It's time for testing the 2025 Audi A3 Sedan 35 TFSI S line with my family. Audi's updated premium compact sedan features a refreshed design and enhanced technology, so let's get straight into seeing how this little sporty four-door stacks up as a BabyDrive…
Quick Links
- How much does the 2025 Audi A3 Sedan cost and what are the options?
- How big is the boot of the Audi A3 Sedan?
- How good is the storage in the 2025 Audi A3 Sedan for families?
- How many child seats will fit in the Audi A3 Sedan?
- How comfortable is the Audi A3 Sedan for families?
- How safe is the 2025 Audi A3 Sedan for families?
- What is the 2025 Audi A3 Sedan like to drive?
- Compare the 2025 Audi A3 Sedan
Quick Overview
- ✓ Fits two child seats comfortably
- ✓ Quiet boot lid operation perfect for sleeping babies
- ✓ Clean, minimal interior with easy-to-use media system
- ✓ Five-star ANCAP safety rating (81% child occupant protection)
- ✗ Can't fit three child seats
- ✗ Tight legroom with rear-facing child seats
- ✗ Low roofline requires care when strapping kids in
- ✗ Small glove box storage
Key Specifications
| Feature | Specification |
|---|---|
| Price | $57,800 (before on-road costs) |
| Warranty | 5-year/unlimited km |
| Safety Rating | 5-star ANCAP |
| Engine | 1.5L turbo petrol with 48V mild hybrid |
| Power/Torque | 110kW/250Nm |
| Child Seat Capacity | 2 seats |
How much does the 2025 Audi A3 Sedan cost and what are the options?
| Model Grade | Price (Before On-road Costs) |
|---|---|
| A3 Sportback 35 TFSI S line | $54,800 |
| A3 Sedan 35 TFSI S line | $57,800 |
| S3 Sportback | $78,800 |
| S3 Sedan | $81,800 |
The 2025 Audi A3 Sedan pricing starts at $57,800 (excluding rego, stamp duty etc) for the 35 TFSI S line model tested here. The updated A3 features a refreshed exterior design with a flatter, wider grille, new digital daytime running lights, and sporty S line styling as standard.
How big is the boot of the Audi A3 Sedan?
Storage in the 2025 Audi A3 Sedan's boot is very practical for family use. The boot lid opens really nice and easily at the touch of a button, and it's really nice and quiet (perfect news for families with sleeping babies!)
With baby asleep you can get in and out without worrying the doors will be too noisy. The same for the windows their mechanism is not too noisy and I didn't notice them having a loud opening or closing sound.
With baby asleep you want to be able to get in and out without worrying the doors will be too noisy and wake Bub up!
When using the Audi A3 Sedan, the boot will hold 13 shopping bags, which is one more than the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe but less than the similarly priced but bigger and all-electric BYD Seal (16 bags) and BMW 3 Series (14 bags), but less expensive small sedans like the Hyundai i30 and Toyota Corolla have space for 15 bags.
The Thule Sleek, future-proof, multi-configuration pram with a single seat…
…will fit in the boot of the Audi A3 Sedan with five shopping bags.
The Thule Sleek with two sibling seats…
…will fit in the boot with five shopping bags.
The Thule Sleek with a single seat and the bassinet…
…will fit in the boot of the Audi A3 Sedan side by side, but with no shopping bags.
The Thule Urban Glide 3, ultimate All Terrain stroller with the back wheels on…
…fits easily in the boot with one shopping bag.
The Thule Urban Glide 3 double with the back wheels off…
…fits easily in the boot with no shopping bags.
The Thule Spring, lightweight and one-handed folding stroller…
…fits in the boot of the Audi A3 Sedan with six shopping bags.
The boot can also accommodate a 90-litre and two 40-litre Thule Chasm duffel bags.
You can't put a dog in the boot of the Audi A3 Sedan because it has a fixed parcel shelf (there is a dog-friendly Sportback version though).
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 my daughter'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 measurable 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.
How good is the storage in the 2025 Audi A3 Sedan for families?
The interior of the front of the Audi A3 is really nice and sleek and simple. It feels very clean and minimal.
When it comes to storage, there are two cup holders in the central console. They will hold a reusable or a disposable coffee cup.
In front of them is a wireless phone charging pad with two USB-C sockets and behind them there's a very small central console space.
The glove box is quite small in here. I could just fit my iPad or wallet in there with the manual.
The door bins are a good size. In the front, they'll hold a large refillable water bottle and an iPad or wallet fits in them too.
Second row passengers are kept nice and comfortable with air con vents in the back of the central console box, and there are USB-C sockets there too so they can charge devices.
There's also handles above both rear doors so you can hang little toys to entertain rear facing passengers while you're driving along. And there are lights in the back in the central ceiling.
I have found our daughter does not like travelling in the dark in the car so if it gets dark whilst travelling then I reach back and turn the interior light on for her. So it's really important for me that I can reach the rear ceiling light.
Also if I am traveling home and it is getting near to bed time and I DEFINITELY DON'T want her to fall asleep in the car as even a 5-minute nap in the car means bed time is all over!!!! I lean back and pop the light on so it's not dark and try to keep her awake!! Along with screaming/singing at the top of my voice!!!
Storage in the back of the Audi A3 is quite minimal. There's a fold down armrest in the central seat back with two cup holders. They'll hold a reusable or a disposable coffee cup, and the kids' drink cup fits in them too.
There are net map pockets on the back of both front seats that will hold but not conceal an iPad.
The door bins in the back are quite small. They will hold a refillable water bottle and a wallet or something will fit in there too.
How many child seats will fit in the Audi A3 Sedan?
When it comes to installing child seats in the back of the Audi A3 Sedan, there are ISOFix in the two outer rear seats. They are within lovely plastic guides with special little covers that just retract back so you can access those ISOFix and connect to them really nice and easily.
There are top tether anchorages for all three rear seats, and they are in the parcel shelf behind the headrests.
We could fit two child seats in the back of the Audi A3. Three would not fit across just because of the shape of the roof line and because the seats just aren't wide enough to fit three across, but having the top tether anchorages for all three seats, it does give you that flexibility of popping just one child seat in the middle or two in the outer seats.
Legroom is pretty tight inside the A3 sedan. We found that with a rear-facing child seat installed, only about a 170cm driver can fit in front, or with forward-facing child seats, then a 180cm driver could fit in front. The footwell is not flat in the back. There is a large hump in the central seat footwell, so any passenger sitting there will have to straddle that with their feet.
How comfortable is the 2025 Audi A3 Sedan for families?
All members of the family will be kept comfortable in the Audi A3 Sedan.
The media system in the Audi A3 Sedan is really nice and simple and easy to navigate. It's got some lovely features in there, like the calendar, the weather, the news and things like that.
You can go in and change a lot of settings and customise the car the way you would like it. Within the ‘CAR' screen, you can customise your driver assist settings. Within the ‘SOUND' screen you can change the volume of beeps etc in the car which is great for families with noise sensitive kids.
You've also got built-in Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, so you can easily access your phone and apps and things while driving. And you've got sat nav as well.
Climate controls are within the media screen, and you also have them down on the dash, which is really nice and easy to use them while you're driving along.
When you put the A3 Sedan into reverse, the camera images are really lovely and clear. You can turn the parking sensors on and off easily on the screen here, and the cameras as well.
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!
The front seats are comfortable and are new ‘S line sport seats' with integrated headrests that do not adjust to allow for a ponytail!
I had spent hours styling my hair this morning to get it just right too… said no new mum ever!!!
The steering wheel is fully adjustable and features a leather 3-spoke design with perforated leather, contrasting stitching, and multifunction controls.
How safe is the 2025 Audi A3 Sedan for families?
The 2025 Audi A3 Sedan has a five-star ANCAP safety rating, scoring 81% for child occupancy and 89% for adult occupancy. It also scored 68% for vulnerable road user protection and 73% for safety assist.
The A3 features seven airbags as standard, including:
dual frontal, side chest-protecting and side head-protecting (curtain) airbags, plus a centre airbag which provides added protection to front seat occupants in side impact crashes.
According to ANCAP, protection of both the 10-year and 6-year child dummies was rated as GOOD in the side impact test, though protection was MARGINAL for the 10-year-old's neck and chest and ADEQUATE for the 6-year-old's head and neck in the frontal offset test.
The 2025 Audi A3 Sedan comes with comprehensive safety features as standard, including autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with Car-to-Car, Vulnerable Road User and Junction Assist, adaptive cruise control (ACC) with Stop&Go function, traffic jam assist, lane support system with lane keep assist (LKA), lane departure warning (LDW) and emergency lane keeping (ELK).
Additional safety features include forward collision warning (FCW), blind spot monitor (BSM) with Audi side assist, rear cross-traffic alert (RCTA), park assist, parking system plus with front and rear sensors, rear view camera, exit warning system, turn assist, electronic stability control (ESC), emergency brake assist (EBA), fatigue monitor, and anti-lock braking system (ABS).
What is the 2025 Audi A3 Sedan like to drive?
The Audi A3 is a really nice car to drive. I really enjoy driving sedans, and this one is no exception! It feels really nice and grounded to the road. It's quite sporty and reactive as well, so it corners really well and it's just really, really enjoyable. It's really nice and smooth and quiet too.
Visibility is very good in the Audi A3 Sedan, with the two child seats installed, I can see straight out the back.
Parking and manoeuvring is absolutely no problem in any car park as the A4 sedan is a really nice size! That said, several similarly compact cars do have more room inside.
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.
Additional Information:
Audi A3 customers get five years and unlimited kilometres of warranty coverage. Audi Australia offers five years of capped-price servicing for the A3 Sedan at $504 per service (prices may vary, so check with your Audi dealer for current pricing).
Compare the 2025 Audi A3 Sedan:
If you are looking at the 2025 Audi A3 Sedan as a premium compact family car, you may want to consider the BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe, the similarly priced but bigger and all-electric BYD Seal and less expensive small sedans like the super spacious Hyundai i30 and popular Toyota Corolla.
BabyDrive Verdict on the 2025 Audi A3 Sedan
To sum up, the Audi A3 Sedan makes a lovely BabyDrive. I really, really enjoy driving sedans, especially this one! So for those that enjoy that sedan style driving, then it makes a great family car, especially if your children are old enough to be in forward-facing seats.
One consideration, obviously, is the low roof line, so you've got to make sure you're careful not to hit your head while you're strapping your kids in (or bumping their heads on the way in and out). You can fit two child seats in the back nicely with good legroom if they're forward facing.
The boot space is usually really good in sedans and the A3 is OK. You can fit all the range of Thule prams in the boot nice and easily, making it practical for family life.
The media system is very good and the cameras are too!
Key Pros:
- Quiet, refined driving experience perfect for families
- Good boot space for prams and shopping
- Clean, minimal interior with easy-to-use technology
- Five-star ANCAP safety rating with comprehensive safety features
- Quiet boot and door operation won't wake sleeping babies
- ISOFix in easy-to-access plastic guides
- Premium feel at a relatively accessible price point
Key Cons:
- Can't fit three child seats
- Tight legroom with rear-facing child seats
- Low roofline requires care when loading children
- Small glove box and central console storage
- Rear door bins quite small
- Fixed parcel shelf means no dogs in boot
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