When we first tried Audi's A3, we thought it a great small car with all the concentrated goodness of a much larger one. But what if you could have a larger version of this successful recipe without getting, well, larger? Such is the thinking behind Audi's A3 Sportback.

All right, so in essence, this car is little more than a 5-door version of the 3-door A3. But Audi would like you to see it as more than that. They've tried hard to style it differently (from the middle of the car backwards anyway) and the marketing hype positions the car much more towards the 'lifestyle' end of the premium compact market in which all A3s must compete. To be fair, even if you don't buy into all that stuff, the fact that an A3 Sportback is just, model for model, around £500 more than an equivalent 3-door A3 does make it a tempting proposition, even at prices starting from around £16,000.

Although it lacks the nuggety compactness of the three-door car, the five-door Sportback isn't a bad looker at all, certainly a good deal easier on the eye than the rather 'challenging' BMW 1 Series. An 83mm increase in body length and extra wide opening rear doors adds up to easy accessibility and far better rear knee and head room than its three-door counterpart. Space up front is equally good, the transverse engine and front-wheel drive transmission minimising intrusion into the passenger cell. Quattro four wheel drive is of course offered on certain variants. Given that the current generation A3 is 65mm longer in the wheelbase than its predecessor, it's obvious that rear seat passengers will be a whole lot happier in the Sportback than the old A3 five-door. The luggage compartment also grows by 20 litres giving a total of 1,120 litres of space with the rear seat folded flat.

"If you're buying an Audi A3, you can't ignore the Sportback option?"

As you would expect, the engines offered mirror the choice available for three-door A3 range. Increasingly popular are the diesel units - and there's a choice between an entry-level 105bhp 1.9-litre TDI powerplant (now optimised to put out just 119g/km of CO2) or 140 and 170bhp versions of the more advanced 2.0 TDI engine at prices from around £19,000.

Petrol buyers get a 102bhp 1.6 at the foot of the range at prices from around £16,040, but most opt for one of the turbocharged TFSI engines: either the 125bhp 1.4, the 160bhp 1.8 or the 200bhp 2.0-litre unit. These are powerplants which sit below the 250bhp V6 3.2-litre FSI variant. The 3.2 is fitted with quattro all-wheel drive transmission as standard, something that is also offered as an option on the 2.0T FSI and the 2.0-litre 170 diesels.

The 2.0-litre 140bhp diesel I tried offers the sort of performance you'd expect from Audi. It hits 60mph in 9.2 seconds and tops 130mph, which makes it only marginally slower than the 2.0-litre FSI. With 60% more torque, however, there's no doubt which of the two cars will feel the stronger when accelerating down a motorway on-ramp. It's pull matches the 3.2-litre V6 model, a car which makes 60mph in 6.7 seconds and tops out at 153mph. Driving manners across the range have been improved in recent times, with even the humblest versions riding on multi-link rear suspension.

Where Audi really pulls clear of the non-VW Group opposition is in the availability of its revolutionary S Tronic dynamic shift gearbox on the most powerful petrol and diesel models. First seen in the TT 3.2 V6 coupe, this system is based around a sequential manual gearbox but utilizes an ingenious twin clutch system to ensure creamy smoothness. Engage first gear and the gearbox will pre-engage second gear in advance, the second clutch engaging as soon as you flick up to slot instantly into second gear. This means a seamless flow of power. The electronics predict what gear you're about to engage, depending on whether you're accelerating or braking and the result is astonishing, making every other gearbox look distinctly clunky. The other option is to slip it into 'D' and drive it like a normal automatic. Even in this mode it's butter smooth and makes other attempts at sequential manual systems such as Ferrari's F1, BMW's SMG and Alfa Romeo's Selespeed appear distinctly clunky and yester-tech.

Standard safety equipment includes window airbags, electronic stability control, ABS, brake assist, a part-electric power steering system and anti-whiplash head restraints. The cabin has been restyled to offer a little more design flair, Audi realising that high quality alone isn't enough to lure buyers into showrooms. There has to be some style on display too. The fascia struts ape the interior design of the TT, as do the round air vents and chrome-rimmed dials. It's still not what you'd call revolutionary, but it's beautifully executed. The A3 Sportback range is available in standard, SE and Sport trims with the S-line upgrade pack to consider. An optional Open Sky twin sunroof system is also available for order.

The A3 Sportback is a good example of the kind of product development which has seen Audi sales sky-rocket in this country. If you're buying an A3, you can't ignore it. And the same is probably true if you're buying virtually any other rival in this sector.

TOP 5 A3 DEALS

The results below show the top A3 deals on buyacar

	Audi A3 1.9 TDi Special Edition 5dr Spec edn Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly £251	Saving £1,335	Price £15,925
	Audi A3 1.9 TDi 5dr Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly £256	Saving £1,325	Price £15,835
	Audi A3 2.0 TDi 170 S Line 5dr S Tronic Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly £379	Saving £2,087	Price £22,798
	Audi A3 1.6 Special Edition 5dr Spec edn Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly £217	Saving £1,155	Price £14,345
	Audi A3 1.6 5dr Hatchback
	ETR	Mthly £234	Saving £1,200	Price £14,845

typical 10.30% APR

PCP finance quote over 48 months,  10,000 miles pa,  deposit of £1000