What’s it like?
The Audi A3 was, by the time of the launch of its fourth generation in 2020, a thoroughly known quantity. Based on a Volkswagen Golf’s platform and using much of the group’s related technologies, the A3 was nevertheless a cut above its source material – a properly premium hatchback in a world of mainstream five-door fare. To that end, it’s a natural rival to the likes of the BMW 1 Series, Mercedes A-Class and CLA, Volvo V40 and Lexus CT, although the latter two of these went out of production around the time of the Mk4 A3’s launch.
Which model to go for?
Audi offered previous generations of the A3 in four different body styles: a three-door hatchback, a five-door known as the Sportback, a four-door christened Saloon and a two-door open-top going under the name, unsurprisingly, of Cabriolet. However, by the time this car launched in 2020, the three-door and the convertible had been dropped, leaving your choices as simply either Sportback or Saloon.
The A3 Mk4 was also one of the Audis that suffered with the company’s nonsensical – and short-lived – two-digit numbering system to denote performance, with cars sold as the 30 TFSI and 35 TDI, for example. However, it’s worth ignoring those badges and just focusing on the fact most A3s came with either a 110hp 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine, a 116hp turbodiesel (these two represented by the ‘30’ in the model badging mentioned above), or a choice of 150hp petrol or diesel four-cylinder units; here, the TFSI (petrol) was a 1.5, while the TDI (diesel) was a 2.0-litre lump, and these were the ‘35’ cars. Incidentally, the 116hp 30 TDI is just a detuned version of the same 2.0-litre engine in the 35.
Another engine choice in the main range was the 40 TFSI e. The ‘e’ naming here signifies that this A3 is a plug-in hybrid (PHEV), pairing a 1.4-litre petrol engine with significant electrical assistance for an overall drivetrain output of 204hp. It was a popular choice in this country, due to its low CO2 emissions, so you’ll find plenty of them on the used market – but while every other drivetrain listed here was sold in both Sportback and Saloon forms, the TFSI e came as a Sportback only.
Performance fans are well-catered for too, as there were two very fast versions of the A3. The first, powered by a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with 310hp and 400Nm, was called the S3, and it had the benefit of quattro four-wheel drive, when all ‘normal’ A3s were front-driven. It was capable of 0-100km/h in 4.8 seconds and 250km/h flat out.
For those wanting even more punch, a wide-arched, ultra-aggressive option with a 2.5-litre five-cylinder engine delivering whopping figures of 400hp and 500Nm sat above the S3 in the hierarchy and went by the name of RS 3. Both the S3 and RS 3 were available in both bodies, with the latter Audi capable of 0-100km/h in a supercar-troubling 3.8 seconds.
In 2024, Audi subjected the whole A3 family to a facelift, which is hard to distinguish but that is most easily identified by a wider, flatter radiator grille at the front of the car. Most of the engines and powertrains continued as before, but the TFSI e switched from a 1.4-litre to a 1.5-litre unit, while its battery pack was considerably increased in capacity – more than doubling its official electric range, from 65km previously to more than 140km in the newer car.
The only other technical update came for the S3, which gained a new, fancier rear differential to improve its handling and driver engagement, and another 23hpfor its 2.0-litre engine, taking it to peaks of 333hp and 420Nm and trimming the 0-100km/h time to 4.7 seconds. However, it still didn’t step on the toes of its RS 3 big brother, which continued through the facelift with its mighty 400hp five-cylinder engine.
One final note: almost all A3 models came with an S tronic dual-clutch automatic transmission, which has seven speeds in anything it is fitted to, save for the TFSI e PHEV models, where it uses just six ratios. Anyone wanting a manual Audi A3 will have to stick with either the 110hp three-cylinder TFSI petrol model or lower-powered 2.0 TDI ‘30’ models.
Does anything go wrong?
It would seem that most issues with the fourth-generation Audi A3 related to its onboard electronics, specifically the infotainment and instrument cluster. However, these seem to have been limited to earlier cars, with all glitches sorted out by owners at the time, so there shouldn’t be any problems with such technology on used examples of the Audi now.
There were four recalls issued for this generation of Audi A3: one related to the passenger-side airbag; another for the inertia reels in the front seatbelts; a third for the bolt between the brake servo and pedal; and the final one relating to a potentially blown fuse in the high-voltage system of the TFSI e PHEV.