Audi A3 Sportback (2013-2020) - Practicality, comfort and boot space

Look closely and the stylish interior benefits from plenty of useful storage space, including a large glovebox and deep door bins. And as it has five doors instead of three, the A3 Sportback is much easier to live with if you’ve got a young family – loading a child seat into the back is less hassle.

Size

At 4,310mm long and with a 2,636mm wheelbase, the Sportback is the most spacious A3 of them all. It’s a mere 4mm higher than the three-door, too. The extra metal and doors mean it’s 30kg heavier, while the Sportback can tow anything from 1,500kg up to 1,800kg of braked trailer, depending on specification. 

Leg room, head room & passenger space

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There’s 1,021mm of headroom in the front and 955mm in the back, making the Sportback the most airy A3. You get more than 1.4 metres of elbow room whether you’re sitting in the front or rear, while shoulder room stands at 1,392mm in the front and 1,344mm in the back, so the car should comfortably accommodate four tall adults, while five adults should be able to squeeze in easily, too.

Boot

The A3 Sportback offers 380 litres of boot space; that’s 50 litres more than in the standard three-door. Fold the rear seats flat, and it has a maximum load capacity of 1,220 litres. This is more than a five-door BMW 1 Series in both configurations, and also leaves the Mercedes A-Class and Volvo V40 trailing.

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The quattro drivetrain eats into space slightly; it reduces the capacities by 40 litres on the A3 and S3 Sportbacks. But the RS3 and e-tron really lose out; both offer 100 litres less boot space as a result of their sporty chassis and battery pack respectively. That leaves these models with 280 litres when the seats are in place and 1,120 litres once they’re folded.