Long-Term Test Update 2: 2015 Audi A3

2015 Audi A3 to Quebec City with a fully loaded trunk. Click image to enlarge

Review and photos by Jonathan Yarkony

Odometer at pick-up: 1,139 km
Odometer current: 7,209 km (6,069 km by Autos.ca)
Observed Fuel Consumption: 8.7 L/100 km
Fuel costs: $765.54

It’s been an eventful finish to the end of summer, and the A3 has been put to good use. The highlight of this month and summer was the Yarkony family road trip; our destination: Quebec City, with a layover in Montreal.

Now, packing our two kids in the A3 just seemed to easy, and we had a layover and family reunion in Montreal that prompted the dates and destination, so we figured we’d add to the fun and invited my mom to join us on the second leg up to Quebec City. Unfortunately for my wife, that meant squeezing between the kids’ seats, so we opted for a lighter booster seat for our five-year-old to make space. Hip space was fine, but shoulder space was tight even for my petite wife. So for that leg and the return, dropping my mom off in Prince Edward County on the way back to Toronto meant we were fully loaded with three adults, two lightweight kids and car seats, and a trunk bursting with necessities (or so my wife tells me).

Driving Impressions

As far as the driving experience went, you almost couldn’t tell how loaded up we were. The 2.0L turbo-four and its claimed 220 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque were unfazed, and my poor mother was treated to my highly trained right foot launching the A3 up some of Quebec City’s steeper streets. I doubt we could have actually matched the estimate 6.2-second sprint to 100 km/h, but picking up speed for highway merging or moving around in traffic was never in doubt. Granted, it takes its time getting underway, the delayed hook-up in first gear of the twin-clutch S tronic seeming more noticeable as the months go by.

If there is one thing in the powertrain that needs addressing, it is that first gear and low-speed reversing, where the delay between action and reaction seems neither equal nor opposite – at first nothing, and then vroom, making squeezing the A3 in with other cars in my short-ish driveway a chore and sometime requiring a spotter depending on the value of the other merchandise as the front radar parking assist leaves a lot of room even in its ‘red’ zone. My second request for the transmission: either an in-between mode between normal Drive and Sport, which at a certain point should just shift up from fourth gear (through fifth and sixth), but just stays locked in fourth seemingly forever even when settled in at a constant highway speed, always expecting some hard braking for that next corner. A little bit more adaptability in street driving would be welcome.

Normal Drive mode is fine for relaxed highway driving, uneventful commuting, sightseeing, or taking a night-time cruise through the lower city to appreciate the view of the lit-up Chateau Frontenac, and Sport is at its finest navigating city traffic when you are more eager to arrive at a lunch stop or pushing on in twistier sections.

2015 Audi A3 in Quebec City. Click image to enlarge

In Quebec City’s old city, the Audi’s small dimensions, light steering and turning radius made it easy to navigate the warren of alleys and tight confines. However, visibility is an issue, with a narrow windshield and large rearview mirror, thick pillars, I often find myself craning my neck to ensure there are no pedestrians or vehicles in some unusual blind spots.

High-tech driving safety

The steering is tuned just right for a small, nimble luxury car, a bit light for my tastes, but easy to place accurately on the road, firming up as you reach highway speeds for assured highway driving, and the perforated leather grips and contoured shape of the wheel a joy to hold. This A3 is also equipped with steering assist, which can be a little disconcerting at first if you feel it tugging against you if you steer too much into a corner, begin a lane change without signaling, or risk a blind spot collision. Once you realize it is there to help, you get used to signaling your lane changes early, and steer with a light grip into gradual turns, and to watch feel it maintaining the centre of the lane.

2015 Audi A3. Click image to enlarge

Combined with adaptive cruise control and blind spot detection, the commute into work is a more relaxing event, the cruise maintain an even gap and optimum top speed when possible, a security blanket for moments of inattention when speeds can change drastically on short notice. It isn’t a substitute for attention, but it is a great safety net, and the Audi system also maintains a comfortable gap and slows up at gradual pace when approaching significantly slower traffic, which was not our experience in the Acura MDX. Don’t like the steering assistance? A button on the end of the turn signal stalk deactivates it.

Ride and Handling

Furthering the confident commute is a ride well suited to the suburban and urban landscape. It is just comfortable enough with this sport-tuned S-Line fixed suspension (front MacPherson struts with lower wishbones and rear multilink independent) to get by on poorly maintained roads, though you wouldn’t call it soft. I imagine base suspension would increase the comfort quotient, though I wouldn’t trade it for the poise this compact exhibits in turns. It doesn’t pretend to be a sports car, and there is the S3 to take the tune further, but the minimal body roll is progressive and well controlled.

2015 Audi A3 to Quebec City. Click image to enlarge

On the other hand, there is no mistaking this version of Quattro AWD with that found in last summer’s S4 with its rear sport differential. There is a moment of hesitation before the hydraulic clutch slings torque to the rear wheels and pushes the nose back on line. And I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but knocking the transmission into Sport seems to keep the AWD in a more performance-oriented mood and less understeer-y, though that is still its default mode.

Road Trip Notes

Our road trip was also a great opportunity to test out various elements we don’t normally experience. First of all, the nav system is superb. Not once did it miss providing an instruction for the appropriate direction (that’s not to say we didn’t get lost…), with turn countdowns displayed in the gauges and lane choices displayed on the main five-inch dash-top screen, whose rendering quality is excellent. Trunk space was surprising – it’s not a huge trunk, but its square shape made packing easy. In-cabin storage was enough even with all five seats occupied, bottle holders in the doors supplementing the console cupholders and armrest.

2015 Audi A3 in Quebec City. Click image to enlarge

While the A3 isn’t designed as a family car, it passed this test with flying colours, carting my whole family on this long highway drive efficiently and comfortably (well, for four of five occupants, at least). On the way up to Quebec, we took our time, taking lower speed diversions like the Thousand Islands Parkway and saw high sixes, while the return trip was mainly major highways, and it creeped into the low sevens. Overall, our fuel consumption for the entire test remains at 8.7 L/100 km.

This upcoming month we have a face-off with the A3’s natural competitor, the Mercedes-Benz CLA 250, with a little bit of an Autos.ca twist.

Manufacturer’s Website:
Audi Canada

Photo Gallery:
2015 Audi A3

Pricing: 2015 Audi A3
Base Price (1.8 TFSI FWD Komfort): $31,100
Base Price (2.0 TFSI Komfort): $35,900
Base Price (2.0 TFSI Technik): $43,200
Options: Glacier White Metallic – $800; S Line Package – $1,500; Advanced Technology Package – $1,400; LED headlights – $1,050
A/C Tax: $100
Destination: $1,995
Price as tested: $50,045