Anyone stepping out of the comparatively minimalist cabin of the earlier A3 and into this new one will probably be in for a shock, albeit largely a nice one. There is a greater variety of supplies and a dashboard that’s, to a level, cut up in two, with a extra driver-focused design.
Audi acknowledges that this era of A3 has been criticised since launch in 2020 for the end and design of its inside, and so the precedence for its mid-life replace was to provide the cabin a high quality and charisma increase. So there are actually illuminated door panels (30 colors out there), redesigned air vents with non-obligatory chrome surrounds, a smaller gear shifter and a raft of recent upmarket supplies and color schemes.
Plus, the infotainment runs the newest era of Audi’s infotainment platform – giving entry to inbuilt apps and numerous paid-for features on demand – and the usual package checklist has been prolonged to incorporate a wi-fi cellphone charger, ambient lighting and luxury air-con.
The result’s a cabin surroundings which straddles the contentious digital-physical divide to nice impact. The touchscreen – properly built-in and unobtrusive as it’s – is crisp of graphic and swift of processing pace, with its menus laid out sensibly and easy accessibility supplied to the features you’ll need to use on the transfer. But it’s removed from all-powerful, with the A3 retaining a wholesome smattering of toggles, switches and buttons throughout the sprint, console and steering wheel – every sensibly positioned and with a satisfying tactility about it.
Top marks, too, for the ADAS integration; you solely have to press one bodily button to carry up the digital driver aids, so turning off the pace restrict and lane-keep bongs is the work of 5 seconds.
As in different smaller fashions within the Audi vary, there isn’t a secondary touchscreen for the local weather management settings. Instead, there’s a small cluster within the decrease part of the dashboard with easy-to-reach bodily buttons that make frequent changes doable with out glancing away from the street. This is the preferable set-up in our opinion.
Aside from that, there’s 6mm extra elbow room within the entrance than the pre-2020 automotive, and 3mm extra within the rear, due to a rise within the automotive’s width. A 7mm enhance in entrance head room and 2mm extra shoulder room are additionally welcome, if small, enhancements.
The boot capability of the A3 stays the identical as within the earlier era, at 380 litres, and this will increase to 1200 litres when the rear seats are folded ahead. From Sport specification up, these are cut up 40:20:40, fairly than 40:60.
