Goodwood Test: 2021 Audi A3 TFSI e Review

The Audi A3 is a small family car, slightly posher than a Volkswagen Golf, a bit smaller than an A4, a bit bigger than an A2. It’s been a very successful segment for Audi since the original arrived back in 1996, spawning multiple different versions, from faster ones (S3, RS3) to sort-of estates, even to saloons. The latest one, the fourth generation, arrived to the world in 2020, and has brought with it a plug-in hybrid version, the A3 TFSI e. Out has gone the old e-tron name, now reserved for pure-EV cars, so the e here basically means it has a petrol engine too.

On the face of it this might be the most sensible car in an Audi range full of sensible cars. A decent sized family car, with a reasonably boot, five doors and an electric range of 40 miles, more than enough to cover pretty much any journey you make. So are there any reasons not to buy one?

Well, the looks might be the first. No matter how much Audi has tried to add flicks and flares to the A3 it is, underneath, still an A3. There’s not a massive amount to get excited about when you look at the A3 TFSI-e. It is a hatchback, it has a hexagonal Audi grille, it has five doors. The rear has a pair of (fake) exhaust tips in the boot and the lights have been sharpened off compared to the outgoing A3. At the front the face has been flared in a similar way to the RS6, so a pair of big scoops either side of the grille – these, like the exhausts, are just for show, the grille behind them is blanked off.

Like the A1 the lights now bleed into a small gap between grille and bonnet, which sounds like a poor shutline, but actually looks quite good. There’s very little to tell you this isn’t just a standard A3, other than the “e” at the back and the hinged charging flap just aft of the front left wheel. Overall it works ok, although the new chin flares could definitely have been ditched.

The engine is, unsurprisingly, a four-cylinder, 1.4-litre petrol, connected to a six-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox sending power just to the front wheels. The electric power is provided by a single motor integrated into the gearbox. That means 150PS (110kW) from the traditional engine and an extra 108PS (80kW), which combines through some maths to make an overall possible output of 204PS (150kW). Audi’s complicated numbering system means this is a “40” – there is also a 45, which pushes the numbers all slightly higher.

The 0-62mph time is 7.6 seconds, which is not to be sniffed at. But who drives a PHEV to blast away from the line? You’re going to spend most of the time thinking about efficiency. The A3 TFSIe’s stout 40-mile range is a little unrealistic, but you can easily expect to find 30 if you’ve charged it up fully. When driving, the A3 will try to keep itself in pure-electric e-mode as long as it can. Which is useful when you’re just heading off to the shops or nipping to work, but a little annoying for a longer journey. You can change the settings on the hybrid system, but you need to go through three menus in the MMI system to get there. When you find them, you can set the car to either balance its charge for max efficiency, hold the charge at the same level so you arrive at your destination with the electric range set of with, or charge the battery as you go.

In electric mode the A3 is pretty sprightly, the electric system on its own reacts strongly when you ask it, and the motor will roll on to 87mph under just electric power. When the petrol 1.4 kicks in it’s not the most refined, revving out strongly to find any extra power and feeling quite noisy in a cabin if called upon to extract max acceleration when you’ve been used to silent EV running. The ride is firm, without being overly harsh, although many of its competitors do manage the journey in a slightly smoother manner. Steering is light and nimble, without being the first or last word in communication.

Audi’s strong point over all of its rivals is interior design, and the current A3 is no different to the rest of the range. Perhaps not quite as simply cohesive as some Audi interiors have been over the years – the vents stuck on pods either side of the instrument binnacle are a bit out of place – it is still nonetheless an excellent place to spent time. Infotainment comes on a touchscreen in the centre, which is simple to use. There are physical buttons under small screens for the climate control and seat heating and proper buttons on the wheel too.

The centre console is a bit weird, with a massive silver surround making it look a bit like everything has been dropped into a bucket, and the touch controls for the volume, set to the left of the always disappointing VAG gearswitch, are a bit useless. That said there is a simple button for e-mode and to find the drive select functions. Materials are excellent as always. The only downside to the PHEV nature, is that with the need to cram a load of batteries in, the TFSI e has 100 litres less battery room than the standard A3, but it’s still 280 litres, which is a decent space, albeit partly taken up by charging cables.

The A3 TFSI e we drove came in the S Line trim, which makes it £34,735 as standard, but does mean that it’s packed with kit. That includes the Audi Drive Select system, sports seats, privacy glass, sat-nav, climate control, all the screens, including the digital dash, rain sensing wipers and automatic lights. The Comfort and Sound Pack on our car, another £1,195, added the parking assistant, Bang & Olufsen sound (an excellent system), heated front seats and a reversing camera. “Our” car was also kitted with a panoramic sunroof, lumbar support on the front seats and wireless charging, all extras as well as the rather fetching dark blue Navarra paint. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are going to be available, but not right now.

A week with the TFSI led to very few frustrations – the PHEV lifestyle seems to be the perfect way forward in this day and age for anyone looking to make the EV jump but with range anxiety. Most journeys are reached with the A3’s electric range; we saw around 30 miles mostly, but in colder conditions that may well drop to 20. The petrol motor is a bit gutless and the dual-clutch gearbox is forced to let it rev high to extract any performance if you ask anything of it more than cruising, but when you do cruise it’s a very calm place to be. And that’s what the petrol motor is there for, the PHEV A3 should run in EV mode for most of the time, which is why the car is so keen to stay in that mode. Sure the changing of settings is a little fiddly, but at the end of the day will be largely unnecessary for most journeys. Charging was simple, only ever let down by network rather than car, and long cruises felt effortless. The A3 TFSI e is not a sportscar, but it’s a fine and very comfortable daily driver.