk of the changes being purely cosmetic. More of this in a bit.

Sharp Appearance

The Audi A3 Sportback has always been a bit of a looker. Its main rivals from BMW and Mercedes-Benz floundered as they eventually found their feet in this segment (remember the first A-class or ungainly 1 Series?). In contrast the A3 has been a sharp looker. Early examples still seem modern and fresh when seen on the road today. The latest iteration has built on a lineage of cars that were well proportioned from the get go.

The latest A3 has undergone a bit of a mid-life refresh. As a result is now wears a wider and flatter grille and a resculpted front bumper with angular air intakes. In addition it has and sleeker, slimmer LED matric headlamps that reminded us of the high-performance RS3. At the rear of the vehicle, you’ll notice a refreshed bumper and diffuser that keep things clean but stylish. There are changes on the rear as well, but those are less noticeable. To live up to the Black Edition title, this variant has blacked out badges front and rear. In addition the mirror caps and 18-inch alloys are also finished in the same contrasting shade.

Simple and Intuitive Interior

Audi has been lauded over time for having some of the best interiors in the business. Thankfully this extends down the range and isn’t reserved for top-end models. Drop down (a welcome novelty in this day and age) into the low-slung seat and the driver is faced by a simple cabin layout that is focused on him/her. Two digital screens take up the duties of instrument cluster and infotainment interface. Both feature crisp graphics are are somewhat intuitive to operate.

The test unit was fitted with electrically adjustable seats and a lovely woven fabric across the facia that is quite tactile. Both are, unfortunately, optional extras as are many other items we’d hope would be standard at this price point. Special mention must be made of the physical HVAC controls. Audi bucks the trend here by not stuffing them within the infotainment system, and we are far happier for this simplicity and user-friendliness. The dual-zone climate control is, however, also optional.

Turbo Power

Audi has long been a proponent of turbocharged engines. It has almost perfected this form of forced induction and employs it across its entire range of new ICE cars, now that the R8 is no longer in production. The Audi A3 Sportback 35 TFSI is powered by a 1,4-litre turbopetrol engine that produces 110 kW along with 250 N.m of torque. An automatic transmission is the only option on offer. Those outputs may not sound like a lot, but the eight-speed transmission makes good use of the available torque.

The advantage of a small engine is, of course, low fuel consumption. In this regard the A3 Sportback 35 TFSI is a real sipper. Audi claims a combined cycle figure of 5,8L/100 km. We weren’t too far off that figure over the course of a few hundred kilometres of driving. We were quite close to the company’s extra-urban (ie open road) claim of 4,7 when we traversed a long stretch of highway at just 5,0.

Polished Performer

It’s no secret than Audi and VW are bedfellows when it comes to large parts of their range. The A3 and Golf have shared platforms and powertrains. This means that there is plenty of time to perfect the recipe, as opposed to developing from scratch. The Audi has always managed to ride with a level of polish, smoothing out road imperfections and bumps. This latest A3 is no different. It rides with aplomb, no hint of overt sportiness, name notwithstanding. The cabin stays quiet on the open road, engine and road noises staying in their respective places and not filtering in to annoy occupants. The A3 feels like a grown up hatch, not a hot hatch, something more premium and mature.

Summary

However, that sense premium-ness and gravitas comes at a price. And by that we mean it costs a LOT. The price of the Audi A3 Sportback 35 TFSI Black Edition leaves little change from R850 000. Yes, eight HUNDRED and FIFTY thousand. Even scarier is that the test unit was just shy of a million rand. While the Audi A3 may be a great little product, that price is the reason we see people flocking to new (read: Chinese) brands that offer plenty of space, spec and standard equipment at a few hundred thousand rand less. We fear that we will see fewer and fewer of these on the roads as time passes.

Model: Audi A3 Sportback 35 TFSI Black Edition
Price: R834 500 (R981 850 – test unit)
Engine: 1,4-litre inline four, turbopetrol
Transmission: eight-speed automatic, FWD
Max power: 110 kW
Max torque: 250 N.m
0-100 km/h: 8,4 sec
Top speed: 231 km/h
Fuel consumption: 5,8L/100 km (7,0 as reviewed)