2014 Audi A3 Cabriolet 40TFSi review : Bare Charm

Interiors & Features

Step inside and its familiar A3 territory here. The dashboard design is simple and elegant, with a smart aluminum trim running across it. The center console is angled towards the driver, while Jet turbine design inspired air vents break the monotony and the swath of black, soft touch plastic. That said, majority of the interior comprises of the aforementioned material. Back to the dashboard or specifically the center console, where a button bank is integrated into the aluminum strip with a slew of blanks – only three of them buttons are for real.

Below the row of buttons lie the well-made, tactile rotary control knobs for the dual zone climate control which are followed by a 12v power outlet beneath. Two large cup-holders take up the space below and are bounded by the Audi MMI controls, followed by the drive selector lever.

The MMI controls are beautifully put together and a comprise of a scroll wheel, four buttons around it that correspond to the main zone of the MMI interface, apart from a couple of metal, rocker buttons for multimedia and navigation. The wheel also acts as a touchpad, via which the search phonebook, navigation and radio functions can be accessed – it is also one of the best in business and recognized almost whatever our fingers threw at it.

The front seats are extremely comfortable and supportive, but a glaring omission has to be the lack of power buttons for them. Instead, they’re 14 way manually adjustable. The A3 Cabriolet is a genuine 4 seat convertible – which means a couple of usable seats at the back, ingress to which is fairly simple via flattening down the front seat back.

Leg room at the back is decent, with just about an inch to spare before your knees mash with the front seat backs – don’t expect to spend a lot of time here though, once the charm of open top motoring washes away for the day. The rear seat also has a 50:50 split and a couple of outboard seatbelts.

The A3 Cabriolet gets 320 liters of boot space with the roof closed, as compared to 425 liters on the A3 sedan – and, according to Audi, that’s ‘generous space’ for four passengers.

There is a central, foldable arm rest between the front seats, which also reveals a small storage bin inside with a charge-only USB port and also hosts the Audi Music Interface, which lets one connect iPods (4th generation onwards) and iPhones as well as USB storage media and MP3 players. It can be operated by using the MMI control panel or the multi-function steering wheel. Build quality is tank like throughout, while the soft touch plastics feel great to the fingertips.

The steering is fairly large and has four prominent spokes, but the party trick has to be the high-resolution 7-inch color display which electrically pops out from the dashboard, and is otherwise hidden to maintain cleanliness of the lines.

The HDD-based MMI Satellite Navigation Plus feature displays a high-quality representation of the navigation map as a 3D ground model with topographical map colouring, display of many sites and city models in 3D, choice of 3 alternative routes provided, detailed junction map and lane recommendations, dynamic route guidance (where available). The Technology Pack also adds flash memory for music (10GB), MP3, WMA, AAC and MPEG4-capable DVD player which can also be used for music and video DVDs, 2 SDXC card readers (for up to 2TB).

Instrumentation is also basic, yet clearly legible with a twin pod setup. Nestled between the pods is a 3.5” colour display called the Driver’s Information System. The DIS shows the radio frequency/station or track title, telephone control menu and other display information from the infotainment system such as navigation (if fitted). It also includes an on-board trip computer with short and long-term trip memory, outside temperature display, digital speedometer and door or boot-open warning. Finally, the included rest recommendation system monitors steering movements and pedal usage and warns the driver when a rest might be required.

Summing it up

The Audi A3 Cabriolet stays true to its brief by being beautifully built, well engineered, stylish and delivering unadulterated, open-top driving enjoyment. The steering might come across as a little vague when it is feedback that you crave for, and blunt the model’s appeal to the enthusiast driver, but otherwise there is little to fault with the compact convertible. And if we were really to nitpick, it has to be the lack of powered front seats. The A3 Cabriolet is the more romantic, more adventurous alter ego of the A3 sedan, but still imbibes the pragmatic and steadfast nature of the latter.

What’s it worth?

At INR 44.75 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), the Audi A3 Cabriolet makes a pretty compelling case for itself, as it has no immediate competitors. The Mini Cooper Convertible retails for a shade over INR 36 lakh (ex-Delhi), but, technically, belongs to a segment very different than the Audi, whereas on the other end of the spectrum lies the newly launched Mercedes-Benz E400 Cabriolet, which retails for a stratospheric INR 78.50 lakh (ex-Delhi). So if it’s pure, wind-in-your-hair motoring you’re looking at, and the retro-themed Mini just doesn’t cut it for you, the Audi A3 Cabriolet is the one to bet on.