Recently updated with two ‘downsized’
1. Looks 9/10
Audi has bucked the trend for folding hardtop convertibles, instead using a soft top available in black, blue and red. The benefit is improved interior space, with the pliable material able to extend further back over the rear seats, before dropping sharply towards the boot. The hood is 19 centimeters longer than the A4 Cabriolet’s. The A3 Cabriolet looks expensive courtesy of its intricate front and rear lights incorporating LED technology, excellent build quality and a range of classy exterior colours and alloy wheels. As an option, aluminium trim can be fitted to the roll bars, door handles, window frames and hood edge.
2. Looks Inside 9/10
While the Audi A3(http://www.autotrader.co.uk/
3. Practicality 8/10
There is a semi-automatic and fully-automatic version of the soft top, both opening in nine seconds and closing in 11. The semi-automatic has a lever to lock the front of the hood in place and has two layers of material, while the fully-auto does away with the lever and has a three-layer ‘acoustic’
The cabriolet design means there’s no hatchback, the boot door providing restricted access to the 260 litre boot. The rear seats fold 50:50, allowing longer items to be packed and increasing space to 674 litres. There’s more headroom for rear passengers than in competitors with folding hardtops, and space for front occupants is good. It’s possible to find an excellent driving position thanks to fully adjustable front seats and a steering wheel which moves in and out, as well as up and down.
4. Ride and handling 7/10
Extra strengthening measures have been fitted to keep the A3 Cabriolet taut, despite it loosing its metal roof. In normal driving the experience is typically Audi, with little body roll and a good ride, which can become firm when larger alloy wheels are fitted. The accurate steering becomes heavier as speeds increase – to aid maneuvering around town and stability on the motorway – but lacks the feel found in the rear-wheel drive BMW 1 Series Convertible.
5. Performance 8/10
Two diesel and three petrol engines are available. The entry-level petrol is a 1.2 TFSI turbo petrol with 105bhp, reaching 62mph in 12.2 seconds and with a top speed of 118mph, replacing the outgoing 1.6-litre petrol. Next up are a punchy turbocharged 1.8 TFSI with 158bhp and 2.0 TFSI with 197bhp, covering the same markers in 8.2 and 7.4 seconds respectively and hitting 135 and 144mph.
At launch Audi offered the A3 Cabriolet with a 1.9-litre TDI, but this has now been replaced with its latest 104bhp 1.6 TDI. It’s a much cleaner and quieter engine, but needs to be revved harder than the old 1.9 to perform – making it feel half way between a diesel and petrol engine. It gets to 62mph in 12.2 seconds and can hit 118mph.
The tried and trusted 2.0 TDI has 140bhp and suits the A3 Cabriolet well, giving it long legs and excellent distance covering ability. It reaches the benchmarks in 9.7 seconds and can reach 127mph.
6. Running Costs 9/10
All Audi A3 Cabriolets are fitted with stop and start and recuperation technology – which uses braking energy to charge the car’s electrics – to make them more efficient. The star of the show is predictably the 1.6 TDI, with emissions of 114g/km of CO2 and claimed economy of 65.7mpg, although we struggled to reach this fuel consumption in real world driving. The 2.0 TDI is also a frugal motor emitting 139g/km of CO2 and returning 53.3mpg.
The 1.2 TFSI is the best petrol, being cleaner (132g/km) and more economical (49.6mpg) than the less hi-tech 1.6-litre engine it replaces. Insurance groups range from group 17 to 30 and it’s expected the A3 Cabriolet will retain a higher than usual proportion of its value when it’s time to sell, due to very high demand.
7. Reliability 9/10
Audi fitted the first ever diesel in a cabriolet back in 1995, and have proved to be leaders in the technology ever since. The petrol engines should be bullet proof too, and are widely used throughout Audi’s model range. Build quality is excellent and the hood feels made to last.
8. Safety 7/10
A full set of front and side airbags and stability control (ESP) are fitted as standard. Roll hoops are permanently fitted behind the rear seats. The A3 Cabriolet has not been crash tested by EuroNCAP, but the hatchback received four out of five stars.
9. Equipment 8/10
Standard, Sport, S Line and Technik trim levels are available, with the entry-level car getting 16-inch alloy wheels, air-con, ISOFIX for the front passenger seat, radio CD player, remote central locking and an alarm.
The Sport model adds a significant amount of kit for around £1,850 extra, including 17-inch alloy wheels, 15mm lower sports suspension, MP3 compatible CD player, active speakers, colour central console screen, SD card reader, AUX socket, front fog lights, front sports seats, three-spoke multi-function steering wheel, aluminium trim, dual-zone climate control, wind deflector, fully-auto acoustic hood and exterior aluminium trim.
For £1,550 more than Sport the S Line trim brings 18-inch alloys, S Line embossed cloth and leather front seats, leather steering wheel, matt-brushed aluminium trim, front centre armrest, leather gear knob and handbrake, black headlining, floor mats, S Line bodykit, chrome fog light surrounds and exhaust tips.
Available on 1.8 TFSI and 1.6 TDI models, the £700-more-than-
10. X-Factor 9/10
The Audi A3 Cabriolet is a very classy small car, which many younger and older drivers alike would be proud to own. The acoustic hood and diesel engines also make it surprisingly good as a long distance cruiser, with as little cabin noise as folding hardtop rivals, more interior space and a faster folding action.
