Audi A3 is ‘Executive Used Car of the Decade’

Highly regarded vehicle valuation specialist CAP has named the Audi A3 ‘Executive Used Car of the Decade’ in its Used Car Awards, acknowledging the major contribution made by the pioneering three and five-door hatchback in distilling the premium sector values traditionally reserved for larger prestige cars and introducing them into the compact class.


CAP supplies residual value data to leading finance institutions, contract hire and leasing companies, vehicle retail groups and insurers. In its citation for the award, Mark Norman of CAP describes the A3 as a ‘true benchmark vehicle’ and a ‘genuine pioneer’ which ‘effectively invented the concept of the small car in prestige guise’. He went on to say that the 2003-2008 A3 ‘has brought the prospect of the highest engineering and build quality standards to those who would previously have ruled out choosing a prestige brand on the grounds that it would mean running a larger car than they needed.’ He summed up the rationale for the award by saying that the A3 is ‘never the cheapest used car purchase, but the benefits of low depreciation are certainly realised when trade-in time arrives.’

The latest generation Audi A3 is available in three-door, five-door Sportback and Cabriolet body styles with a choice of eight direct injection FSI and TDI engines, the diesel range containing the most economical and efficient unit in the premium sector in the new 1.6 TDI with combined fuel economy of 68.9mpg and CO2 output of just 109g/km. According to CAP, the A3 2.0 TDI retains 43 per cent of its value over 3 years or 60,000 miles (November 2009 figure), a higher proportion than any other comparable premium sector compact hatchback. Prices for the A3 line-up range from £15,770 OTR to £29,300 OTR.