Review of the new Audi A3 1.4 TFSI

Traditional hierarchy in the Volkswagen empire suggests that the Audi division should always get first dibs on new technology. Not in the case of the clever 1.4-litre TSI supercharged/turbocharged petrol engine however, that was destined only for the Volkswagen Golf. Audi's A3, the car you'd have expected to see it in, campaigns instead with the 125PS Turbo 1.4 TFSI engine we look at here.

To understand the reasons why, you need to understand the latest facelifted Audi A3 line-up. This includes turbocharged 1.8 TFSI and 2.0 TFSI petrol units with power outputs and performance uncomfortably close to those on offer in the 140 and 170 versions of the 1.4 TSI engine installed in the Golf. All of which left Audi's engineers to look for another option.

Why do you need to know all of this? Well basically, because for around £1,000 less than the equivalent Golf 1.4 TSI Twincharger, an A3 1.4 TFSI could be yours: prices start at £16,450 for the three-door and £16,950 for the five-door Sportback. The 15PS your Audi will give away to the 140PS Golf 1.4 TSI will mean that your A3 is detained for 1s longer in the rest to sixty sprint (9.4s as opposed to 8.8s). Oh, and with a maximum speed of 126mph, it's 1mph slower flat out. Hardly very much to lose sleep over.

"There will always be customers who want Audi A3s and who recognise that the four rings are a guarantor of cast-iron residuals."

But won't the Audi driver lose out when it comes to mid-range punch? Not really. The hi-tech 1.4 TFSI unit is a 1.390cc engine offering a decent 200Nm of torque, 80% of which is available from just 1,250rpm and 100% from 1,500rpm. CO2 emissions have been further reduced in the latest car to 140g/km. At the pumps, owners should be able to record up to 47.9mpg on the combined cycle.

A 125PS Audi A3 for under £16,500 looks like a great deal but most prospective A3 1.4 TFSI customers will probably end up spending considerably more on a plusher trim grade. There's a choice between standard, SE, Sport and S line variants.

The A3 package these days includes more equipment than you might expect. Of course, finding items like manual windows in what purports to be a premium hatch would really dent an owner's cool and the entry-level 1.4-litre TFSI A3 comes with electric front and rear windows, electrically heated and adjustable door mirrors, air conditioning, 16-inch alloy wheels and a Thatcham category 1 alarm and immobiliser operated by a remote key fob. Audi haven't skimped on safety gear either, the entry-level car getting the same ESP stability control, anti lock brakes with electronic brakeforce distribution, ASR traction control, EDL electronic differential lock and twin front and side airbags as its more expensive SE, Sport and S line siblings.

Choose to trade up to SE specification and you can expect to find a driver's information system, a front centre armrest, front fog lights, a leather-trimmed steering wheel and six-spoke alloy wheels. The Sport trim level features sports suspension, an MP3 compatible CD player, front sport seats, dual-zone electronic climate control and 17-inch five-spoke star design alloy wheels. The S line version runs on 17-inch five-spoke alloy wheels and sports suspension, ditches the lumber on the fascia in favour of gloss finished inlays and adds aluminium sill strips, chrome trimmed exhaust tailpipes and a three rather than four-spoke sports multi-function steering wheel.

Longer, wider and lower than its predecessor, the current A3 is a car that has punted the A3 back into pole position as the item of choice for the discerning young professional. The most obvious changes on the latest facelifted model are that the front wings and the grille are a little shapelier, the headlights are sharper-looking and the side repeaters are now incorporated into the door mirrors. The styling is largely evolutionary, remaining obviously an A3 with the Audi trademark 'single frame' grille, only looking a little stretched.

The interior on the latest facelifted model has also come in for some treatment. Believe it or not, but the previous A3 was just starting to look a little off the pace in this department. Even far more mundane cars like the Vauxhall Astra and the Fiat Bravo were beginning to show Audi the way forward in terms of materials quality. The latest A3 ups the ante with more aluminium design elements, revised switchgear, a better quality instrument cluster and a rethink for the upholstery choices. Quattro four wheel drive is of course offered on certain variants. The luggage compartment of the three-door car features 350/1,080 litres of fresh air with rear seats in place and then folded, just pipped by the 370/1,220 litres of the Sportback.

At a nominal extra cost, model-for-model, it's probably worth seriously considering the Sportback option, even if you don't really need the extra doors. Many A3 buyers upgrade their cars to Sport and S line specifications, trim levels tweaked by the UK importers to include an upgraded sports suspension kit with modified spring and damper settings designed to improve ride comfort without compromising on agility.

Although the entry-level version of this car exists to give Audi a presence in the market at a £16,500 price point, most buyers won't countenance equipment levels below what the SE, Sport and S line trims boast. Therefore, the effective opening price of the car for most buyers will be in excess of £17,500. Given that this will buy 197bhp of SEAT Leon, how can the 125bhp Audi A3 1.4 TFSI possibly justify its existence, assuming that you're not influenced by its affordability alongside a Golf 1.4 TSI? Quite easily in fact. There will always be customers who want Audi A3s and who recognise that the four rings are a guarantor of cast-iron residuals. Despite its relatively modest power, the A3 1.4 TFSI is still a genuinely covetable depreciation-proofed bauble.

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