Anyone stepping out of the comparatively minimalist cabin of the earlier A3 and into this new one can be in for a shock, albeit principally a pleasing one. There is a greater diversity of supplies and a dashboard that’s, to a level, break 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 present the cabin a top quality and charisma enhance. So there are actually illuminated door panels (30 colors obtainable), redesigned air vents with elective chrome surrounds, a smaller gear shifter and a raft of latest upmarket supplies and color schemes.
Plus, the infotainment runs the most recent era of Audi’s infotainment platform – giving entry to inbuilt apps and varied paid-for features on demand – and the usual package listing 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 velocity, with its menus laid out sensibly and easy accessibility offered 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 must press one bodily button to carry up the digital driver aids, so turning off the velocity 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 potential 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 automobile, and 3mm extra within the rear, due to a rise within the automobile’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 break up 40:20:40, fairly than 40:60.