Audi A3 Hatchback (03 on) - Review

Standard Audi A3 accessories include alloy wheels, cloth seat trim, folding rear seats, front electric windows, height and reach steering wheel adjustment, heated mirrors, stability control and passengers, side and driver’s airbag. SE models get a CD player, space saver spare wheel and air-con. Sport versions get climate control front fog lights and sports seats added on top. Top-of-the-range S Line cars get additional comforts such as partial leather seat trim. There’s lots of safety kit and plenty of subliminal luxury (like soundproofing), but despite the high price, there aren’t as many gadgets to play with on-board as you’d expect for your money. This means the temptation to tick for extra kit can make the Audi A3 much more expensive. As well as the usual options like bigger alloy wheels and differing grades of leather interior, the Audi A3 can also be fitted with heated front and rear seats, luggage nets, rear parking sensors, cruise control and sat-nav with Audi Music Interface. Options like the rear parking sensors and sat-nav will be beneficial when it comes to selling the car on, but don’t get carried away with aesthetic additions like walnut inlays will soon start to add up and become expensive while doing little to add value to the car. Some accessories, such as the Audi Magnetic Ride which alloys the driver to choose settings between Normal and Sport for the suspension set up, are only available on certain models. The magnetic ride system can only be fitted with the 140 and 170bhp 2.0-litre diesel model, diesel Quattro model and the 1.8-litre TFSI, 2.0-litre TFSI and the 2.0-litre TFSI Quattro versions. With a number of refresh and facelifts in its lifetime, it’s worth checking the year of the car as this could alter the standard kit on the car. Some of the earliest models, from 2003, for example came with tape cassettes rather than CD players. In 2008 all cars were fitted with electric front windows and air-con as standard. The trim levels are fairly similar throughout the different versions of the model with the Standard Trim being the basic model, follow by SE, then Sport, and finally the S Line specification - the range-topping car.