2017 Audi A3 1.0 TFSI Sportback Review | Base Small Car Falls Flat
Base is best. It’s a line that emerges frequently – and deservedly – in car reviews, and the 2017 Audi A3 1.0 TFSI Sportback is both the new entry point to this premium hatch range, and more simplified than most cheaper, mainstream small-car rivals.
Calling the entry A3 a ‘pure’ vehicle might be a euphemism, but this new base model does feature only three cylinders (boosted by a turbocharger) and a more basic torsion beam rear suspension setup than the other four-cylinder models in the range.
Its cousin, the Volkswagen Golf, gets both four cylinders and a more sophisticated independent rear suspension as standard, for around $15,000 less than this Audi.
The flipside is that the 1.0 TFSI Sportback is amazingly fuel efficient on paper, while still offering the benchmark cabin quality for which the A3 is renowned, plus more kit than ever before. This base model could well be a bargain, then – pure and simple.
Vehicle Style: Small hatchback
Price: $35,900 (plus on-road costs)
Engine/trans: 85kW/200Nm 1.0 3cyl turbo petrol | seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel Economy Claimed: 4.8 L/100km | Tested: 5.7 L/100km
OVERVIEW
The 1.0 TFSI Sportback opens the A3 range from $35,900 plus on-road costs.
While pricing is unchanged compared with the 1.4 TFSI Sportback it replaces, the new model adds satellite navigation with a larger 7.0-inch screen, front parking sensors and a reverse-view camera, which were previously a $2990 package option.