Audi’s A3 review: We test drove the new Audi A3 and found it hard to fault - despite a bumpy ride

The models have had a major refresh this year as they go head to head in the UK Top Ten with the equally impressive class rival from BMW, the 1-Series - currently ninth.

Audi is one of many carmakers shaking up plans for the second half of the decade. Ford said in April that slow sales of battery cars was causing it to switch to hybrids.

Jaguar has stopped making its saloons and the F-Type sports car. By the end of the year production of almost all its cars including the electric I-Pace will have ended.

This leaves its F-Pace SUV to soldier on until its range of electric cars goes on sale next year. They will need to be very good

It is not just the wobbles over electrification which carmakers are wrangling with.

Audi, the best-selling premium brand in the Volkswagen Group, is even wondering whether to stop making saloon cars as the buyer moves towards the practicality of the five-door body shape, the Sportback in Audi’s lexicon. It will take four in five A3 sales.

That would be my pick, too. Go anywhere and you’ll see SUVs, hatchbacks and racier coupe lift-backs. There’s no loading application that they can’t do better than a saloon does.

Carrying bikes, prams, luggage or rubbish for the tip are all made easier through a wide rear door. Audi's electric version of the A6 will be sold only as a Sportback or an Avant estate.

Enter the A3 saloon, smarter and sleeker than the Sportback and with a more balanced aesthetic profile. It carries the bulbous and rather prominent new face better than the Sportback.

This small saloon - think of a VW Golf with a boot for size comparison - has a more formal, business-like image. Its new clothes, with flared bodywork and that frameless grille at the front, sit well with the S3 and RS3 performance versions.

There is also a high-torque diesel model promising rapid real-life driving and up to 59 miles a gallon.

That would be my pick. Tested here is the current price entry A3 saloon, the 148bhp 35 TSI petrol turbo automatic from £32,035 in the Sportback and £32,600 for the saloon, both in Sport specification which means plenty of kit, sensible 17-inch alloys.

The popular S-Line, from £34,315 goes on to 18-inch wheels, sports suspension, twin leather front sports seats and cosmetic detailing.

We were sent the Black Edition, from £36,015, which as the name implies has lots of black including the grille and 3D Audi rings and interior decor.

There is a white LED puddle light beam and Audi Sport 19-inch alloys with 235/35 tyres - Goodyear Eagle F1 on the factory Press demo car.

I’ll get this wheel/tyre/suspension combination out of the way now. The ride comfort was very hard over bumps and there was excessive tyre noise.

Those wanting a more cosseting experience and a few more miles a gallon should look at the Sport model on 17s and deeper tyre walls and forgo some dynamic handling and car-spotter adulation at the Camshaft Arms, which incidentally has yet to install an EV charger.

As for the rest, it is hard for me to fault. Oh, apart from an intermittent warning about some malfunction which occurred when starting up on a couple of occasions then went when I’d switched it off and on again.

This is not an all-new A3 but a mid-life refresh, holding the fort against that BMW, and the Mercedes-Benz A-Class which Audi’s promotional material selects as a comparison.

There is a new centre console with wider air vents. Cabin width at 55 inches remains the same: roomy enough, as are the rear seats with a central arm rest, door pockets but no pouches for maps etc which is skimping things.

Revised standard equipment includes a virtual digital cockpit with an integrated 10.1-inch touch display, navigation, traffic sign reading, app store and smartphone interface, wireless charging, heated front seats with electric lumbar support, three-zone climate control, front and rear parking sensors with parking help.

The cruise control and speed limiter selector is on a stalk behind the steering wheel — out of sight and not as easy to use as buttons on the steering wheel. Full marks though for the selection of physical switches for heating and for the clarity of the screen displays and mapping.

The small four cylinder engine is a lovely, quiet responsive thing, helped to be sure by its mild hybrid electrical assistance which smooths, supports and enriches things through a seven-speed sequential automatic gearbox to the front wheels.

I can’t find any sensible reason to promote the S and RS models. Excessive power is unusable or hazardous in the wrong hands on public roads and door-to-door is not much quicker.

The 0-60mph time is inside eight-seconds and up to legal speeds there is more than adequate acceleration for everyday driving.

Audi’s combined rating of 50.4mpg was matched on some drives but usually it was averaging 47mpg which is happy motoring. Even a 10-mile urban trip showed 40mpg. Maybe I wouldn’t choose the diesel engine after all.

Audi A3 35 TFSI saloon Black Edition: From £38,670; 1.5-litre turbo petrol engine; 148bhp; Torque 184lb/ft; Seven-speed automatic; Top speed 144mph; 0-62mph 8.1 seconds; 50.4 mpg (matched in testing); 11 gallons tank; CO 2 emissions 127g/km; 177 inches long; Braked towing limit 1700kg; audi.co.uk