Audi A3 Sedan 1.4 TFSI 2014 Review

Audi has distilled the style and sophistication of its large luxury sedans into a tasty bite-sized package that shouldn’t be this good. But it is. The Audi A3 sedan has a primo look and feel, loads of features, drives well and has a sizable boot and cabin. The cherry on top is the price, which starts at under $40,000, making it more than $10K cheaper than its small sedan rival from Mercedes.

The complaint that cars made by Audi look similar is a sound one. However, in the case of the sub-$40K Audi A3 sedan, the homogeneous look tends to work in its favour.

Case in point: another motorist in a car park steps out of an Audi Q5, approaches and asks if it is the new A4. Clearly, this neat little sedan is easily mistaken for sportier, larger, more expensive vehicles from the Audi stable. That's a good problem to have.

On test is the entry-level 1.4-litre turbo-petrol, front-wheel drive Attraction model. As standard across the A3 sedan range it gets a snappy seven-speed dual-clutch S tronic automatic gearbox and a good deal of mod cons, despite undercutting its Mercedes-Benz CLA rival by a good $10,000.

This new car is arguably one of the best value Audis we've seen, priced under $40,000 before on-road costs.

The sedan’s aggressive, ground-hugging stance makes it appear more grown up than the A3 Sportback. A quick walk around reveals clean, crisp lines along its flanks, pumped wheel arches for a touch of sportiness, and a boldly styled visage with assertive angular headlights and Audi's unmistakable single-frame grille.

And the visual appeal continues inside the cabin, where you’re greeted by an uncluttered and elegant interior fit out. Showcasing Audi's evolving interior design, the top of the soft-touch dashboard is smoothly contoured, punctuated by circular vents that introduce a simple push-pull closing mechanism and a pop-up infotainment screen.

The latter is part of the Technik package ($2990) that also adds MMI satellite navigation, a touch pad and a larger 7.0-inch screen (up from 5.8-inch), plus a handy reversing camera and solid 10-speaker 180-Watt stereo.

Perhaps Audi has taken a leaf from BMW's book of interior design, but the minimalism works and the result is visually pleasing. The controls are compact and concise for heating/cooling and the updated MMI system is also simplified and condensed, and navigating the menu system is a breeze.

Even the steering wheel controls have been pared back and it all works a treat, while small touches like the toggle switches for parking sensors and stability control have a high quality look and satisfying 'click' tactility.

An updated instrument panel and time-saving features like voice control and Bluetooth connectivity work as expected and incidental storage is good too. There are places for cups and bottles and wallets, and I especially like the upright iPhone holder (but what about Android phone users?).

The 435 litre boot is spacious, expanding to 880 litres with the 60/40 split rear seats folded down. The only exception to overall roominess is the glovebox, which is tiny and next to useless.

This entry-level A3 sedan comes standard with partial leather seats, which are easily adjusted and supportive. On a three hour drive down to the coast I had no issues in terms of comfort, unlike some other cars' seats which elicit lower back strain after a couple of hours.

Though the cabin isn't massive and rearward vision a little tight, it doesn't feel cramped and there’s enough room for four adults. It wasn't hard fitting a baby seat in the back either.

Around town the A3 sedan is a capable machine, with light, easy-going steering and a responsive automatic dual-clutch gearbox that makes it as easy to punt around as the A3 hatchback.

A tight turning circle takes the stress out of navigating shopping centre car parks and snapping off U-turns, and the start-stop engine system which can reduce fuel consumption by more than five per cent in heavy traffic is unobtrusive. In fact, with the stereo on it was almost impossible to detect the system switching the motor on and off.

Audi's 1.4-litre, four-cylinder TFSI engine is a charmer, providing the car with sufficient acceleration thanks to its beefy 250Nm output. The 103kW engine is smooth and refined and when push comes to shove propels the car’s 1.5 tonne mass with surprising haste.

In sport mode or when manually shifting (via the gear shifter or steering wheel paddles), it really hustles, negotiating twisty roads with the sort of composure you'd expect from more sophisticated, larger Audi models.

The engine suffers from only mild levels of turbo lag, but for the most part the car is gratifying to drive at full noise and the thrills of spirited driving are elevated thanks to its balanced chassis.

Audi has struck an almost ideal ride/handling balance in this car: comfortable and pliant over rough patches of bitumen across the speed spectrum, while still firm enough to willingly and safely tuck into corners.

At the end of a week-long test in Audi's smallest sedan I'm a little text-less. This small German car makes few sacrifices over its larger siblings and represents impressive value for money considering the high levels of standard equipment and technology.

Throw in a responsive powertrain, a very capable chassis and an elegant cabin and you're looking at one of the best cars of the year. With double the power, the upcoming circa-$70,000 Audi S3 sedan can't come soon enough!

2014 A3 1.4 TFSI COD Attraction sedan price and spec:
Price: $39,800 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 1.4-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 103kW/250Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel: 4.7L/100km (combined)
CO2: 109g/km (combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star ANCAP