Audi A3 Black

Audi interiors are rightly celebrated for looking good and being well put together, making that niggle we experienced all the more disappointing. Overall, though, the A3 Sportback is dressed to impress and the cabin ticks all the style and tech boxes you could hope for, the dramatic angles, quality materials and smart integration of touch-operated controls meaning it feels properly premium. Mercedes and BMW are also at the top of their game here, but Audi knows what its customers like and the A3 Sportback will score well for showroom appeal for its interior alone. It’s well equipped, too. Conventional instruments have been replaced by a 10.25-inch ‘Virtual Cockpit’ display behind the wheel while a fully integrated 10.1-inch touch-screen in the centre of the dash is your main point of interaction with the car’s systems. Both are standard. The operating system behind this is 10 times faster than that of the previous car and powers built-in and fully connected navigation system as standard, though you can plug your phone in and use your apps if you prefer. Additional functionality, including driver modes and a fancier Virtual Cockpit display, feature as you progress up the range but there’s an impressive amount of tech on all models. Audi’s mission to strip as many buttons out of the interior as possible means the interior looks good, but the replacement of basic controls like a volume knob with an overly sensitive touch pad can frustrate. At least the heating controls retain proper switches and buttons.