2009 Audi A3 Cabriolet Review

Of all the things I never thought the Audi A3 would become would be a convertible. Sporty S and RS versions sure. Maybe even a high riding MPV, but for some reason the A3 has never really struck me as the sort of car that would suit a drop top. Well, now we have one, and I'm still not convinced that the world needs it.

You get two options, a 1.8T S Tronic and this NZ$68,990 1.8T S tonic with S-line accessories. At least the S-Line car looks pretty sporty when the rood is down. When the roof is up, either model looks like it's wearing a rather ill fitting hat.

The fabric roof does fold down in just seven seconds though, meaning that sunburn is less than ten seconds away. Strangely enough it takes eleven seconds for it to fold back up again, and no one can explain to me why that should be so.

The 1.8 litre FSI engine produces 116kW and 250Nm of torque, which is enough to make the car rather spritely without trying to be an actual sports car, and the interior is well up to Audi's usual standards, with plenty of sensible black trim and seats that hold you in place pretty well.

Now S Tronic is Audi's term for the VW Group's automatic twin clutch gearbox, which obviously uses twin clutches. We'll avoid all the technical mumbo jumbo and say that what the six speed gearbox does is change gear very quickly and efficiently.

Travelling at open road speeds isn't too bad, as long as you leave the windows up. All you get is a bit of buffeting and not much else.

I would never describe the A3 Cabriolet as a sports car, but it does drive and corner in a nice tidy manner, and when you're up and moving there's enough extra performance to get past slower traffic with little hassle.

When you chop the top off a car you remove a big chunk of body rigidity, which means you have to beef up the chassis. That largely accounts for the kerb weight of 1527kg, a whole 152kg more than the equivalent A3 Sportback. The only problem is that it doesn't work too well, with scuttle shake on rough roads. It's not as prevalent as, say, an old Saab 9-3 Cabrio which felt like it had palsy, but it is there.

In the end though, I can't think of a reason why you'd choose the A3 cabriolet over much cheaper and more powerful NZ$53,990 VW EOS 2.0TFSI. The Volkswagen looks better with its hard top both up and down, and the interior quality almost matches that of the Audi. The VW also has the same gearbox and a more powerful 2.0 litre engine. Then there's the 3.2 litre EOS, which at NZ$62,990 still comes in under A3 Cabriolet in price.

Of course if you are an Audi-phile who likes to sunbathe while on the move the A3 cabriolet is more than appropriate transport.

It's not that the A3 Cabriolet isn't a good car, but badge aside, there's no real need for it to be on sale.