Meet the Audi A3 in S-Line trim, finished in a ballistic metallic grey. This is the kind of car that reminds you just how good a “small” sedan can look. Crisp, purposeful, and just the right amount of attitude without trying too hard.
A recent run through Du Toitskloof Pass only reinforced that point. It’s one of those roads that does half the work for you — sweeping bends, dramatic elevation changes, and views that demand a pause you’ll pretend is for photography, not admiration. The A3, though, was fully up to the task.
With 110kW and 250Nm on tap and a 0–100kph time of 8.2 seconds, it’s not here to rewrite performance benchmarks. But that’s not the brief. The engine feels eager enough, the chassis composed, and the whole package remains genuinely engaging. You find yourself leaning into corners just a little more than necessary, just because you can. The helm is an electromechanical affair but feels solid, delivers feedback from the front wheels with typical Audi levels of granularity and helps make the small pot of power here, feel like a bucket.
The Tiptronic auto deserves a mention too — smooth when you want it, responsive when you need it, and perfectly suited to a road like this where rhythm matters more than outright speed.
And yet, while you’re enjoying all of this, there’s a lingering thought. The A3 is so good, so complete, that it quietly raises an awkward question about the Audi A4. Much like the Audi A5 Sedan, it feels like another polite, well-engineered nail in that particular coffin. I’ve always thought of Audi’s once extensive list of sedans as selecting a similar machine in small, medium, large and extra large dimensions, but in the A3 you get levity in spades and that’s a boon here. Overall, it’s a pleasant compact limo that is as much fun behind the wheel as it is to look at, and I like looking it. It’s a handsome one. But look, the cold dose of reality here is the fact that the price entry here is around R850k – and depending on what sort of prefix you’d like to add, well – the RS3 will set you back a cool million and a half. But that’s a very different animal. And a conversation for a different day.