Audi A3 Sportback 1.6 FSI Sport

Advantages: A 5-door premium "mini-estate"
Disadvantages: Cost. It's really just a Golf, buy you pay for the badge...

..., especially as we opted for the rear parking radar. It beeps once when you put it in reverse, and if you're close to something behind, keeps beeping. The beeps get closer and closer together as you approach the other car, or tree, or wall, or whatever, and go continuous when it really is time to go no further. Very useful. 83mm longer than the "normal" 3 door A3 (itself 65mm longer in the wheelbase than its predecessor), the Sportback offers loads of space both in the front and back (I'm over 6 foot and have no problems sitting comfortably). The boot is a good size and shape with the seats in place (370 litres), and although the rear seats don't fold totally flat, the load area with them down is a exxellent size (1,120 litres). At the front, the Sportback has Audi's new love-it-or-hate-it large chrome radiator grille - I actually quite like... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Roomier than the traditional A3
Disadvantages: A little slow to pick up speed

...I chose this model for two main reasons the extra bootspace and the fact that it comes with 5 doors, unlike the traditional A3 model. Although the car is a little on the slow side at picking up speed when you pull away from traffic lights, it is an ideal car for motorway driving. I find that you have to be careful or you could easily get to over 100 miles per hour without realising, it is so smooth and really sits well on the road. The car is average in the fuel consumption stakes but that is out weighed by the drive quality that you would expect from Audi. This model has the advantage of coming with a CD player and alloy wheels, which the standard Audi A3 does not include. I recenctly had an accident in mine (not my fault) and was very impressed with the safety features, I hardly felt the impact as the car took it all. Overall the car... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Lovely lightweight sporty car with lots of passenger space.
Disadvantages: Can be prone to electrical faults.

...I had an 2002 A2 1.6 FSI Sport and I loved it. It's a distictive and stylish car - and with the curvy roof slightly taller than most small cars it's easy to spot in Sainsbury's car park! Also worth mentioning that for a small car, it's huge inside. The car is (was, A2s are no longer in production) sold as standard with 4 seats - although they do exist with 5 - and there is loads of room for 4 adults. Leg-room as well as height. Consequently the boot is tall rather than deep, but there's plenty of room for a big shop or a couple of cases. The high driving position gives lots of visibilty although beware that the front pillars are rather thick. The body of the car is made of aluminium which means that it's very lightweight and won't rust. Having had a couple of Audis over the years, I think it's worth mentioning that if you polish... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful