Search Car Reviews



See all makes



Audi A3 TDI e

A3 TDI e is very economical and doesn’t shout about the fact.

Audi A3 TDI e
  • Rating:
  • Latest deal price: from £15,231 to £30,377
  • On the road price: £16,910 - £28,355
  • For : Economy, decent performance, classy styling and interior
  • Against : Engine can be noisy, frequent gearshifts, not cheap
Driving
The economy-boosting A3 features a 1.9-litre oil-burner that’s been assembled with low-friction components. It’s tuned to return excellent fuel consumption rather than outright performance. Yet the A3 still has a 120mph top speed and can sprint from 0-62mph in 11.4 seconds, while in-gear performance is livelier than these figures suggest. Tall gear ratios take the edge off acceleration, and you find yourself changing more frequently than normal. But the light shift eases this. What’s more, there’s a flip side of impressive cruising refinement. Precise steering and a smooth ride complete the dynamic package, but there’s nothing to get excited about – and the 1.9 TDI is noisy when cold.

Marketplace
Going green is a serious business – and Audi has taken the plunge with the A3 TDI e. It emits just 119g/km of CO2 and qualifies for a road tax bill of just £35. However, despite the considerable efforts to improve the car’s economy, there’s not even a special badge to mark it out. For the record, the body has a few aerodynamic tweaks, while the tyres have a reduced rolling resistance. The TDI e offered in all A3 trims – standard, SE, Sport and S-line, in both three-door and five-door Sportback guise. Such ‘green’ variants are becoming big business in the family and premium hatchback sector – the BMW 118d is even more spectacularly efficient, while there are also eco editions of the Volkswagen Golf, Ford Focus and even the Kia cee’d on the horizon.

Owning
The cabin is regular A3 fare, which means a smart design and solid build quality. However, the five-speed manual gearbox has specially selected extra-long ratios, and there’s a digital display between the dials that tells you which gear to choose to optimise efficiency. And it’s economy that is the big story with this Audi. From a conventional diesel engine, that doesn’t even have BMW-style stop-start technology, the Audi returns a genuinely appealing 62.8mpg. This bodes well for running costs too. And while the Audi isn’t cheap, strong retained values should help further control expenditure.

Tell us about your car in our Driver Power survey.

For an alternative review of the latest Audi A3 visit our sister site carbuyer.co.uk

What Next

For more breaking car news and reviews, subscribe to Auto Express magazine. We'll give you 6 issues for £1 and a free gift!

< Previous   Next >

Sponsored Results

0 Comment

Be the first to comment on this article

You need to register to post comments. Existing members can log in below to comment, otherwise click here to join.



Sponsored Results

Model Variants and Specifications
Car Tax Calculator: Audi A3
- Advertisement -

Pictures

Audi A3 TDI e
Audi A3 TDI e
Audi A3 TDI e
Audi A3 TDI e

Sponsored Results

Find New Cars

Find your new Audi A3 with our new car search:

Find New Cars
Find Used Cars

Find your Audi A3 with our used car search.

Find Used Cars
- Advertisement -