Four years ago I was lucky enough to have a high-speed test run in an Audi A3 Quattro (0-100 km/h in 7.2 seconds). When I say 'high speed' it was in fact relative to the incredibly narrow and twisty country lanes I was using in the general vicinity of Prescott hill in a very rural area of Gloucestershire.

This notwithstanding, the Quattro batted around at the legal limit of 100 km/h wherever the road allowed the accelerator to be floored.

It was with a certain degree of trepidation, therefore, that I agreed to drive the new A3 Sportback with its 125 bhp 2.0-litre turbodiesel as the test was to be conducted soon after I had read that, in what I presumed to be the official ADT line, "Malta is no longer the place where you can go for a drive to enjoy yourself".

That statement is in my opinion the silliest thing that an ADT official has publicly come out with in a very long time.

I can promise any reader who has a basic liking for motor vehicles and is lucky enough to have a run in this new Audi that before very long a 'silly' look of pure happiness will burst like a ray from the sun across the 'pilot's' face.

I sincerely wish that the ADT would put its house in order and stop the snide comments that make the thousands of car owners, who look on their cars with pride, enthusiasm and a great deal of knowledge, seem to be beyond the polite edge of 'political' ADT correctness.

Possibly, management in the ADT has no idea that the motorcar is for the majority of owners the most valuable thing they own, and second only in value for those who are homeowners.

To say that I am miffed is a total understatement, but luckily the degree of 'miffification' was quickly dispelled by the sheer joy of handling this beautifully balanced sports saloon with its 0-100 km/h time of only 8.3 seconds (7.9 on the automatic).

Luckily for car testers, apart from a few inconsequential speed cameras, the roads are not heavily 'policed' and therefore we can enjoy driving to suit road conditions rather than worry unduly about the minutiae of what the legal notices say about speed.

Quite apart from the obvious acceleration tests, the way the car handles becomes routine and part of every drive is to undertake a series of 'hands off' hard stops from speeds going up to at least the legal maximum.

Because I'm a romantic at heart, the brake routine is always done on the only strip of the Ta' Qali runway that didn't get a modern surface.

As expected, the Sportback stopped time and again with the ABS working overtime, in a perfectly straight line, and what's more it went round and round on full lock, at ever increasing speeds with very little roll and no nasty noises from the tyres until I got bored with the exercise. This car is, as I expected, one of the finest available today in Malta.

On the open road the handling was crisp and positive, and by using the gear box to its full potential other road users were 'blown away' in the politest manner possible without fuss, bother or any excitement at all.

I always enjoy the run from Mgarr to Ghajn Tuffieha, partly because the bends are slightly off camber and yet fast, and providing the driver is familiar with the road, safe. I also enjoy pitting the vehicle against the undulations and different road surfaces found on this particular stretch of road as they tend to make the suspension work far harder than if we used other roads at the same sort of speeds, without the fear of breaking a wheel or two in uncharted potholes.

The dynamic chassis fitted to this car provides the driver with a fantastic sense of reassurance, helped by the very accurate electro-mechanical power steering, which is speed sensitive and allows steering movements to be transmitted almost without compromise onto the road, even in really dodgy conditions where an automatic straight-line correction function allows the driver to be totally relaxed, and in side winds or on dodgy sections of our curvy roads.

Of course, modern Audi drivers have become spoilt because the entire braking system is state of the art. No compromises are ever allowed by Audi, as can be seen in the way the braking system has been designed with anti-lock brakes (ABS), electronic brake force distribution (EBD) and, if that isn't enough, hydraulic brake assist as well.

There are dual rate brake servos, and disc brakes front and rear, with ventilated discs to help dispel heat at the front. Out of sheer cursedness, I tried to induce 'brake fade' - with absolutely no success at all.

So in this one package the owner gets an absolutely magnificent looking car, with safety features that weren't even fitted in the best sports cars a few years ago. He/she gets a beautifully responsive six-speed gear change, ideal for enjoying a spirited drive here in Malta.

Safety features built into the car should keep the occupants safe, if not comfortable, even if a smash occurs while driving at our legal maximum, unless it's a head-on smash where the combined speed of the two vehicles will then probably be so far over the maximum allowed that no safety zones or crumple zones, or protected passenger cells, could cope.

However, I actually defy any wide-awake driver to proceed at 80 km/h and then get into a 'crash' situation, for most obviously the point of impact will be at a much lower speed.

In fact, rallying supremo Roger Thane used an early Audi 80 over here years ago and even then argued that, from even more than 80 km/h, the point of impact would be at an Audi-safe 50 km/h or even less, and at those speeds the '80' would do no more than shake his navigator and himself, although the car itself may well look pretty crumpled and bent.

However, don't go out and try this particular trick; it could prove to be very expensive or taxing on your insurance.

Obviously, the car is extremely well appointed and furnished to the highest motoring standards, and the 370-litre luggage compartment can carry two standard golf bags transversely (anti-golfing environmentalists, please note), or you can even fit all your winter sporty equipment or a complete set of kite surfing equipment into its hold, or even, if push comes to shove, enough cases to allow a family a decent continental holiday away from this speed-restricted rock.

At a glance

Engine: four-cylinder in-line diesel with piezo unit-pump direct injection and exhaust-gas turbocharger.

Displacement: 1,968 cc.
Max. output: 170 bhp at 4,200 rpm.
Max. torque: 350 Nm at 1,750-2,500 rpm.
Front wheel drive.
Transmission: six-speed manual (on the test car).
Top speed: 222 km/h.
0-100 km/h: 8.3 seconds (7.9 seconds, automatic).

Average fuel
Consumption: 5.8 litres/100 km.
Emission grade: EU4.
Unladen weight: 1,380 kg.

Where can you keep her?
Length: 4,286 mm.
Width (to the outside of the mirrors): 1,957 mm.
Height: 1,423 mm.

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