Audi A3 Cabriolet 2014 Review

Showing off a snappy new look, packaged with loads of premium equipment as standard and priced lower than a Volkswagen Eos, the new Audi A3 Cabriolet is already a hot commodity in this country. In fact, even before the car landed on local soil, Audi clocked up 500 pre-orders for its smallest convertible, which at $47,300 is almost $5000 cheaper than its predecessor.

A coupe-like silhouette makes this second-generation A3 Cabriolet a far more stylish proposition than the previous version, and it's more advanced in almost every way. Take the roof for example; the frame is made from alumiunium and magnesium, to keep weight down (it's just 50kg), and the unit folds away at the touch of a button in 18 seconds.

There are three layers of cloth in the roof, and an attractive inner liner, which combine to help keep noise levels impressively low... But best of all, it can be opened or closed at speeds of up to 50km/h. It's no idle boast either – I tried it at 45km/h (twice) and it didn’t break. Phew.

The car's smart new exterior design is matched by a wonderfully elegant, minimalistic cabin that looks and feels like it belongs on a more expensive car. Soft touch dash plastics abound and you can have a two tone finish if you want, along with leather seats, dual-zone climate control, an eight-speaker stereo and an electrically retractable colour screen -- on every model!

Pairing a Bluetooth phone or music player is child's play, and the A3 Cabriolet also makes use of what is arguably the best infotainment input system Audi offers (until the 2015 TT arrives with its uber uber virtual cockpit). It's a simplified, condensed version of its multi media interface, or MMI, consisting of a large dial, two toggle switches and four context sensitive buttons. It's intuitive and tactile.

Metal-trimmed circular air vents are classy and functional, with a push-push toggle switching between diffuse and focussed air streams. Another small detail that makes the A3 Cabriolet feel a bit special is a pair of touch-sensitive LED reading lights.

There are two trim levels, the entry-level Attraction and upmarket Ambition model, matched to three different engines – two petrol and one diesel. There's even a quattro model for the first time, and you read about the details in the pricing story.

The cabin is as comfortable as it looks, with comfy seat cushions and more front occupant room than its predecessor thanks to increases in the cars length and width. It's also lower which improves its centre of gravity and driving dynamics, but more on that later.

Audi offers a neck-level heating system similar to Benz's Airscarf. It's a $1250 option that functions as intended, venting warm air onto front seat occupants' necks. It's noisy though, like a hairdryer, and isn't as effective as a $40 scarf. Seat warmers are good, but should be standard, not $600.

An option that is worth laying down $1750 for is the thumping 705W, 14-speaker Bang & Olufsen stereo, which makes the journey even more memorable.

Like most convertibles the A3 Cabriolet is compromised in two key areas, boot and rear seat space. Such is the price one pays for convertible shenanigans, but the four seat, two-door A3 isn't completely compromised. During the launch drive a photographer and Audi PR staffer hopped in the back seats for a 30 minute blast to get some happy snaps without too much complaint (although we did move the front seats forward).

There's a decent amount of space in the boot (320 litres), room enough for two small/medium suitcases and a couple of backpacks, but when the roof is open space is severely restricted, and seems much smaller than the 280 litre claimed. Thankfully there is the provision to fold the rear seats down, which opens up 680 litres of cargo space, probably long enough for skis and boards.

On paper, the Audi A3 Cabriolet ticks a lot of boxes and makes its passengers feel special but it also shows a clean pair of heels on the road, too. Based on the scalable MQB architecture that underpins the shiny new-generation Audi TT sports car that's due here in early 2015, the A3 Cabriolet is a decidedly stable vehicle through corners, something that can't be said of all convertibles.

There's very little flex in the body when pumping along twisty roads and the car tracks almost as keenly as the A3 hatch when hustled through bends. There is some wobble when the car bangs heavily over pot holes on dirt roads, but even then it's not severe.

The steering is direct, the chassis is forgiving and there's plenty of grip on offer, and all three engines deliver enough mid-range torque – at least 250Nm – to accelerate out of corners at a grin-inducing clip.

Strong, responsive brakes are reassuring, especially when you're getting a wriggle on and perhaps the only dynamics criticism is gearbox lag. Sometime when you stab the throttle in auto-shifting mode the dual-clutch box waits a half second or so before dropping gears and finding the engine's sweet spot.

That said, there's the always the manual override mode, and the steering wheel paddle shifters work well in this respect.

All models are fitted with 17-inch wheels and the ride quality on these models is surprisingly good.

The car soaks up bumps and roadkill (both of which are in abundance on Kangaroo Island) easily but ride comfort on A3 Cabriolets equipped with sports suspension suffers. All cars equipped with 18-inch or 19-inch alloy wheels are packaged with sports suspension, which is shame, because they look great but aren't as compliant, both when cruising and attacking corners.

Audi offers 1.4 and 1.8-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engines, and though we didn’t get to drive the diesel, all three turbo-petrol models are impressive refined.

Smooth and quiet when driven sensibly but responsive and tenacious when pushed, the pick of the litter is the cheapest, least powerful model, the 103kW/250Nm 1.4-litre TFSI. It's doesn't rev quite as crisply as the 1.8 (132kW/250Nm), but it's not significantly slower once first gear is out of the way, and is ever eager to please with its 250Nm midrange hit.

The 1.4 is also the lightest model at 1455kg and the most efficient of the petrol versions, using just 4.9L/100km, and is happy on a diet of premium 95 RON fuel.

The question of whether this new A3 Cabriolet is the best convertible Audi has ever built is a tricky one to answer. The R8 Spider is pretty bad ass after all… However there's so much to like about this car and so few things to lampoon, it's difficult to think of another European car, let alone an Audi, that delivers such compelling value on so many levels.

You've been warned.Try one and you'll probably buy one.