Audi

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Wednesday – A Car For All Season

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Jeremy  The last day in the Sportback – will we miss it? The answer is a resounding ‘yes’. While the styling of this latest A3 five-door is only slightly sharper than the last model, everything else about this exceptionally sensible car is good. Very good indeed.

The A3 is a mass seller for Audi and this is without doubt, the best incarnation of the ubiquitous hatchback to date. Everything revolves around a 2.0 TDI engine that churns out enough power to make the car engaging to drive and will amaze you at the fuel pump too (we’ve average over 50mpg all week).

You can cruise along the motorway while it purrs quietly, or slip down through the six-speed gearbox on an A-road and enjoy  sharp steering that doesn’t throw up any nasty surprises.

Inside, the Audi is very smart, with a classy dashboard and buttons in all the right places. The seats are super comfy but supportive enough for enthusiastic driving. Masses of space both front and rear too.

So the conventional styling and the expensive price tag are really the only questionable attributes of the Sportback. And as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, for some people it will be the perfect buy.

 

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Tuesday – Reg Who?

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Jeremy – I’m just back from Roehampton Club where I spent some of the day playing croquet with Reg Bamford, the double world champion. I’m writing a feature for the FT and Reg very kindly agreed to give me a masterclass.

Never heard of Reg? Well, that’s the nature of sport. While soccer players get paid £200,000 a week, Reg can’t even land a sponsorship deal on his trainers!

Now I’m not suggesting Audi should loan him a courtesy vehicle but walking back to the car park, I couldn’t help noticing that the Audi symbol is four circles – just like the four balls that are used in croquet.

Now, surely that should have Audi clammering to sign him up? Not only is Reg a double world champion, he lives in London and is one of the nicest world sportsmen I have ever met. A true gentleman in every respect – apart from on the court, where he takes no prisoners! The four ring logo represents the four companies that joined together to form Audi in 1932.

It’s the last day with the brilliant A3 tomorrow. A perfect car in just about every respect, apart from the lifeless styling which still frustrates the hell out of me.

 

 

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Monday – My Daily Commute

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Jeremy – The great part of being a freelance journalist is that you get to work from home. I left my last full-time post in 1997 and never miss the daily commute in and out of Bristol – no matter what test car I was driving back then.

The bad part of the job is that sometimes you do have to be somewhere early, joining the millions of other drivers making their daily drive to the office. This morning I had a two-hour drive to Gloucester, which was 76 miles of hell on A and B-roads.

You learn a lot about a car in that situation. Minor niggles become major gripes and you can fall out of love with even the most alluring supercar. Today’s 150 miles in the A3 were pretty sweet all things considered. I felt as fresh getting out of the car at my destination as I did when I first stepped in.

The Audi has excellent, supportive seats that seem to fit every type of driving. They grip you firmly in place on a tight bend and meet your back in all the right places on the motorway.

I found the driving position first class, with height adjustable steering column and telescopic adjustment too. No electric seats though, which seems like an oversight in a car cost this much. There is a neat fold down centre armrest that can be adjusted forwards and back as well.

It’s the same in the rear. I’m 5ft 10ins and had masses of knee room in all three seats. There are plenty of cubbyholes and spaces for driving paraphenalia, with a large boot included.

I’ve no desire to do a daily commute ever again but if I did, the Sportback would be on my list of options.

 

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Sunday – It’s Worth It

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Jessica I have only had very short exposure to this car, however the time I have spent en route to the gym was a pleasure.  From the outside, it’s a sensible looking mode of transport, once inside there are signs that you are in for a treat.

The console is fantastically simple and my favourite feature is the disappearing info screen, select your music or radio station and you can tuck the screen out of the way until you need to surf for new tunes or use the sat nav.

This definitely appeals to my minimalistic tendancies.  The dials are descreet and speak design consideration – the controls are intuitive and easy to operate, even when you have failed to check where everything is before you set out.

The Audi A3 Sportback drives well, it has power, sensitive steering, good road holding and is pure class.

If you need to have a family-style car but still want the fun with a good design aesthetic, this is the car for you.

You are ,of course, paying for the privilege but in my view, if you are able to find the extra cash, it is worth it. If it’s any consolation, on the second hand market this Audi will hold its value too.

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Saturday – The Sensible Choice

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Jeremy – A chap at the newsagents this morning asked me what word would best sum up the Sportback. He had driven Audis since 2002 and was thinking about downsizing from his company A6.

Not an easy question to answer because at first glance, this latest Sportback appears very similar to the last model – and not that unlike the three-door A3. On closer inspection, it has more angular lines and looks more dynamic from the rear but is otherwise, very much a standard issue Audi.

I told him the steering is light and very accurate, it sits well on the road, both at motorway speed and around corners. He was impressed that I’ve also been averaging 51mpg without even trying – in all manner of conditions. It has lowly emissions of 108 k/km too, meaning low road tax.

The A3 reminds me in so many ways of the VW Golf. It’s not the most exciting car to look at but the Sportback is proficient at just about everything you ask it to do. It’s even roomy inside, with a decent boot and quality fittings.

Standing on the road with my weekend FT in hand, I finally come up with the answer. Sensible.

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Thursday – Platform For Success

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Jeremy Let’s get one thing clear from the start – the latest Sportback looks pretty much the same as the last. I’ve just been wandering around the A3 on the driveway and it screams ‘Audi’ from every angle.

It also ticks all the boxes for space, safety and practicality – just what you would expect from the German design team in Ingolstaft. So what makes this car so damn good?

Well, to start with it is based on the VW Group MQB platform, which will be used across the brand’s entire manufacturing line up, from the SEAT Leon to the Skoda Octavia. Same platform, different car on top.

Which means this platform has to be good because it will be incorporated into so many different cars. The A3 is the pinnacle of this particular platform and after just a day behind the wheel, I can tell you that it drives exceptionally well, with high levels of comfort and handling.

The 2.0 TDI we have on test is remarkably quiet on the motorway too, which is probably where it will spend a lot of its life with many company buyers. I’ve driven about 50 miles and the fuel gauge hasn’t even flickered yet!

The styling leaves me cold but the Sportback may well deserve its many plaudits…

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Tuesday – Quietly Confident

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Jessica This is a car with a quiet reputation and clearly there are those in the know.  We all know they are out there but take little notice.  Actually stopping and looking at it (even in white) the lines are effective, the shape although small is in good proportion from front to back and I like the hard top version for those times when living through an English summer there is no hope of driving California style in sunglasses and bikini.

Once I got into the car and got over just how little it is particularly for my long limbed frame, I began to enjoy myself.

The dash and console have minimum equipment without missing the basics, the screen sensibly reverts to simply telling the time when not in use, which I much prefer.  Many cars have so much going on that one glance down and you may as well be talking on a phone it is so distracting.

Not so here, there are no distractions from the business of driving,  with a gear stick in a classic sports position and easy to reach, handling that is sharp and authentic, gears that allow you to really drive, road holding is impressive this car is fun and attractive.

Clearly big dogs, large amounts of luggage or children are out of the equation here, which makes it even better as it is  purely a car for the self, an individualistic driving experience without breaking the bank.

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Monday Car Courreges

Jessica We have reached Le Mans and it feels like I have been cocooned in a Courrege car, the all off-white interior with black trim feels luxurious, and a little futuristic (as it may have looked from the sixties).  The spirit of Courrege and his engineering background not only reflect the interior of the BMW but the spirit of invention, daring and technological prototyping that is intrinsic to Le Mans.  It is a fitting coincidence that we have this particular car in black with a white interior for this trip.

Jessica and BMW 640d Convertable at Le Mans

Opening the roof is pure Stanley Kubrick as the whole car takes charge with a series of window moves, automatic folds, lifts and sounds of hidden mechanisms, where you the driver become infinitely secondary to proceedings.

So far I am throroughly enjoying this car, it is intuitive, feels safe despite the speed possibilities and is far removed from what you would imagine a diesel car to be and if you consider Audi won Le Mans in a diesel hybrid there is definitely more to come.