THERE appears to be something of a contradiction within the Volkswagen camp, which makes choosing the best diesel hot hatch a daunting task.
The three VW choices are the Golf, Audi A3 and SEAT Leon, which all do precisely the same job but cost different amounts.
The 170bhp SEAT Leon FR weighs in at £17,495, while the 170bhp Audi A3 is £19,165 and the identical 170bhp Golf GT is £19,095.
They have the same performance and economy plus the quality for which all Volkswagen Group products are renowned.
On the face of it then the obvious choice is the SEAT, especially in comparison to the Golf, which costs £1,500 more.
The reason for the price differences is simply image and the amount of money that punters are prepared to spend to buy into their preferred brand.
For a rapidly growing number of people Audi is now the winner in the style stakes, even ahead of BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
There is no doubting that the A3 is a class act and because of its desirability on the second-hand market it holds its value better than many rivals.
The A3 line-up is extremely comprehensive and includes petrol engines of 1.6, 2.0 and 3.2-litres with various power outputs.
Same applies to the diesels, which come with a choice of 1.9-litre 103bhp and two-litre 138bhp units plus a more powerful 170bhp version of the latter.
This transforms the A3 into an oil-burning hot hatch with 0-62mph acceleration in just over eight seconds and a top speed of virtually 140mph.
Even by petrol standards this is serious stuff but the obvious advantage of the diesel is that you get not only the performance but impressive economy too.
The official average figure is almost 50mpg, which means that driven carefully the car can achieve at least 65mpg and even when the performance potential is exploited it is unlikely to dip below 40mpg.
The other advantage of the diesel in preference to its petrol counterpart is the torque, or pulling power, which is a hefty 236lb/ft in comparison to 206lb/ft for even the turbocharged two-litre petrol model.
This endows the TDI 170 with awesome mid-range acceleration, which is less affected by the vehicle being fully laden.
The main disadvantage of the diesel engine is the clatter that still affects all oil-burners, no matter how sophisticated, plus the smelly business of refuelling.
Otherwise it is a pleasant package and comes with alloy wheels, side and curtain air bags, traction control and front electric windows.
The SE version costs an additional £2,000 and adds air conditioning, cruise control and a CD player.
These are all included in the standard cost of the SEAT Leon FR, which has five doors rather than three, making a price difference of £3,435.
The obvious conclusion is that the Audi is good but expensive. Nonetheless, that is unlikely to deter those for whom the classy image is a price worth paying.
FAST FACTS
Audi A3 2.0 TDI 3dr
Price: £19,165
Mechanical: 170bhp, 1,998cc, 4cyl diesel engine driving front wheels via 6spd manual gearbox
Max speed: 138mph
0-62mph: 8.2 secs
Combined mpg: 48.7
Insurance group: 13
CO2 emissions: 157g/km
Warranty: 3yrs/ 60,000 miles, 3yrs paint, 12yrs anti-rust