Until Audi’s new corporate grille is applied to the rest of the A3 range next year, it won’t be difficult to spot a Sportback. The new frontal styling – previewed on the Nuvolari concept and first seen on the A8 W12 – gives the Sportback plenty of presence. That’s either good or bad depending on whether or not you favour the bold new look or value Audi’s previous restrained design elegance. An extra pair of doors, a third pane of side glass and an additional 63mm of rear overhang complete the exterior changes.
The Sportback is a curious mix of five-door hatch and estate. It is not long enough to be an estate, yet the extra side window and length in the rear make it look too long for a regular hatch. As the wheelbase remains unchanged, the only tangible benefit to this revised metalwork is an extra 20 litres of boot volume over the three-door, taking the tally up to 370 litres.
The Sportback carries over the drivetrains and chassis from the three-door A3. That means a platform with all the handling advantages of a multi-link rear axle and a wide range of powerplants: a 1.6-litre four-cylinder petrol base model, direct-injection 1.6- and 2.0-litre FSI units, a turbocharged 2.0-litre FSI (available only in the Sportback) and a 3.2-litre V6 range-topper. Two diesel engines are offered: the venerable 1.9-litre TDi and the newer 2.0-litre variant tested here.