95: Audi A3 – still pretty slick and probably best as a saloon

Audi’s compact model is getting on in years a bit now, in spite of a recent update, and you can really sense that in the cabin noise. To drive any A3 on a poorly surfaced road is to understand the meaning of the phrase ‘tyre roar.’ To drive a fat-tyred S3 on the same road is to be deafened.

Which is a shame, as the rest of the A3’s performance is pretty slick. Its cabin layout and design is some of Audi’s best work (which is really saying something) and while it’s not the most dynamically gifted of cars, it’s more than good enough for most purposes, on most roads. 1.0-litre TSI petrol engine is once again the star, here, and to see the A3 at its best, get the saloon.

It’s not the roomiest car in the world (although the boot on the four-door is usefully larger than that of the hatchback) but it just seems to work better as a saloon. Seriously grunty RS3 is a high-performance legend in its own laptime, that’s almost good enough to unseat the mighty BMW M2. E-Tron plugin hybrid has useful electric only range of 50km.

Best model: 1.0 TFSI Saloon S-Line