Audi A3 (2013-2020) Buyer’s Guide

Juliet McGuire lists the strengths and weaknesses, common problems and resale values of the 3rd-gen Audi A3. Also in this guide, Ryan Bubear reveals which variants were offered in South Africa and how much you can expect to pay for a good example…

Back in 2012 when the 3rd-gen Audi A3 broke cover, C-segment family hatchbacks were still very much in vogue (yes, not quite everyone had made the switch into a crossover). The 5-door version of Ingolstadt’s then-fresh contender went right at the top of the premium hatch class, offering an assortment of sprightly powerplants, a high-quality interior and oodles of badge appeal.

Of course, considering they shared much of their running gear, you could make the argument the closely related Volkswagen Golf 7 represented better value than its Audi-badged cousin. But the A3 was certainly the more desirable of the 2, boasting arguably sharper exterior styling, a slightly more upmarket (yet still suitably robust) cabin and the sonorous 5-cylinder RS3 Sportback at the summit of the range.

In pre-facelift form, Audi’s RS3 Sportback delivered 270 kW.

Though the A3 line-up included as many as four body styles (we’ll touch on all of them below), we’ve narrowed the focus in this buyer’s guide to the most popular: the 5-door Sportback. For the record, while the 3-door hatchback and cabriolet soldiered on locally after the Mk3 model’s mid-cycle refresh in 2016, they were eventually quietly put out to pasture owing to comparatively slow sales.

Audi A3 model line-up

The third-generation A3 made its first appearance in 3-door form.

Revealed in 3-door guise at the 2012 Geneva International Motor Show, the third-generation A3 was the first Volkswagen Group product to use the now-familiar MQB platform (yes, beating the Golf 7 to the punch). Internally known as the Typ 8V, the A3 later won the 2014 World Car of the Year award, edging out the likewise third-gen Mazda3 and the original BMW 4 Series.

It was available in 3-door hatch, 5-door Sportback, 4-door Sedan and 2-door Cabriolet forms, with most of the cooking variants featuring front-wheel drive. Only select higher-powered derivatives as well as the S- and RS-badged versions offered Audi’s quattro all-wheel-drive system as standard.

The Sportback offered two extra doors and added practicality.

The 3-door version hit the South African market in November 2012, with the 5-door Sportback following a year later. At the launch of the latter, four variants were available (with the base 77 kW 1.2T FSI S plus top-spec 1.8T FSI S tronic SE and 1.8T FSI quattro S tronic arriving a few months later):

• 1.4T FSI S (90 kW/200 Nm) 6-speed manual
• 1.4T FSI S tronic S (90 kW/200 Nm) 7-speed dual-clutch
• 1.6 TDI S tronic S (77 kW/250 Nm) 7-speed dual-clutch
• 1.8T FSI SE (132 kW/250 Nm) 6-speed manual

In pre-facelift guise, the S3’s turbocharged 4-pot generated 206 kW.

The quattro-endowed S3 hatch touched down in South Africa in October 2013, boasting 206 kW and 380 Nm courtesy of a slightly detuned (thanks to the Republic’s classification as a “hot climate” market) 2.0T FSI engine. The S3 Sportback arrived a little while thereafter, but was interestingly available only in 6-speed dual-clutch guise, whereas the 3-door was initially offered in 6-speed manual form, too.

The A3 Sedan made local landfall as the curtains came down in 2013, with the S3 Sedan and A3 Cabriolet joining the burgeoning range in May 2014 (and the S3 Cabriolet following a while later). Fans of Audi’s famous 5-cylinder engine were forced to wait until the end of 2015 for the RS3 Sportback to rocket into the country. As the apex derivative, the RS3 Sportback’s turbocharged 2.5-litre engine delivered 270 kW and 465 Nm to all four wheels through a 7-speed twin-clutch transmission.

A refresh for the Audi A3 range late in 2016

The A3 range enjoyed a mid-cycle update in 2016.

By November 2016, the facelifted A3 line-up debuted locally, bringing subtle exterior styling changes, the option of the clever Audi Virtual Cockpit and fresh engines. The revamped powertrain line-up included the 1.0T FSI 3-cylinder unit (85 kW/200 Nm), the updated 1.4T FSI (110 kW/250 Nm), the oil-burning 2.0 TDI (105 kW/340 Nm) and the new 2.0T FSI (140 kW/320 Nm), with the latter furthermore ditching the old 6-speed dual-clutch cog-swapper in favour of a new 7-speed wet version. The refreshed S3 models also gained this latest twin-clutch gearbox, while Audi Sport’s 2.0T FSI was upgraded to the full peak outputs offered in overseas markets (228 kW and 400 Nm).

By August 2017, the very first RS3 Sedan arrived, with the updated RS3 Sportback following a few months thereafter. Both of these giant-slaying performance models drew their urge from a further fettled version of the 2.5T FSI 5-cylinder powerplant, which now delivered 294 kW and 480 Nm to all four corners via a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission. In the first half of 2019, the A3 range adopted Audi’s latest, somewhat confusing nomenclature (the A3 1.0T FSI, for example, became the A3 30 TFSI).

Product strengths

One of the best-quality facias in the segment, seen here in facelift form.

Fit and finish: The 3rd-gen A3 boasted best-in-class fit and finish virtually throughout its lifecycle, with its cabin offering sturdy build quality, an abundance of premium materials and enough insulation to keep refinement levels suitably lofty. Though the facia didn’t bear the most exciting design, it all felt very well constructed. Of course, that bodes well for today’s prospective buyers of used models.

Overall practicality: The A3 Sportback was the most versatile of all four body styles, delivering generous room for passengers as well as offering decent luggage capacity (plus impressive utility space with the rear bench folded down). The driver enjoyed a wonderfully ergonomic arrangement of switches and buttons, including an intuitive (but sadly since abandoned in favour of touchscreens) rotary controller to operate the MMI infotainment system.

Plenty of room to stretch out in the rear of the Sportback.

Broad powertrain range: The pre-facelift model was available with four engine choices – three turbopetrol and one turbodiesel – in addition to the high-performance units that powered the S3 and RS3. As outlined above, further options arriving with the mid-cycle refresh included a fuel-frugal 1.0-litre 3-pot and new turbocharged 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder units, the latter available in petrol and diesel flavours. In short, there was something to satisfy virtually every powertrain taste (up to 5 cylinders, of course).

Ride/handling balance: In this segment, buyers who valued dynamics above all else would have gone for BMW’s rear-wheel-drive F20-generation 1 Series (or F21, if they preferred three doors to five). However, the A3 certainly wasn’t a dud when the tarmac turned twisty, offering drivers predictable handling and accurate (if a little numb) steering. In addition, ride comfort levels were impressive, but bear in mind that variants with the S line package featured larger alloy wheels, lower-profile rubber and sports suspension. Though this still looks great today, there is a palpable trade-off in terms of comfort and road noise.

Product weaknesses

The S3’s 2.0T FSI was one of the engines prone to developing a leak from its water-pump housing.

Leaking water-pump housing: In some versions of the 3rd-gen A3, the water pump and thermostat are packaged in a plastic housing. Unfortunately, these are prone to early failure, quickly leading to what can become quite a substantial coolant leak (and, if left unchecked, potential overheating of the engine). This problem appears to pertain to the 1.8T FSI and 2.0T FSI engines, including the S3. It’s worth noting other models in the Volkswagen and Audi line-ups using these engines have had similar problems, too.

Clogged DPF: As is the case with most oil-burning engines, the diesel particulate filters (DPF) on the 1.6 TDI and 2.0 TDI are by no means immune to becoming clogged, particularly if the vehicle is primarily limited to short journeys. In addition, both of these engines use a timing belt rather than chain, so require changing at set intervals. Also, keep in mind the 2.0-litre version of the EA189 engine was at the centre of the Volkswagen Group’s Dieselgate scandal (though no action was taken here in South Africa).

Perhaps the only niggle in the A3’s cabin? A potentially creaky infotainment screen.

Creaking infotainment screen: The 3rd-gen A3 shipped with an electrically retractable infotainment screen that automatically popped up out of the fascia on ignition. We’ve heard of a few owners of early cars complaining of creaking noises during operation as well as the odd rattle over rough roads with the screen in position. Though not impossible to remedy, it’s worth looking out for during your test drive.

Haldex failure on early S3 models: Though Audi uses the quattro name on the S3, this variant employs a Haldex system – just like the closely related Volkswagen Golf R and many other all-paw hot hatches. The Haldex system effectively turns a front-wheel-drive platform into one with four driven wheels, courtesy of clever electronics and differentials. Some pre-facelift versions of the S3 suffered from Haldex pump failures, leading to a lack of drive to the rear axle. Keep in mind routine maintenance is required here.

What to pay?

The Sportback body style is the most common, though a number of sedans are available used, too.

Of all the used 3rd-gen A3s listed on Cars.co.za at the time of writing, the Sportback body style was easily the most common. In terms of engines, the most popular was the 1.4T FSI (accounting for 37% of all listings), followed by the 1.0T FSI (making up 25%) and the 1.8T FSI (15%). The two turbodiesel units were in relatively short supply, as was the 2.0T FSI. Just 11% of all listings featured a manual gearbox. 

Since the A3 was available with a wide selection of optional extras, make sure you’re comparing apples with apples if you find yourself trying to choose between two or more vehicles. As always, give preference to models with full service history (the A3 shipped standard with a 5-year/100 000 km Audi Freeway Plan, the balance of which might still apply on newer vehicles).

• Below R200 000: As you’d expect, the handful of examples priced at less than R200 000 were all early model-year cars, most featuring quite high mileage (a good few on the wrong side of 200 000 km, in fact). That said, there were also a couple of base-spec sedans using the later 1.0-litre engine.
• From R200 000 to R350 000: It’s in this price bracket we found the overwhelming majority of 3rd-gen A3 stock. We eyed everything from early saloons with the 1.8T FSI engine and a small selection of convertibles to post-facelift Sportbacks employing the above-mentioned 3-cylinder mill.
• From R350 000 to R500 000: Though there was a little less choice between these pricing bookends, this is where we found many two- and three-year-old basic models, along with earlier versions of the S3 in both hatchback and sedan guise.
• R500 000 and up: What about above half a million? Well, unsurprisingly, here we discovered low-mileage, post-facelift S3s as well as some RS3 examples (some priced well above R800 000). Interestingly, however, there were even some highly specced 2-year-old 1.0 TFSI derivatives.

Pick of the range?

A facelifted A3 Sportback with the updated 1.4T FSI powertrain is our pick.

While you’d be best placed to decide on the required body style, we’d suggest the 1.4T FSI engine is the pick of the available powertrains in the 3rd-gen Audi A3, particularly in post-facelift form. This version of the turbocharged 4-cylinder unit generates 110 kW and 250 Nm, peak outputs that are today still more than sufficient for most applications. It also boasts Audi’s cylinder-on-demand technology, deactivating two cylinders under light loads for further fuel savings. Note this isn’t the problematic “twin-charged” engine used by the likes of the Golf 6, pre-facelift Polo 5 GTI and original A1.

Regardless of your chosen engine, plumping for a facelifted model makes a fair bit of sense – should your budget allow, that is. After all, with its mid-cycle update, the A3 gained more standard kit as well as options such as the 12.3-inch Audi Virtual Cockpit (in addition to a range of more efficient powertrains). As mentioned earlier, however, be aware the S line package brings compromises to the ride quality.

What about the performance variants? Well, we’d suggest steering clear of the early S3 models and instead looking at updated 228 kW examples registered in late 2016 or thereafter (that way, you’d avoid the detuned engine and score the later, wet twin-clutch gearbox as well). The post-facelift RS3 Sportback, too, offers the full 294 kW power output, while those who prefer the 3-box body style are by default limited to this later version of the 5-cylinder engine.

Verdict

The updated version of the RS3 Sportback boasted a whopping 294 kW.

Sophisticated and classy, the Typ 8V version of the A3 was right at the top of its class. Thus, alternatives are today largely limited to contenders from fellow premium brands (though, again, there’s an argument to be made for the related Volkswagen Golf and perhaps even the third-generation Mazda3, should you harbour a distinct distrust of forced induction).

The BMW 1 Series of the era offers purer driving dynamics thanks to its rear-wheel-drive configuration, though the A3 has its number in virtually all other departments. The Audi is also significantly better to drive (and rides with far more finesse) than the underwhelming W176-generation Mercedes-Benz A-Class, and offers more interior room and refinement, too. The Volvo V40, meanwhile, is a solid if somewhat left-field (read: often overlooked) alternative.

When it comes to the performance variants, the S3 and particularly the RS3 offer ballistic pace but lack the sort of driver engagement that defined the pre-facelift F20 BMW M135i (with its N55 inline-6) and post-facelift M140i (which upgraded to the B58 inline-6). Still, there’s plenty to be said for the Audi’s hyper-hatch pace, limpet-like cornering ability and that iconic 5-cylinder soundtrack, along with plenty of everyday practicality. And, in the right hands, the RS3 will keep up with far more expensive machinery.

But let’s wrap things up by getting back to the standard model. During most of its time on the new-vehicle market, the 3rd-gen Audi A3 offered the best overall package, that catered to a wide variety of needs. That remains wholly true today. Scoop up a fastidiously maintained example – perhaps even one with a bit of Audi Freeway Plan remaining – and you’ll have a premium hatch (or sedan) that is capable of matching far newer models in areas such as in-traffic punch, open-road refinement and cabin quality.

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