Audi A3 Cabriolet (2008-) Review

Overview

• Next: Reliability and Quality

We Brits love a drop-top. Second in Europe only to the Germans in sales of convertibles, the UK has seen a surge of car buyers opting for roof-down motoring in recent years. With new convertible versions of popular cars such as the Ford Focus and Vauxhall Astra, plus standalone cabrios like the Volkswagen Eos, sales in the C-sector have nearly quadrupled in just four years.

Hot on the heels of the BMW 1-Series Cabrio comes Audi with the four-seat A3 Cabriolet, the third open-top car in its range. Audi hopes to open up sales of its soft-tops to people who can't quite stretch to a TT Roadster or A4 Cabriolet (soon to be replaced by a drop-top A5) - although with an entry-level price of £20,740, the A3 Cabriolet is not going to extend Audi's demographic that much.

Audi has increased its UK sales from just under 20,000 cars a year to over 100,000 in the last decade and a half, and this A3 Cabriolet represents everything buyers like in their Audis: it's stylish, well-engineered, practical and, while it's not the most exciting car on the road, it is a solid machine that most owners will be more than happy with.

The range at launch comes with four engines - two petrol and two diesel - and two trim levels (another engine, probably a 1.4 petrol, and the S line trim will be added later this year). The petrol engines are 1.8 and 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder TFSI units generating 157bhp and 197bhp respectively: the diesels are 1.9 and 2.0-litre TDIs (103bhp and 138bhp).

Audi anticipates that the bigger diesel will be the best-seller, taking nearly half of all sales. From the point of view of running costs, this is certainly the sensible option: it's difficult to argue with a fuel consumption of 53.3mpg (50.4mpg with the S-Tronic auto 'box) and CO2 emissions of 139g/km (148g/km auto).

The A3 Cabriolet is available for order from mid-February 2008, with deliveries starting in April. Prices range from £20,740 to £25,500.