Until recently, the smallest Audi sold in Australia was the A3. The recent introduction of the pretty little Audi A1 hatch has led to an upsurge of interest in the significantly larger A3.

There’s no denying the prestige you get when owing an upmarket German car compared with something like a VW Golf (which shares many out of sight components with the A3) or a Mazda3 or Toyota Corolla.

While Audi A3 is considered a small car by Australians, in Europe it’s regarded as a family car. Four adults are more comfortable than you might expect given the relatively small size of the car. There’s plenty of stowage space inside so this is a practical machine that suits many people living in suburban areas.

Two good sized suitcases can be carried in the boot together with some small bits and pieces. Tie-down clips secure the load in a crash or under heavy braking.

Rear-seat access in the three-door is better than in just about any other car of its type with front seats that move right out of the way in an ingenious fashion. Having said that, the five-door is more practical if you intend to make frequent use of the back seat.

Audi A3 sales were reasonably good from the May 1997 launch of the three-door, but didn’t really get up to full speed until the introduction of the five-door models in October 1999. Quite a few of these early models are now on the Australian used-car market, but they may be nearing the end of their lives.

The Audi A3 has the solid feel that’s very much part of the marque and this has shown up in good durability as the years have gone by.

Handling is very good, though there is perhaps just a little too much understeer at the limit to suit the full-on driving enthusiast.

Engine choices in the original A3 were a 1.6-litre single-cam unit with two valves per cylinder and two 1.8-litre twin-cam models with the Audi trademark of five valves per cylinder (three intakes and two exhausts). The 1.8 came with or without a turbocharger, with the turbo engine tuned to give flexible torque and economy at low to mid-range engine speeds, rather than flat-out sports performance.

The second-generation cars retained the 1.6-litre in the entry level models, but also offer a 2.0-litre FSI petrol unit, with our without a turbo. It was also offered with a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel. Best of all is a 3.2-litre V6 petrol engine that gives a huge amount of get-up-and-go in a relatively small car like this one.

Power in most Audi A3 models is transmitted to the front wheels, the 2.0 turbo-petrol can be specified with Audi’s famed quattro all-wheel-drive system. It comes as no surprise that quattro is mandatory with the big V6 engine.

Audi S3 is the high-performance variant. The S3 has a sporting three-door body and uses a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine driving all four wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox.

Audi has been on fire in the Australian sales race over the last few years and the number of authorised dealers has increased as a result. Naturally there’s a concentration on the major metropolitan areas, but some regional areas are starting to get into the act as well.

Spare parts and servicing are reasonably priced for a prestige car but fairly expensive for a machine of this size. If you are shifting up to an Audi from an Asian or lower priced European car ask the dealer about servicing costs.
 
Check your insurance company’s policy on turbo-petrol engines as some charge very high premiums that can add significantly to the purchase price of a used car.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Make sure the engine starts quickly and idles smoothly even when it’s cold. If there’s any hesitation from the engine under hard acceleration there could be computer problems.

Check that a manual gearbox changes smoothly and quietly and that an automatic transmission doesn't hunt up and down the gears when climbing moderate hills with light to medium throttle openings.

Uneven front tyre wear probably means the car has been the subject of some hard driving, so is more likely in one of the high-performance models.

Uneven tyre wear may also mean one of the wheels is out of alignment as the result of a crash, though that crash may have simply been a hard thump against a kerb.