I had great fun testing the 2022 Audi A3 Sportback, this is a fun luxury hatch that I found carefree to drive when I used it as our family car! Let's find out how it gets on when I put it through our BabyDrive testing…
My favourite thing about the Audi A3 Sportback is how ‘get in and go' it is to drive. It has an ease and carefree nature that most cars don't have, especially those that are practical for families! Â I found it Audi A3 Sportback was all the car we needed for a family of four, and no more, which is really refreshing.
The media system in the A3 Sportback is fantastic and modern and very simple to use and navigate too which makes your experience as the driver more enjoyable and you can simply navigate to the relevant screens while driving.
It has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which is great for accessing your navigation, listening and navigation apps while driving.
The reversing camera has a nice clear image and visibility is very good in the A3 Sportback for parking and manoeuvring.
There are some good features within the camera settings so you can adjust the volume of the parking sensor beep and you can turn on and off the reversing collision avoidance alarm too.
Like the Audi S3 Sedan I tested earlier this year, the Audi A3 Sportback has the second-nicest ISOFix attachments in any car I have tested! They are in both the outer rear seats and have a plastic cover that rolls in around the back so you do not have to detach them. It is a small detail but it is seamless details like this that really set cars apart when directly comparing them.
The A3 has the same lovely ISOFIX connectors as the Audi S3 sedan
I can fit two Infasecure child seats really nicely in the back of the Audi A3 Sportback. I installed the Infasecure Attain More rear-facing and the Infasecure Aspire More forward-facing. You could fit any two Infasecure child seats in the back of the Audi A3 Sportback.
There are top tether anchorages for all three rear seats. They are clearly labelled in the back of the rear seats and easily accessible through the boot.
For a small hatch, the Audi A3 Sportback has good interior space and legroom. For a family of four, there is a comfortable amount of room and we found a 186cm driver could fit in front of a forward-facing child seat. On the passenger side, a 180cm passenger could fit in front of a rear-facing child seat.
You can learn more about the child seats used in this review by following this link.
The interior of the Audi A3 Sportback is minimal and clutter-free, which adds to the fuss-free experience.
Things are minimal in the back too, however even though this is the '35' version of the A3, which is the most affordable model, I was surprised to find air-con vents in the back of the central console box. This is great for keeping rear passengers nice and comfortable during the journey. However, as you can see there are no map pockets in the back of the front seats as rear storage is kept to a minimum (higher spec A3 models do have net map pockets).
There are two cup holders in a fold-down armrest in the central seat back that hold reusable or disposable coffee cups.
The rear door bins will hold a refillable water bottle, so they are practical for the smaller members of the family too.
In the front, the storage is good with two cup holders in the central console and a slot between them for storing a phone.
In front of the stubby little gear selector is a phone tray and two USB-C sockets. The central console is small but it was the right size to hold my sunglasses as there is no glasses case in the ceiling.
A wallet and iPad fit in the glove box
The front door bins are larger than the rear ones and hold a refillable water bottle and have room for an iPad too.
Storage in the boot of the Audi A3 Sportback is good for a small hatch. I particularly like that you can lower the boot floor down around 10cm to allow you a much deeper boot…
…this is particularly helpful for families who need to carry a large pram in the boot.
The boot of the Audi A3 Sportback will hold ten shopping bags, which is good for a small hatch and three less than the Audi S3 Sedan I tested previously that fits thirteen shopping bags.
Or you could carry a small or medium size dog in the boot of the Audi A3 Sportback with the parcel shelf removed.
The Audi A3 Sportback makes a fantastic little family car. I love driving hatches as they tend to be more nimble and less bulky than SUVs and the Audi A3 Sportback is exactly that. It holds just the right amount for a runaround used by a family of two, three or four. Scooters and prams fit in the boot and everyone is happy in the cabin too!
The Audi A3 Sportback has been given a five-star ANCAP safety rating. Seven airbags come as standard, including dual frontal, side chest and side head-protecting airbags and a centre airbag which provides added protection to front seat occupants in side impact crashes.
BabyDrive Indepth
BabyDrive Indepth - Storage
How big is the boot of the 2022 Audi A3 Sportback?
The Audi A3 Sportback has a great boot floor function that drops the boot floor down around 10cm, this is good news for families wanting to put a big pram in the boot.
From empty it will hold ten shopping bags, which is three bags less than the Audi S3 Sedan I tested previously which fits thirteen shopping bags. It's also comparable to the Honda Civic Hatch, Mazda3, Hyundai i30 and VW Golf that all fit ten shopping bags in their boots also. The VW Polo fits seven, Nissan Leaf E+ fits nine, the Subaru Impreza fits eleven and the Kia Cerato GT fits twelve.
A twin pram will fit in the boot of the 2022 Audi A3 Sportback with the boot floor lowered and room on top of it for a few shopping bags.
A tandem or double pram fits in the boot of the Audi A3 Sportback with the boot floor lowered and two shopping bags.
A single pram will fit in the boot with two shopping bags.
Or a compact stroller fits in the boot of the Audi A3 Sportback with seven shopping bags.
The boot space and its functionality are really important. I like to have a big boot space and little side wells or areas I can divide things into. So something I don’t want to move around while I’m driving such as Bub’s lunch bag or her wet swimming gear can be sectioned off in a little well where it’s not going to spill or get squashed by the rest of the things in the boot.
Hooks for securing shopping bags to are also favourites of mine, I like being able to secure the bag containing more fragile things like eggs so they don’t move around on the journey.
I measure the boot space in freezer shopping bags, prams and dogs. Not because I think all there is to a mum’s life is food shopping, prams and dogs. (Although it can feel like it sometimes!!) But because these are visually mesurable items we can all associate with. For me, the car company boot measurement of litres is not an amount I can easily visualise and 400L in one car may differ in usability to that in another due to the configuration or shape of the space.
If you are a family with a fur baby, you can transport a small/medium size dog in the boot of the Audi A3 Sportback.
There is a small recess on either side of the boot behind the wheel arches too.
How good is storage inside the 2022 Audi A3 Sportback?
Storage throughout the interior of the Audi A3 Sportback is minimal but practical. In the back, there are no map pockets on the back of the front seats (but higher spec Audi A3 models do have net style ones).
There are two cup holders in a fold-down armrest in the central seatback. They will hold a reusable or disposable coffee cup.
The door bins in the back will hold a refillable water bottle.
In the front the door bins are longer and they will hold a refillable water bottle and an iPad.
The glove box is a good size for a small hatch and will hold an iPad and wallet easily.
There are two cup holders in the central console that will hold a reusable or disposable coffee cup and there is a slot between them for a mobile phone to be stowed. In front of the gears is a phone tray and two USBC sockets. The central console box is small but I found it a good spot to store my glasses as there is no glasses case in the ceiling. There are lit vanity mirrors in both front visors.
BabyDrive Indepth - Noise
How noisy is the 2022 Audi A3 Sportback?
The Audi A3 Sportback is not a loud car to drive. You are well-cocooned from any road or wind noise while driving which makes the drive more enjoyable.
The reversing camera has a good-quality image and you can easily mute the parking sensors with the button on the bottom left of the screen.
You can also adjust the volume of the front and rear sensors in this screen and turn the rear cross-traffic alert on and off too.
The media system in the Audi A3 Sportback is a really nice, modern touch screen that is easy to use and navigate. There are some great features within it like weather forecast and built-in navigation.
The Audi A3 Sportback has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto too, which is great for easily connecting your smartphone to access navigation, messaging and listening apps on the move.
Becoming a parent I soon realised there are some noises and sounds I feel are unnecessary and I could happily live without if it meant my baby stayed asleep!!
That often the distraction of my screaming, distressed baby is more dangerous when driving than not having a lane departure warning for example.
If it is the lane departure warning beeping that creates distress with my baby then which is safest?
It’s where I think we need to be able to strike a balance and choose when we can mute the warnings or swap them to a vibration in the steering wheel or flashing light perhaps?
A lot of these noises come with the increase in technology and especially linked to safety features and alerts. For me these all have their place.
Another thing I have realised is I spend my time in a lot more places where small children roam, parks, beaches, play gyms, swimming lessons, daycare centre etc. I have become more aware that when I’m reversing or manouvering in the car parks I have to tripple check for small children running around behind me or being in my blind spot when reversing. For this I LOVE reversing cameras, I just don’t like their beeping sounds!!
I have become so much more aware of safety and potential accidents or hazards since having a child and so I love the peace of mind that I get from the cameras and sensors combined with my own vision from windows and mirrors as I don’t trust cameras alone.
The windows of the Audi A3 Sportback are nice and quiet to open and close and didn't disturb my sleeping Bub.
Since becoming a mum I spend A LOT of time parked up somewhere with a nice view while my daughter is asleep in the back!
The driver display clearly tells you your distance to empty on the top left of the screen and has good door and seatbelt visuals, which are all great BabyDrive features.
S3 driver display pictured
The cruise controls are on a stalk on the left behind the steering wheel. I found them quite easy to use and it is incredibly accurate at high speeds on motorways as well as at slower speeds on bendy roads.
BabyDrive Indepth - Car Seats
How many child seats fit in the 2022 Audi A3 Sportback?
I could comfortably install two Infasecure child seats in the back of the 2022 Audi A3 Sportback. I tested the Infasecure Aspire More forward-facing and the Infasecure Attain More rear-facing. You could put any two Infasecure child seats in the back seats.
There are top tether anchorages for all three rear seats, clearly labelled in the back of all three rear seat backs.
The Audi A3 Sportback has the same ISOFix as in the S3 Sedan, they are really nice to use. They are situated in both the outer rear seats, their plastic cover rolls in around the back so you do not have to detach them. It is small, seamless details like this that really set cars apart when directly comparing them.
The A3 has the same lovely ISOFIX connectors as the Audi S3 sedan
Legroom is surprising in the 2022 Audi A3 Sportback, for a small hatch, we could fit a 186cm driver in front of a forward-facing child seat and a 180cm passenger would just fit in front of a rear-facing child seat.
You can learn more about the child seats used in this review by following this link.
I found posting Bub into their rear-facing child seat to be good from outside of the car in the 2022 Audi A3 Sportback. It is quite a small doorway to fit them in through but I didn't find we had any problem popping our two-year-old in to her rear-facing Infasecure Attain More child seat.
The ceiling is high enough inside that posting Bub into their seat from inside is easy too. There are handles above both the rear doors to hang a child's toy from and lights in the central ceiling.
Australia being a country of weather extremes; blazing sun and torrential rain, mean you may find it easier to put Bub into their seat from inside the car sometimes. If it’s hot you can get the air-con going, cool the car down and not stand out in the sun while you fasten them in or shelter from the rain and not get soaked yourself whilst you’re doing it. So it is important to test whether Bub can be easily installed from either direction!
There is plenty of room to feed Bub in the back if you only have one child seat installed.
BabyDrive Indepth - Drive & Comfort
How comfortable is the 2022 Audi A3 Sportback? And How good is the Audi A3 Sportback to drive?
The front seats of the Audi A3 Sportback are comfortable and manually adjusted in the base model 35 I tested. The headrests are not adjustable forward/backwards though which means it can be tricky to wear a ponytail while driving.
I had spent hours styling my hair this morning to get this ponytail just right too… said no new mum ever!!!
The seats are quite simple and minimal so they are easy to keep clean with kids' spills and crumbs.
For a mum travelling in the back with their Bub, the seats are comfortable too. You wouldn't fit in the middle between two child seats in the 2022 Audi A3 Sportback there is not enough room.
For the first year of my babies lives when we would go out as a family, if I wasn’t driving, I would travel in the back with them so it’s important to check the back seat comfort as you may be spending a lot of time in them! They were never something I gave any thought to before but I definitely notice a good or bad back seat now!
The steering wheel is fully adjustable in/out and up/down as well in the Audi A3 Sportback.
There are four air vents along the front dash of the Audi A3 Sportback, two on the left in front of the passenger, and one either side of the driver display screen.
There are vents in the back of the central console box for rear passengers too which is fantastic. The aircon for front and rear passengers is easily controlled using the controls below the media screen.
Visibility in the Audi A3 Sportback is very good. With two child seats installed in the back I could see well out of all side windows and had a clear view out of the rear too.
Also, the rearview camera image is great quality too.
One thing I have noticed since being a mum is I hate it when I reach a destination or get home from being out and Bub has either done really well in the car or she is screaming her head off and I have done really well to keep it together for the entire journey (usually the latter!!) and it takes 10 minutes to park the car! It can be really stressful. Usually I dread parking new cars as they take longer in our tight apartment block carpark, the Audi A3 Sportback is a small car so it was nice and easy to park and the using the cameras do help.
Scoring 81% for child occupant protection, broken down into 12.78 out of 16 points for the front dynamic test. Full marks for the side dynamic test. For restraint installation the Audi A3 also scored full marks also and 7 out of 13 for on-board safety features.
Seven airbags come as standard in the Audi A3 Sportback; including front airbags for driver and passenger, side airbags for front seats, head level curtain airbag for front and rear and centre airbag which provides added protection to front seat occupants in side impact crashes.
Some of these safety features are also features that drive me crazy as a mum! Like the lane departure and forward collision alert or the parking sensor beeping sound. I want all the safety technology AND to be able to mute the sound when Bub’s asleep!
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About Tace Clifford
Tace Clifford founded BabyDrive in 2017 after discovering a huge information gap in mainstream car reviews that left new parents and expanding families in the dark when it came to one of the biggest purchasing decisions of their lives.
The Mazda3 is a very popular car so I was very keen to give it a test for BabyDrive! I drove the hatch, a compact little car which for its price is actually very good. Read More
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