Audi A3 Sportback long-term test: report 6

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 3721 List price £28,205 Target Price £26,569 Price as tested £30,830 Test economy 44.8mpg 

7 January 2021 – The little things that make a big difference 

Having recently tried out a close relative of my car, the new Seat Leon, I’m pleased to report that the active safety systems on my Audi A3 are far less intrusive than those on its Spanish cousin. 

I live on a fairly narrow road with no centre markings but white lines on either edge of the Tarmac. The A3's lane-keeping assistance system occasionally nudges the car towards the middle of the road, but the Leon does so almost continuously, to the point where I feel like I’m fighting with it non-stop as I drive. 

Both cars have an annoying tendency to occasionally flash up a warning telling me to take back control of the steering wheel when I haven’t let go of it in the first place. However, the A3 doesn’t give me any other advice, unlike the bossy Leon, which also regularly tells me to take my foot off the accelerator pedal as I’m approaching a junction in a bid to help me drive more economically. 

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