• Boot capacity matches rivals
• Good head and legroom, front and back
• Tight middle rear seat

How much space is there?

The Audi A3 is a roomy car, and our testers – who come in a variety of sizes – could get comfortable in both rows of seats. There’s pretty generous room all-round in the front, and both the seats have a good range of adjustment.

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Premium hatchbacks like the A3 tend not to be overendowed with rear seat space but, again, the A3 is pretty good in that regard. The backs of the front seats are sculpted out to create a bit of extra legroom, an effective measure as a passenger of six-feet tall can comfortably sit behind someone of the same height, if not exactly lounge. Elbow room improved in this generation of A3, though the middle back seat is still on the tight side, especially for feet. But that’s the norm in this sector.

Boot space and storage

Boot capacity in petrol and diesel A3s is 380 litres, matching the BMW 1 Series and bettering the Mercedes-Benz A-Class by 10 litres. Official figures only tell part of the story, though, and we found the A3’s boot is narrower and less useful than its rivals’ cargo bays. The low load lip, bag hooks on either side and 12-volt power go some way to compensate for that.

The boot floor is height-adjustable, as well. At the upper level, there’s useful extra storage space below; at the lower level the boot is several inches deeper, allowing taller items to be loaded in.

With the rear seats folded down, carrying capacity grows to 1,200 litres – big enough for the occasional Ikea shopping spree. In Sport models, the back seats split 60:40, the others have a 40:20:40 set-up.

The plug-in hybrid A3 has a smaller boot because it’s battery pack takes up some of the space. It has just 280 litres of capacity – a figure bettered by plenty of smaller superminis. Fold the back seats down and there’s 1,100 litres of space.

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Storage space is adequate throughout the rest of the cabin. All the door bins can hold a medium-size drinks bottle, there’s a useful glovebox and a small storage area under the central front armrest. Cupholders between the front seats double-up as additional storage and there’s plenty of space in the centre console for a smartphone.

Safety

• Full five-star Euro NCAP rating
• Assistance systems work well without being nannying
• Voice control standard on all models

The fourth-generation Audi A3 was awarded a full five-star rating by car safety body Euro NCAP when it was assessed in 2020, and that rating can be applied to the latest, facelifted version. Besides the car’s structure holding up well in a crash, it comes with lots of safety features including:

• Autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection
• Collision avoidance assist which can help steer round an obstacle
• Lane departure warning
• Lane keeping assist
• Traffic sign recognition
• Driver attention monitor

In our experience, the A3’s safety systems work pretty well, generally providing subtle hints and corrections rather than abrupt interventions you get in some other cars.

Isofix child seat mounts are found on the outer rear seats.

Watch the Euro NCAP crash test video