Audi A sedan India

Audi A3 35 TDI (2.0 TDI) Sedan India Review: Compact Cult 

Audi A3 sedan India (30)
There are certain car models which feel just right for our market. More than delivering raw thrills, these car models have their basics sorted for our complicated tastes. And there’s hardly a way for these nameplates to not be a hit unless their respective makers screw up with the pricing. The Audi A3 is one such car. From the very moment you look at it, to the time you get off after half a day’s drive – you get every possible vibe that this product, sure as hell, would work in India. Sharp and sexy to look at, opulent on the inside and great to drive – the A3 has all what it takes to make the top honchos at the other two premium German brands lose their sleep. Let’s delve deeper into what makes us so appreciative of this promising new compact sedan, which also happens to be the World Car of the Year 2014.

Design and appearance

Audi A3 India review red (7)

The A3 is a sharp, sportily styled machine. For the entry level segment that this perky new machine represents, it offers some real excitement. It looks special and premium in a surprisingly uncompromised way. I had my apprehensions when they played up their ‘no-compromises’ theory for the A3 via their Doberhuahua campaign some months back (Find the video here), but checking this thing out in the flesh put all my reservations to rest.

Audi A3 India review red (14)
We had the 2.0 TDI diesel variant available to be tested during our drive on the Udaipur – Mount Abu highway and back, the variant is now termed 35 TDI, and here’s why. Audi has changed the nomenclature for its model variants with the A3 and unlike the badges that represented engine capacities till now, the newer cars will be named based on their performance. The 2.0 TDi engine powered car, for example, with a claimed 0-100km/h sprint time of 8.6 seconds, and a top speed of 224km/h is termed as the 35 TDI under the new performance based naming system. The 1.8 TFSI petrol powered car, which is quicker to the 100kmph mark with a time of 7.3 seconds and has a higher top speed of 235 km/h is called the 40 TFSI. In essence, the better the performance of the car, the bigger number it gets badged with under the new arrangement.

Audi A3 sedan India white (9)

Talking design, there’s plenty of detail to be witnessed on that striking fascia. The edgy headlamps taper inwards sharply and feature black surrounds for a contrasting effect. Within the big, bold Singleframe Audi grille you have 7 horizontal and 6 vertical bars filling up the area. The Audi emblem, which itself has 5 horizontals louvers inside, is held in place by the top two horizontal slats.

Audi A3 sedan India (29)

The lower part of the bumper has a unique central air dam, if you can call a narrow slit that. The slot narrows down further towards its ends. Flanking the A3’s grille at the lower end are faux intakes with aggressively styled fins and a vertical real air intake towards their outer edge. The bonnet has two creases emanating from the windscreen and culminating into the small area between the headlamps and the grille.

All those elements, coming together, lend the distinctive A3 face a lot of dynamism. It’s redolent of youth and passion, and has an effervescent aura about it. However, if I had to pick the one thing I would alter about the car’s face, it would be its bonnet, which in my opinion could have been even more sculpted and sharper. In its current form, it’s a wee bit globular.

Audi A3 India review red (13)

An extremely prominent beltline, termed ‘Tornado Line’ by Audi, defines the profile of the A3. Offering muscle and athleticism to the car’s sides, this line is complimented by another lower character line spanning across the two doors. The wheel arches have their flared part pinched into the straight cut towards the wheels. Big 17 inch five spoke wheels suit the sharp styling of the car well, and so do the angular ORVM’s which quite honestly look fabulous when looked at from the mirror side.

Audi A3 India review red (16)

The Tornado Line on the Audi A3 wraps the car’s rear as well. It extends itself into the integrated spoiler of the car, below which you have the Audi logo. The registration plate recess is quite pronounced. The tail-lamps have dark, contrasting edges, blending well with the shadow effect created by the deep recess. The tail-lamps by themselves are extremely well designed. The two piece lamp on our test car had a part of it on the boot area in a sharp, triangular shape while the outer wraparound part is trapezoidal. With brakes applied, the outer part emanates a deep yellow light, while the inner portion lights up in a deep red hue, creating a captivating effect. The lighting pattern for the tail-lamp of another variant is different though, as we observed through the stock images.

Audi A3 India review red (12)

The bumper has horizontal lines to underline the width of the car, complimented by two slim, wide reflectors on its flanks. Twin chrome plated exhaust mufflers add immensely to the sporty appeal of the car at the rear. The blacked out under-cladding also helps enhance the sporty image.

Audi A3 35 TDI India review Audi A3 sedan India white (5)

There are a few things that one needs to keep in mind while forming an opinion about the 35D variant though. The variants and features for diesel and petrol versions have not been announced officially by Audi yet. We still don’t have absolute clarity on the differences (if any) between the petrol and diesel versions, as our test car did not have a few key features. The diesel version doesn’t get the sharp front LED DRLs of the 1.8 TFSI variant. The styling of the fog lamp housings is different on the two variants, and fog lamps by themselves are not available on the diesel version.

Next page for Engine, Transmission and Performance>>>

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top