The Updated Audi A3 Starts At £32,035

We’ve had the updated Volkswagen Golf. We’ve had the updated Skoda Octavia. Now, inevitably, is the updated Audi A3, the posh option for those after a small family car from the Volkswagen Group empire.

Arriving four years into the lifespan of the fourth-generation A3, the facelifted car has undergone a nip and tuck at both ends, with some smoother, sportier bumpers. That said, you’ll have to be a massive A3 geek to spot the difference between old and new without them being side by side. One easy way to tell is if it’s finished in the new shades of District Green, Ascari Blue or Progressive Red.

Borrowing a slightly gimmicky party piece from some of the bigger Audis, the A3 now has the option of four selectable lighting signatures for the daytime running lights, formed out of 24 pixel elements within the light housing. “The signatures interpret confidence and agility in different ways,” says Cesar Muntada, Audi’s head of Design Light Experience, which is genuinely a real job title that somebody has.

The interior too has been given an overhaul, although again there’s nothing radical going on. There didn’t really need to be – this is something the A3’s always been good at, and a few new materials and lighting tweaks are all it really needed to stay fresh. It retains Audi’s Virtual Cockpit digital instrument cluster as well as a 10.1-inch display for the MMI infotainment system. Surprisingly, there’s no mention of the inclusion of ChatGPT AI assistance, something that VW and Skoda have made a big song and dance about in their mid-size hatches.

The A3 remains available as a five-door Sportback hatch and four-door saloon, but the biggest news for this update is the introduction of the crossover-ish A3 Allstreet. This revives the spirit of Audi’s much-missed Allroad lifted estates, with a 15mm ride height lift and some rufty-tufty plastic cladding. The UK, however, misses out on this version, which will be limited to left-hand drive markets.

The updated A3 launches in the UK with front-wheel drive only. Initial engine options are a pair of four-cylinders: the 35 TFSI, a 1.5-litre mild-hybrid petrol, or the 35 TDI, a 2.0-litre diesel, both making an identical 148bhp. For now, the A3 is only available with a seven-speed S Tronic dual-clutch auto, although the petrol will soon get a six-speed manual option. The updated S3, meanwhile, now makes 333bhp – you can find a full run-down on it here. There's no word yet on whether the rorty five-cylinder RS3 will be returning – we sincerely hope so, though.

UK pricing will be confirmed when orders open in April, but in Germany, the petrol A3 Sportback starts at €35,650 (approx. £30,500), rising to €36,450 (approx. £31,200) for a saloon and €37,450 (approx. £32,000) for the jacked up Allstreet.