With SUVs all starting to look the same, this pedigreed product is a sure-fire head-turner.
Not that long ago the fancier derivatives in a car’s model line-up featured body colour and chrome touches everywhere. The cheaper the model got, the more black trim it got.
These days, the opposite applies as the trimmings get darker the higher you move up in a range. Case in point being the facelifted Audi A3.
While the entry level models come standard in Ingolstadt’s familiar S line trim that was previously an option, the Black Edition is now the one you need to fork out extra to get more street credit.
The Citizen Motoring recently sampled the sedan version of the Audi A3 1.4 TFSI Black Edition. Priced at R849 500, it comes at a R26 300 premium over the S line sedan and R15 000 over the Sportback Black Edition.
Audi A3 gets dark touches
The exterior darkened elements are small, but they do make a huge difference to the overall picture. At the front, it starts with the Audi logo, grille motif garnish and foglight bezel housing all being blacked out. Around the sides, the 18-inch alloy wheels changes from aluminium to Black Metallic, the rubbering around the window frames goes from matte to gloss black and the side skirts swop brushed chrome for black.
At the rear, the dark grey motif on the diffuser and tailpipe housing is blacked out. Like at the front, the Audi logo also turns black.
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All the windows get dark privacy glass, while the black side mirrors caps are quite strangely offered as an optional extra at R2 100. That is the premium you pay nowadays when you don’t want people to see you in a car with body colour trim.
Although the Mythos Black Metallic our tester was clad in is a stunning colour, we felt that it doesn’t quite do the Black Edition trim the kind of justice the bright yellow, red or white on offer will.
S line interior
The Black Edition hardly brings any changes to the cabin, which already features all the S line trim which includes sport seats and sports steering wheel. The seats were clad in a combination of Pulse cloth and artificial leather in red and black with red contrast stitching. The latter being a R8 100 option.
The biggest change inside the update Audi A3 sees the inclusion of a new centre console, which swop out the gear lever with a toggle switch.
Standard features include a 10.1-inch MMI Plus infotainment system, 12.3-inch Virtual Cockpit instrument cluster, panoramic sunroof, dual-zone climate control and Sonos sound system.
The Audi 3 Sedan Black Edition features a 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol TSI engine, a familiar stalwart in the Volkswagen family. It sends 110kW of power and 250Nm of torque to the front wheel via eight-speed Tiptronic transmission.
Pleasure to drive
While we learned nothing new from this mill that we haven’t already knew, it was just another timely reminder of what a pedigreed powertrain feels like. Proper throttle calibration, power delivery and gear changes make any trip in the A3 smooth sailing.
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Handling is as good as you’d expect from a brand with serious racing studs in its stable. And a sedan’s lower centre of gravity compared to an SUV just makes the weigh distribution so much better.
Fuel consumption can come it anything from the mid six litres per 100km to the low nines if you misbehave.
Our roads have become so saturated with similarly styled SUVs these days that a compact premium sedan with dashing good looks like the Audi A3 Black Edition manages to stand out from the crowd. Add to this Ingolstadt’s pedigree and a rock-solid powertrain and we have an odd-on winner.
