Audi A3 - Reliability and safety

As a brand, Audi has slipped down the rankings, dropping from 22nd in our 2022 Driver Power customer satisfaction survey, to 30th out of 32 manufacturers. This is disappointing because there were signs of improvement, but it’s once again heading down the table, finishing below arch-rivals Mercedes and BMW.

Euro NCAP has awarded the A3 a full five-star rating back in 2020, with an 89 per cent score for adult protection and 81 per cent for child occupant safety. It is a little odd that its siblings, the Cupra Leon and Seat Leon upon which the A3 is based, managed to score better than the A3 in all disciplines, though.

All A3 versions include Audi’s ‘Pre Sense Front’ safety system, which uses a radar-based warning to alert the driver to potential hazards. It also can initiate automatic emergency braking if required at low speeds to either avoid or mitigate collisions with other vehicles and vulnerable road users. The on-board safety kit adds a lane departure warning system, cruise control and rear parking sensors.

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Warranty

Audi’s standard warranty is three years and up to 60,000 miles, which can’t match the three-year/unlimited mileage policies of BMW or Mercedes. You can upgrade to a four or five-year warranty for an extra fee.

The battery pack in plug-in hybrid models comes with a separate eight-year/100,000 miles warranty that guarantees the capacity won’t drop below 70 per cent over that period.

Servicing

Service intervals are set for every two years or 18,000 miles, whichever comes first. That may reduce if you do a lot of stop/start driving in town.

Service plans are available for cars under three years old that cover two consecutive services, and depend upon the engine size (and exclude S and RS models). Vehicles with engines under 2.0 litres cost either £650 upfront or around £28 per month, while those with bigger engines cost around £780 upfront, or about £33 per month.