Turbocharged Direct Injection

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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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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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Thursday – Driving With Duckface

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Jeremy I found a little bit of the ocean in Wiltshire yesterday that almost outshone the Pacific blue paint job on our Golf. The sleepy village of Ashmore, near Salisbury, has been cleaning up it duckpond and as a result, the water has turned a lovely shade of Mediterranean blue. It was such a bright blue that I completely forgot to take a photo with the car beside it.

I spent the morning walking with Anna Chancellor – Duckface from Four Weddings and a Funeral – for a feature for the Financial Times. We had a two-car convoy through sunny countryside, which ground to  halt as we came face-to-face with another Golf travelling towards us.

What happened next was fairly comical. The woman driver politely started reversing down the lane and kept going, and going and going! But her trajectory wasn’t in a straight line – it was up one bank, back onto the road and then up the other bank. Not surprisingly, her Golf had the scars of previous reversing operations, probably down the same lane…

What she needed, of course, was our new, Mk VII Golf because it’s equipped with VW‘s optional touchscreen sat ‘nag’ system (£1,135) and rear view camera (£165). The 8-inch screen projects what is behind the car when you engage reverse gear, with track lines showing where the car is heading. I have to say, it does take some getting used to but for narrow Wiltshire lanes and Waitrose car park, it’s invaluable.

I’m still loving the Golf. The TDI is still returning 51.3mpg for everyday driving, which includes being pushed quite hard on A-roads and  ‘sport’ mode being set on the gearbox. I can’t remember the last time I drove a car and achieved over 50mpg!