Everything around us is growing in size. Smartphones, buildings, TV screens and yes, cars too. For some reason, every new car must have a larger footprint than its predecessor. The amount of space on Earth is finite. Therefore, eventually, you’re going to run out of room.

And let’s be honest, most urban commuters don’t require anything larger than a B-segment car 51 out of the 52 weeks in a year. Sure, the occasional need to carry a few more people or some extra luggage will arise but it’s not the end of the world, there are ways around it.

Having said that, for a moment it did seem like that put the Grim Reaper on alert for the premium compact sedan and that we’d be robbed of them moving forward. But alas, carmakers aren’t dumb and understood that the growing sedans would leave a gaping hole for something smaller to slot in and fill in the gap… and their wallets.

That’s brought forth a renaissance for the premium small sedan and the current trio of players in this segment all carry the spiritual DNA of their siblings that got carried away at the buffet.

With Mercedes-Benz overinflating their C-Class and BMW unable to keep the 3 Series away from second helpings, that’s birthed the A-Class Sedan and the hideous 2 Series Gran Coupe.

However, it’s today’s subject matter that reignited the premium compact sedan flame after the Audi A4 tried to keep pace with the former duo, the Audi A3 Sedan 2.0 TFSI S Line.

What is it?

As the smallest sedan Audi sells, it’s a premium, sporty/muscular looking compact sedan with very traditional 3-box proportions. Against the faux coupe rooflines of the A-Class Sedan and 2 Series GC, the A3 invokes nostalgia of what a proper sedan should look like.

All the ingredients of a premium compact sedan are accounted for; sleek looks, a high-tech cabin, punchy drivetrain, sips fuel and brilliant handling.

Exterior

The Audi Singleframe isn’t for everyone. We know that, and yes, we also recognise that since its now protruding, it looks even more a snarling Predator from the movie franchise.

And no, the capital ‘S’ wasn’t a mistake because Ingolstadt trademarked the name to prevent the competition from using it. Nonetheless, Audi were the first to merge the upper and lower grille into one, evolving it into an identity for the marque and that’s something that we can respect.

From a design standpoint, we’re big fans of it. Perhaps the traditional 3-box shape has courted favouritism from us and you can’t deny in a sea of sloping greenhouses, the A3 Sedan does stand out.

On the other hand, it’s also difficult to ignore the overused hexagonal grilles everywhere but over time, the design grew on use, Stockholm Syndrome or not. You’ll understand the Audi design signature that’s all over the place.

If one of Audi’s current designers had to pen a modern interpretation of the A4 from the 90s, he would have inadvertently designed the A3.

Plus, in Mythos Black, it invoked shades of the Transporter movies, allowing you the persona of Frank Martin for a split second as you walked up to it and all the exterior LED lights wake up.

Also Read: Audi A3 Sedan S Line and Q2 S Line gets Audi Assurance Package as standard, 5 year warranty and 3 years free servicing

If we had to nitpick, we’d chastise the local product manager for those 17-inch wheels. Coated in the S Line exterior, there’s a reason this A3 looks a lot more menacing and muscular but those puny rollers make it look extremely undertyred, like a body builder that skipped leg day. Every single one of its peers rides on 18-inch pieces.

Interior

Audi interiors have always been a minimalist cohabitation of tech, luxury and of course, comfort. The A3 is no different.

Call us old fashioned but the black-on-black interior is something we’ve lusted after for a long time. For a moment, it was feared that it went the way of the compact sedan but Audi have brought it back and it looks suave.

The driver’s blessed with a near perfect seating position in the quilted Nappa leather sport seats, power adjustable with lumbar for the driver. The pair are supportive and won’t leave you needing a good stretch after a long drive. Comfort is the operative word here and all occupants are guaranteed it.

Storage or cubby holes aren’t aplenty but you shouldn’t actually run of space to store stuff. Many have also crucified the A3 for the acreage of hard plastics. We won’t deny it but in its defence, against the aforementioned black-on-black colour scheme, the hard plastics blend in seamlessly with the faux aluminium trim.

On the actual tech aspect, there’s a digital instrument cluster and a 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system. It’s got the MMI Navigation plus with MMI touch, Audi connect, Audi smartphone interface and Audi sound system but it’s best to ignore all that and just forget you read the previous line. Instead, Android Auto or Apple CarPlay was always going to be the default smartphone connection anyways.

Furthermore, while the toggle switches for the air-conditioning, driving modes and parking assistants were cursed with the same hard plastics, the design and usability more than offset the bargain tactile feel.

Along the lines of its Volkswagen family members, the A3 has also adopted the stubby gear shifter that nobody really asked for. It’s hard to like it but we fear it won’t be going away anytime soon.

Powertrain

This is where the A3 truly shines. Among the competition, it’s on the more powerful end of the spectrum and combined with the superior chassis, makes it an enjoyable drive.

Power comes from a punchy 2.0-litre TFSI inline-4 engine making 190 PS and 320 Nm of torque. All that goes to the front wheels via a proven and refined 7-speed S Tronic box, or Audi speak for a wet dual-clutch transmission. Paddle shifters? Of course.

Though it loses out to the Mercedes-Benz A250 Sedan on paper, it never felt like it on the road. It’ll toss the century sprint in 7.3-second and max out at 240 kph, of which we’ll cheekily admit coming close to confirming a couple of times.

Even with the heavy foot, the A3 returned an impressive 9.3 l/100 km. Highway driving was the majority of it but never for a second were we taking it easy with the throttle, so real world fuel figures do garner a nod from us.

Driving impression

Here, the A3 swiftly pulls away from the competition and leaves them in its wake. The chassis is playful and reactive with enough communication via the thin-spoked, large diameter flat-bottomed steering wheel that’s perfect to the grip.

Push it a little on the twisty roads and you’ll understand why it makes a strong case to have ‘sporty’ added into its generic description. Left-field Audi have perfected the front-drive sedan, even as their chief rivals went with rear-drive. Over the years, in anything but the flagship performance variants, you’d hardly disagree with Audi’s move to drive the front pair.

Eventually, the A-Class Sedan and 2 Series Gran Coupe arrived and rode on compact FWD platforms as well. That places the advantage firmly in Audi’s court given the extra time it’s had honing FWD sedans, and you can tell with the A3.

The engine is eager and pulls without running out of puff while the dual-clutch box is intuitive enough and rifles through the gears on demand.

Also Read: Review: 2023 Audi Q2 in Malaysia - Is it nuts to pay RM 275k? Perhaps there's more to it than just value

It rides pliantly, the suspension smoothening out most imperfections without fuss. That’s not something we can say about the A-Class Sedan and its comparatively jarring ride.

Pairing the perfect seating position and that steering wheel that fits your palm like a glove opens the door to the adept steering. It’s a little light in Comfort mode but you’ll always know what the fronts are up to. Flick the drive mode switch to Dynamic and it weighs up, delivering more feedback.

The A3 has managed to find dead centre of that fine line between a sedan and sportiness, remembering that it’s a sedan first and foremost, with the latter being a bonus that doesn’t overwhelm the former.

It isn’t without a flaw. That comes in the form of the Bridgestone Turanza T005 tyres and the deplorable din on anything but a perfect road surface. We all know how local roads are, so expect terrible road noise invading the cabin.

Conclusion

The A3 is a proper return to premium compact sedans, truly ahead of the curve. Less fussing about, more driving around.

“So, why don’t I see any on the road then? There’s plenty of A-Class Sedans and about as much of the 2 Series Gran Coupe as there are Myvis?”

Valid point you have there and this is where, unfortunately, the A3 is out of its depth. All that 4-ringed brilliance falls flat on its face due to the fact that every Audi sold here is fully imported (CBU), while the Merc and the BMW are assembled here (CKD).

CBU taxes and duties doesn’t just make it a bit pricier than the competition. That’s an understatement. The A3 goes for a staggering RM 327,000. To put it in perspective, the Merc is RM 238,888 while the BMW is a little less at RM 228,800.

Also Read: Audi Assurance Package enriches the ownership experience of the Audi A3 Sedan S Line and Q2 S Line

When the price difference is around the 6-figure mark for something that’s still entry-level into premium motoring, you’re probably going to lose interest instantly.

If you had the budget to buy an A3, you’ll probably also be aware that the larger BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class are in that price range. In fact, every variant of the 3er is cheaper than the Audi. Only the Merc C300 is a couple of thousand more.

It just doesn’t make sense. To sum it up, if we see someone driving an A3 on the road, we’d be just as impressed with his taste as we would be questioning his financial sense.