Audi’s new small sedan is being dubbed the ‘next big Audi’, but what it lacks in size it makes up in performance, says Kushan Mitra
The traffic in Udaipur is as chaotic as in any other Indian city. But once outside the City of lakes and on the highway to Mount Abu, the chaos of the city gives way to spectacular scenery. The monsoon has turned the hills — that are usually dry as a bone - into lush green peaks. The road — a beautiful stretch of immaculately laid concrete with long sweeping turns — makes driving, in the right car at least, a fairly pleasurable experience.
The Audi A3 may not be the right car for every purpose, but behind the wheel of this car — equipped with a 140 horsepower two-litre diesel engine — the road and its scenery just whooshed past the windows. The turns, no matter how long, were handled impeccably. Even at speed, it is a steady car with no discomfort at all.
As for acceleration and speed, the engine, which is the same as the ones fitted in Skoda’s Octavia, Yeti and Volkswagen Passat, has adequate power. It gets you off the line fast enough in a city and can easily maintain good highway speed. The diesel engine option comes with a six-speed dual-clutch gearbox, which can also be manipulated by the gear lever. Switch the car to ‘sport’ mode and the box can really shift. There is also a 1.8-litre petrol option, with slightly more power and a seven-speed gearbox.
This new ‘baby’ Audi is the smallest car and likely to be the most affordable in Audi’s line-up in India. But the A3 should not be compared to Audi’s other sedans available in India — the A4, A6 and A8l. There is no doubt when you look at the car that it shares a family resemblance to its siblings. It is easy enough, from the front at least, to mistake it for one of Audi’s other sedans, but viewed in profile you realise this car is smaller.
And it is not just smaller.
One of the negatives about being an auto reviewer is that you drive a lot of cars, and over the years, one has driven most of Audi’s cars in India. While the A3 will be cheaper than other cars in Audi’s fleet, there is a sense that the car is not as luxurious as its siblings. For one, the tactile feel of the plastic, while far superior to most other cars, is a bit off for an Audi. On top of that, there is a lot of plastic and no wood finish.
Does this make the car feel ‘inferior’IJ No, it does not. The car does have several nice touches, such as the really cool jet turbine inspired air-conditioning vents. The seats are upholstered in leather and the front seats are fully electronically controlled. The Audi Multimedia Interface (MMI) system, which controls the entertainment in the car, is actually better and more practical than the systems on bigger Audis; the addition of toggles and a touch sensor in the main rotary dial are indicative of the future of the system in other Audis as well. Impressively, the MMI will be a standard option on the A3.
However, does the A3 remain a convincing buyIJ This is a great car to drive; upfront, it is spacious and comfortable. But the A3 does not have Audi’s ‘Quattro’ permanent all-wheel drive system and is a front-wheel drive car. It is also designed on the Volkswagen group’s new modular MQB platform, which presents its biggest problem.
The new Skoda Octavia is for all intents and purposes the same car as the A3; yes, it has a Czech badge on its nose instead of a luxury German one. But it is based on the same MQB platform, has the same engines, front-wheel drive and double-clutch gearboxes (as well as manual options) and thanks to its body shape, it is actually bigger than the A3.
Yes, it lacks leather; the entertainment system is not even half as advanced as Audi’s MMI system. But even without knowing how Audi will price the A3, as it will formally be launched in August, the Octavia will still be cheaper. From a practical and fiscal point of view, Skoda Octavia is the car to buy in this class.
So, if you are a smart car buyer, you might go for Skoda. But most people don’t just buy a car for practical reasons; they buy it to make a statement. The four interlocked rings on the nose of the A3 is the statement.
While Mercedes-Benz is going to showcase the sporty ClA sedan soon, it will for now be equipped with a sporty AMG engine and be a full import. Until the ClA comes with smaller, economical engines and domestic assembly starts in 2015, the A3 will have the entry-level luxury sedan market to itself.
The writer is the Managing Editor of The Pioneer and an automobile aficionado