Audi A3 Sportback long term test: report 4
The A3 has long set the benchmark for premium family hatchbacks, and now there's an all-new version on sale. We have four months to find out if it retains its crown...
The car Audi A3 Sportback 35 TFSI 150 S line Run by Claire Evans, consumer editor
Why it’s here So we can find out if the new A3 Sportback continues to possess the winning ways of its predecessor
Needs to Be brawny enough for long, high-speed journeys, practical enough for a family of five at the weekends and economical enough not to dent our finances
Mileage 3386 List price £28,205 Target Price £26,705 Price as tested £30,830 Test economy 46.4mpg Official economy 45.6mpg
21 November 2020 – Houston, we have a problem...
As the nights started to draw in earlier this month, I had the chance to test out the Audi A3’s Matrix LED headlights. They're a fairly pricey option at £675, but they’re intended to stop the car from dazzling oncoming vehicles.
The headlights are linked to a forward-facing camera that relays information on vehicles and people to the light control unit, which automatically un-lights small areas of the main beam while leaving the rest of the road and pavement ahead lit up.
They’re not as high tech as the digital Matrix LEDS on Audi's e-Tron models, but they give me better visibility on the unlit country lanes around my home than conventional low and high beam headlights.
Unfortunately, my enjoyment of the Audi A3 has been rather cut short for the past two weeks, though, because something appears to be draining its battery. The first incident was the morning after I’d done a quick trip to local shops in the dark and in pouring rain. I jumped in the car, pressed the start button and instead of the gentle purr of the engine kicking into life, the brake pedal sprang up and down and the dash bombarded me with a series of fault errors, including warnings that the engine and brakes weren’t working.
I guessed that the battery had gone flat after my short, energy intense drive the night before. So, not having another car to hand from which to jump start the A3, I decided to call out the AA. A patrol arrived in just over 30 minutes, swiftly got it started and wiped most of the error messages off the dash. I took the car for a 20-minute drive with as many battery-draining systems as possible turned off, then parked it up, assuming all would be well.
However, when I next went to start it two days later, the battery was flat as a pancake again. As I needed to take the car to an Audi dealership to investigate the yellow airbag warning light that had come on when the battery first went flat, I thought they could see if something was draining the battery at the same time.
I was unpleasantly surprised to hear that they couldn't look at the car for almost three weeks, although I suspect this is due to extra demand of people getting cars serviced and MOTd after the first Covid-19 lockdown.
So, for now I’m mostly driving my 25-year-old Mazda Eunos, which starts every time I need it to.
I’ve also bought myself a lithium car battery booster jump starter that I can clip onto the A3’s battery to charge it up without needing to connect it to another vehicle. This means I can still use the A3 if I need to, and that I’ll have a way of replenishing its battery if it goes flat again wherever I am.
I’ve used the booster to start the Audi A3 twice now, and then taken the car for a long drive to recharge the battery. Although it retained its charge for 24 hours each time, it’s become completely depleted after 36 hours, so I’m pretty certain something is slowly draining it.
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