Audi A3 Saloon 1.4 TFSI S-Tronic Ambiente Review: Exquisite luxury in its class

What we like:

Impressive handling

amazing fuel efficiency

and premium quality interior

What we dislike:

Two’s comfortable for the rear

but three might be a bit of a squeeze.

Under the hood, the A3 houses one of the smallest engines in its class and range - the 1.4 litre turbo fuel stratified injection plant.

Despite its small size, the four cylinder powerplant puts out 122 horses, working silently within the low ranges of the tachometer. However, the engine roars without hesitation once you plant your foot down, bringing to your control 200Nm of torque starting from just 1,400rpm.

Given the low starting curve for the A3’s torque, overtaking is a breeze, where all you need to do is just to signal your intention and blip the throttle a little to work the plant. It does flatten out a fair bit rather quickly, but the engine effortlessly kicks into yet another of its seven gears, delivering more adventures to your drive. The brochure reads slightly above 9 seconds for its century sprint, although we dare say it indeed feels much faster than that.

While you have the option of selecting your driving style via the MMI interface (i.e. efficiency, comfort, dynamic or a customisable individual style), the A3 does feel a little soft on rougher roads. That aside, we must agree that the chassis impresses on the occasional bumps and holes on our roads, delivering what we would term as a joy to ride in.

If there’s also something that Audi (and perhaps Volkswagen) could be proud of, it would be the fuel efficiency of their power plants. The A3 records close to 5.0l/100km on paper, and we dare say that even with a little leeway to go on these figures, the A3 will definitely shine when pit against the rest in its class.

The new A3 handles and drives surprisingly well, riding on the efficiency of the TFSI technology. And while the ride in this premium badge may be near-seamless, it might pose a problem when you attempt to pack three adults in the rear.

If you are looking for a reasonably-sized family sedan, there are countless options you could part your money for in the market. But if you’re looking for one that marries the premium badge together with comfort and handling, we dare say the A3 wins any other competitors hands-down.

Credits: Story and Photos by Irwin Tan