Audi A3 facelift review, test drive

Under the hood

Audi has done a fair bit of overhaul when it came to its engine line-up for the new A3. On offer are a choice of six motors – three diesel and three petrol, of which we got a chance to sample three. There’s a very interesting entry-level 1.0-litre three cylinder TFSI mill that’s being offered for the first time on the A3, but it’s very unlikely that this will be brought to India. The biggest highlight in the powertrain department was the axing of the 1.8 TFSI motor in favour of a newly developed 2.0 TFSI unit. This new engine makes 190hp of peak power and a whopping 320Nm of torque (the same as the 2.0-litre diesel) which is spread between 1,500 and 4,200rpm. With a brand new 7-speed S tronic (dual-clutch) gearbox handling transmission duties, the A3 with this motor can make the sprint to 100kph from a standstill in just 6.7 seconds, onwards to a top speed of 244kph. This new motor also features an innovative combustion scheme called the Miller-cycle system, where the intake valve is held open for sometime during the compression stroke to strike a balance between power created and reducing the energy required for compression and hence improving overall efficiency.  Of the three cars we drove, this one was by far the most fun, and feels a lot peppier than the outgoing 1.8 TFSI that’s available in India. The flat torque curve allows the motor to provide plenty of acceleration whenever required, no matter what gear you’re in. And when you do need to change gears, or perform a kickdown, the new 7-speed S tronic ‘box is very responsive and an absolute delight to use in conjunction with the steering-mounted paddle shifters.

The two other motors we drove were two different tunes of the 2.0-litre four-cylinder TDI diesel motor, one producing 150hp (similar to the the current India-spec 35TDI) and another producing 184hp. The 150hp diesel also makes 340Nm of torque, while the more powerful one produces 380Nm, and both motors make this peak torque figure between 1,750 to 3,000rpm. The 184hp TDI motor is quite impressive and has far lesser turbo lag as compared to the 150hp unit. While both diesel motors perform admirably, the more powerful one was, of course, a lot more fun to drive and provided far greater tractability.