2018 Audi A3 vs Volkswagen Golf

What's the difference?

The Audi A3 is now five years into this current generation and it’s beginning to show its age in terms of tech and styling in the cabin, despite updates adding new equipment. It’s expensive compared to most small cars but is spot-on for a prestige vehicle. 

The Sedan is, in my view, the best looking small sedan on the planet and offers the biggest boot space in the A3 range. The Sportback, however, is arguably more practical, with better legroom, headroom and cargo carrying ability (with the rear seats down). The Cabriolet has the same perfect proportions as the sedan, but like all good convertibles doesn’t make practicality a priority. 

The sweet spot of the range would have to be the Sportback 2.0 TFSI quattro S Line with its $50,000 list price making it the most affordable but most 'specced up' A3 in the entire range.

The Volkswagen Golf GTI Original is a peach. It's still just as fun to drive as the regular Golf GTI models - they haven't skimped with this car, it's pure VW engineering that just happens to be more affordable.

For me, this GTI is not only the Original - it's also the best.

The A3 comes in three body styles: a five-door hatch, which Audi calls the Sportback; the four-door Sedan, and a two-door convertible which it refers to as the Cabriolet. It may not surprise you to learn they're all different sizes, too.

The Sportback doesn’t look like the shortest of the three but at 4313mm end-to-end it’s 145mm shy of the Sedan and 110mm shorter than the Cabriolet. But those exterior dimensions don’t tell the whole story on interior space. So, which one is more practical? We’ll get to that.

But first, the looks. The Sportback has a wagon-like appearance with its large (for a hatch) rear quarter windows. If you think it looks longer than a regular hatchback, you’re right: a Volkswagen Golf is 50mm shorter even though it shares the same platform as the A3.

However, unlike the Golf, there’s something about the Sportback’s proportions which doesn’t seem balanced.

Then there’s the A3 sedan. Now this is a perfectly proportioned car. Looking like a miniature version of the A8 limo, the A3 is one of the only tiny sedans on the planet that looks fantastic.

The Cabriolet is based on the Sedan, and it too looks beautifully proportioned. Soft tops, when they’re up, never do much for a car’s profile. Be it a Bentley or an A3, they always look better down. When the roof is down the A3 appears lower, sleeker, and tougher.

While all A3’s have the same grille and headlight design the rear treatment of the Sedan and Cabriolet is more refined with their blade-like tail-lights and boot lid lip, than the Sportback, even if it does have a roof-top spoiler.

Interiors are identical across each A3 grade, the cabin benefiting from excellent fit and finish and the use of high-quality materials. But if you like bling-tastic cockpits, maybe you should be looking at a Benz A-Class because even the fanciest A3 money can buy, the RS3, comes with a small display screen and a rather low-key interior design. 

As for rivals, the new A-Class (which I’ve just reviewed) is a glitzy competitor in hatch form, with a soon-to-arrive sedan going head-to-head with the little Audi as well.

Or there’s BMW’s 1 Series hatch and 2 Series Coupe. The 1 Series hatch is seriously ugly, the 2 Series is stunning and looks fast standing still.

I'm pretty sold on the appearance of the Golf GTI Original. And while people might say three-door cars are useless, or annoying, the point of this vehicle in particular is both a historic marker, and to give it a point of difference.

Golf performance models typically account for a quarter of sales, and nearly all of the GTI and R models you see out there are five-door hatches. So, credibility where it's due - VW has done a bold thing by bringing in a three-door, affordable model.

There are subtle little styling changes like the red pin-striping on the charcoal finish 18-inch alloys, and an Original badge on the rear, which - if the three-door body didn't make it distinctive enough - will help separate it in the carpark.

Otherwise, there are the telltale styling cues we've come to expect from Volkswagen Golf GTI - the red trim line that runs across the grille and into the LED headlights with integrated LED daytime running lights, a tarmac-sucking body kit, GTI finishers on the front guards, a pair of twin exhaust pipes and LED tail-lights.

There's an accessory pack with a bigger hatch-mounted rear spoiler and blackened mirror caps for those who wish to add $1250 to their bill. Perhaps the biggest annoyance for me is that there are only two colours to choose from - red or white. I'd pay to see it in gunmetal grey.

One other thing about those doors: a lot of car parking spaces these days are narrow. These doors are very wide.

The tartan-clad (yum!) interior is lovely, with super supportive seats and a clean - but not cheap - interior finish. There is ambient lighting in the doors and nice finishes throughout, including the manual model's must-have golfball-style gearknob.

The Sportback and Sedan have five seats, while the Cabriolet has four. Leg and headroom in the back row for all body styles is limited. The Sportback will give you the most rear legroom, while the sedan has a few millimetres more space for your knees than the Cabriolet. 

At 191cm tall I can sit behind my driving position in the Sportback with a pinkie finger’s space, while my knees brush the seatback in the Sedan, and the Cabriolet won’t accommodate my long legs back there at all.
  
Rear headroom in the Sportback isn’t bad with enough room for my big head to clear the ceiling thanks to that tall(-ish) flat roofline while the sedan is a tighter fit but I just make it under. The Cabriolet’s low fabric roof means only small adults or kids will be able to sit up straight back there – unless the top is down and then you have literally unlimited headroom.

Boot space varies obviously depending on the body style. The Sedan has biggest cargo capacity with 425 litres, the Sportback offers up 340 litres, but fold those rear seats down and you have 1180 litres at your disposal, plus a bigger aperture to fit stuff in. The Cabriolet’s folding roof eats into the boot space, but you’re still left with 320 litres even when it’s down.

The folding roof is automatic and can be raised or lowered at up to 50km/h, but it’s slow - I’ve timed it and it takes about 20 seconds to open or shut.

Storage throughout the cabin is limited, too. There are two cupholders up front in all cars, while the Cabriolet is the only A3 to have two cupholders in the back (they’re between the rear seats). If you want cupholders in the rear of the Sedan and Sportback you’ll have to option the $450 fold-down armrest which houses them.

All grades above the 1.0 TFSI come with storage nets in the seatback and front passenger footwell, 12-volt sockets in the rear centre console and boot, plus cargo nets back there, too. There’s a USB jack in the centre console of all A3s.

For a three-door car, this is a hugely practical little thing.

Of course, there are no back doors, so getting into the back seat isn't as simple as it could be. But the seat fold mechanism is simple, and because the doors are so large you have a decent aperture through which to plonk yourself.

Once in the back row, the space on offer is pretty good. With the driver's seat in my position, I had enough leg and headroom to be comfortable for a longer-distance drive. The width is a little tight, but in place of door pockets (because there are no doors) you get a pair of bottle holders, and there's a fold-down armrest with cupholders, too, while up front there are bottle holders in the doors, and cupholders between the seats.

It may seem obvious, but if you have kids or frequently take people with you, you ought to reconsider a three-door car like this. Getting them in and out of the back would be painful. That said, if you like the three-door body and are a parent of younger children, you'll be happy to know there are ISOFIX and top tether child-seat anchor points.

Up front there's an 8.0-inch screen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, but unlike the more expensive Golf GTI models, it lacks sat nav.

The seats are excellent, and my favourite part of the interior is the tartan trim. Forget leather, this is retro sexy.

As for cargo space? Because the three-door is identical in length to the five-door, the boot is the same - 380 litres (VDA) with the seats up, and that jumps to 1270L with the seats folded down in 60/40 formation.

It's hard to argue against the value-for-money equation of the Volkswagen Golf GTI Original. 

How about a starting price of less than forty grand - drive-away!? That makes the GTI Original the cheapest version of the Golf hot hatch in a decade.

And this isn't a detuned Golf GTI - you still get the same punchy 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo engine under the bonnet, with the choice of six-speed manual (at $37,490 plus on-road costs, or $38,490 drive-away) or six-speed dual-clutch 'DSG' auto ($39,990 list, or $40,990 drive-away).

So why is it more affordable? Well, as you probably figured out by now, it's a three-door. That makes it inherently less expensive to make, but on the flipside it could also make it a lot less appealing to a lot of buyers.

You've got to miss out on something to get a car at this price, so the adaptive dampers, satellite navigation and push-button start/smart key have been removed. But that's not such an issue because the suspension tune is great (more on that below), you can use maps on your phone (provided you're not heading away from mobile coverage), and you still get a regular key with remote central locking.

Standard equipment includes a load of safety equipment (detailed in that section below), 18-inch 'Sevilla' rims with Bridgestone Potenza S001 rubber (225/40), tyre pressure monitoring, that 8.0-inch screen with Bluetooth phone and audio streaming, a CD player, SD card input, USB and auxiliary inputs, eight speakers, dual-zone climate control, ambient lighting, sports seats with red stitching, a leather-lined steering wheel and auto headlights and wipers.

Affordable, then. But far from cheaply equipped.

Now on to the engines. Yes, I’m doing this in what may seem a strange order, but trust me, it’s to guide you safely through the A3 range without anybody getting lost. We don’t leave anybody behind here, not on my watch.

The grades indicate the engines in the A3 line-up – the higher the grade, the more powerful the engine. So, the range starts with the 1.0 TFSI which has a 85kW/200Nm 1.0-litre three-cylinder engine, and steps up to the 1.4 TFSI which has a 110kW/250Nm 1.4-litre four-cylinder with cylinder on demand (COD) letting it run on two cylinders when not under load). Both are front-wheel drive (FWD) cars.

Next rung up is the 2.0 TFSI Sport and that has a 2.0-litre four making 140kW/320Nm with drive going to the front wheels. The top of the range is the 2.0 TFSI quattro S line which has the same engine but is all-wheel drive (AWD).

Those are all turbo-petrol engines – yes, no diesels and no manual gearbox option either. All have a seven-speed dual-clutch automatics shifting the gears. 

If you’re after something more hardcore in the same package, there are two halo ‘models’ that sit above the A3 range: the S3 with a 213kW/380Nm 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four and the RS3 with its 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbo-petrol making 294kW/480Nm. 

Given they are almost stand-alone models, the S3 and RS3 aren't included in this review, but you can read about them separately by clicking those links.

As mentioned earlier, the Golf GTI Original carries over the same potent 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine, with the same 169kW of power and 350Nm of torque. The beauty of this engine is that the torque curve is long and flat, with that 350Nm spanning from 1500-4600rpm - making this a super flexible engine.

By my reckoning, this is the most powerful small car at this price-point. There are more powerful cars - like the Commodore 2.0T (also a hatch) and Camry V6 - but hey, this thing steals some thunder off the Ford Focus ST, which is $38,990, but has 184kW.

The three-door Golf GTI is slightly lighter than its five-door brother, with a manual kerb weight of 1304 kilograms (five-door: 1329kg), while the DSG version weighs 1326kg (five-door: 1352kg).

That doesn't affect the 0-100km/h time claims for the GTI Original, though: both mirror their five-door GTI equivalent models with stated 6.4 second run times.

Fuel usage depends on the engine and body style, with weights varying across the range. The most fuel-efficient engine is the 1.0-litre which is only offered on the Sportback, and Audi says over a combination of urban and open roads you should see it use 4.8L/100km.
 
The 1.4 TFSI Sportback uses 5.0L/100km, while the Sedan uses 4.9L/100km, but the heavier Cabriolet drinks more at 5.1L/100km.

My most recent A3 test car was a 1.4 TFSI Sportback and the trip computer reported 7.6L/100km over a mix of city and country kays - not bad.

The 2.0 TFSI Sport Sportback uses 5.9L/100km, the Sedan needs 5.8L/100km, the Cabriolet a bit more at 6.0L/100km.

The 2.0 TFSI quattro S Line Sportback uses 6.2L/100km, while the Sedan will go through 6.1L/100km and the Cabriolet again is highest with 6.4L/100km.

That raises the question of how much more does the Cabriolet weigh? About 170kg more than the Sedan and  Sportback thanks to the extra reinforcement needed to strengthen the body to compensate for the rigidity it loses by not having a fixed metal roof.

Volkswagen claims fuel consumption of 6.7 litres per 100 kilometres for the manual model, and 6.6L/100km for the DSG.

Neither of those are cringeworthy figures, and a glance at the trip meter after a spirited drive through some terrific roads south of Sydney showed up 9.1L/100km for the manual and 9.4L/100km for the DSG - which is perfectly acceptable when out for a punt.

I’ve driven all A3 variants from the 1.0 TFSI to the 2.0 TFSI quattro S Line, plus the S3 and RS3, but most recently I tested the 1.4 TFSI Sportback, which I’ll focus on here.

Our car was fitted with two optional packages – the 'Style Package' which adds LED headlights, 18-inch alloys and sports suspension, and the 'Technik Package' which brings a virtual instrument cluster, an 8.3-inch display and sports steering wheel.

Those larger 18-inch alloys wearing low profile 225/40 Hankook Ventus S1 Evo2 tyres look great, but like thin-soled shoes you’ll feel every imperfection on the road giving a harsher texture to the ride, plus they can be noisy on course-chip bitumen. 

I’d stick to the standard 16-inch wheels. Sure, they don’t look as racy, but the ride from those, on 55 profile tyres, is a lot more cushioned.

Despite that grittier feel from the tyres the sports suspension is excellent and manages to soften bigger bumps well. Handling is good too, thanks to that suspension keeping the body well controlled.

Good visibility, steering that’s light but offers decent feel, and a comfortable seating position make the A4 pleasant to pilot,  but not hugely engaging. If you're after more of a driver’s car, the S3 and RS3 will deliver – trust me.

Acceleration isn’t bad from the 1.4-litre, with 0-100km/h claimed to be 8.2 seconds. That dual-clutch transmission is a quick shifter and smooth even in bumper-to-bumper traffic, but only if you turn off the stop-start engine system (jerky and hard to tolerate). 

I’m also not a fan of the way the stop-start system switches the engine off as you coast to a stop at traffic lights and intersections. For me, that borders on a safety issue, particularly when needing to turn on an amber only to find you momentarily lack steering or power.

As mentioned in the engine/transmission section, the 1.4 TFSI Sportback is a FWD car. Put it on a steep hill, as I did on our test incline, and even in dry conditions it’ll lose traction under hard acceleration. Traction control reins the slippage in, but AWD 'quattro' cars won’t struggle for traction in the same circumstances. 

Brilliant. I probably don't need to say much more than that, but I suppose I should. I loved driving the Golf GTI Original, and in particular I was smitten with the manual model, which felt a little more involving in every way.

Not just because you to keep both hands busy in the bends, but because the shift action is such a cinch - you could teach a teenager how to drive in this hot hatch without any hassle or fear or burning out a clutch. It is light in its action, and the shift is smooth - it doesn't have like a Honda clicky feel, but it just has a slinky motion to it.

The engine has such flexibility, you can essentially choose third gear and pound through a series of bends without having to worry about shifting - but it's also nicely settled when you do choose sixth on the highway.

I drove the DSG model, too, which has a bit going for it if that's your preference: the exhaust flatulence between gears is more prominent, and the shift speed is undeniably quicker than any ham-handed human.

The downside is the DSG can still be a bit slurry when you're getting away from a standstill, particularly if you aren't mashing the throttle in a hurry.

The steering is superbly accurate, and while there can be a tiny hint of understeer in tighter bends, the electronically controlled front differential lock allows you to make it pivot on itself really nicely if you decide to grab it by the scruff of the neck. It turns in brilliantly, and it's also really easy to get a good flow between bends. Superb.

While it may not have adaptive dampers like the other Golf GTIs, I think that's to its advantage. The suspension is so well sorted - beautifully controlled and never annoyingly firm, even over patchwork city streets. The MacPherson front suspension and independent rear suspension is a lowered sports set-up, and it deals with rolling bumps exceptionally well on country back roads.

The Volkswagen Golf front-wheel drive range continues to roll on with a five-star ANCAP rating that it scored back in 2013, with the safety authority applying it to all '7.5' series Golfs with FWD.

The standard safety equipment includes a reversing camera, front and rear parking sensors, driver fatigue monitoring, front assist with auto emergency braking (AEB) and pedestrian monitoring, a system called 'Manoeuvre Braking' that'll stop the car when you're parking and fail to brake for an obstacle.

It also has seven airbags - dual front, front side, curtain and driver's knee.

There's an optional driver assistance package, which consists of plenty more kit: blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, lane-keeping assist, auto high-beam headlights and semi-automated parking. It costs $1600, and is money well spent in my opinion.

The A3 is covered by Audi’s three-year/unlimited kilometre warranty. Servicing is recommended at 15,000km/12-month intervals. A three-year/45,000km service plan is available and costs $1680.

Volkswagen backs all of its cars with a three-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, and you can extend that warranty to five years/unlimited km.

The standard warranty includes the same cover for complimentary roadside assist, and the same is true if you decide to extend the warranty plan.

We've levelled this criticism at VW before, but the company's cars just aren't that affordable to maintain. There's a five-year/75,000km capped-price service plan (maintenance due every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever occurs first), and the total over that period for the DSG model is a rich $2950. The manual, at least, is a little better: $2581.