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Carsales Staff7 Mar 2012
NEWS

GENEVA MOTOR SHOW: Audi's new A3

Techno fest time for Audi's new volume seller

Audi’s latest A3 hit in the ground in Geneva with a new – though decidedly familiar – look, extended technology and a range of four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines ranging from 1.2 litres to 2.0 litres, offering outputs as high as 195kW (in S3) and consumption figures as low as 3.9L/100km.


At its Geneva show launch, the new A3 was revealed in five-door Sportback, three-door hatch and two-door cabriolet form, both underpinned by the new MQB Volkswagen group platform and featuring a range of safety technologies aimed at keeping Audi’s biggest-seller on the top shelf of its segment. Light weight technology – the front guards and bonnet are aluminium - has reduced weight too, by as much as 80kg on the three-door version. The three-door 1.4 TFSI is feather light at 1.175kg.


The new A3 is available in Attraction, Ambition and Ambiente form and continues with the trademark single-frame grille. The interior emphasises Audi’s sporty, technical bent with lots of aluminium-look trim and contrasting glossy finishes, as well as options including a flat-bottom steering wheel and SatNav.


Increasing the wheelbase to 2.6 metres has helped passenger space and luggage capacity - in the Sportback the latter ranges from 370 to 1100 litres.


Options include adaptive radar-assisted adaptive cruise control, side assist, active lane assist, traffic sign detection, Xenon headlights, high beam assist, a “plus” SatNav system with MMI operating logic, auto park assist and the Audi pre sense basic safety system. The A3 also incorporates new “touchwheel” controls in the dash and a new seven-inch monitor with “pin-sharp” graphics,


The new Audi A3 will launch in Australia with three “essentially new” four-cylinder engines, including two petrol TFSI turbos and a TDI turbodiesel. The petrol engines will displace 1.4 litres (90kW) and 1.8 litres (132kW) respectively, while the diesel will be a 110kW 2.0-litre. Fuel economy is claimed to have improved by an average of around 12 percent.


Australian 1.8 TFSIs will come as standard with Audi’s seven-speed dual-clutch S tronic transmission; 1.4 TFSI and 2.0 TDI will come in six-speed manual form, initially driving just the front wheels. Audi’s quattro all-wheel drive – and other engines, including a 1.4 TFSI engine with cylinder on demand technology – will follow in the “next few months”.


In Europe, transmissions include a six-speed manual, and the S tronic dual-clutch gearbox in six or seven-speed form, with the latter employing extra-efficient dry-clutch technology.


European Audi Sportbacks come with Audi’s quattro all-wheel drive and adaptive magnetic ride suspension that can be set in regular, or lower-riding sports mode to suit the driver’s preferences. Conventional sport suspension, or the even firmer S line sport suspension are also available.


The optional Audi drive select system (standard on Ambition) allows the driver to vary the operating modes of key components – steering, accelerator pedal and transmission characteristics (with S tronic) – for a “customisable driving experience.”


Gun model in the A3 range, but not yet confirmed for Australia, is the S3 Sportback, which winds out no less than 195kW, reaches 100km/h in 5.6 seconds and powers all four wheels through Audi’s quattro AWD system.


S3 Sportback Transmission choices include six-speed manual, or six-speed S tronic dual-clutch. With a tauter, lower riding suspension, bigger brakes and 18-inch wheels, the S3 has road grip commensurate with the power output.


In cabriolet form, the new A3 offers seating for four and the choice of six powerplants driving the front wheels only.


The soft top of the new A3 cabriolet is claimed to be light, efficient and capable of opening in a mere nine seconds. Giving the cabriolet’s four passengers access to the elements, the cabriolet’s roof is claimed to take up minimal boot space and is thermally and acoustically insulated to provide a coupe-style experience.


A split-fold rear seat enables the cabriolet’s luggage space to expand from 260 litres to as much as 674 litres via a “large” load-through aperture.


The front drive only cabriolet is available with 77kW 1.2-litre, 92kW 1.4-litre, 118kW 1.8-litre and 147kW 2.0-litre TFSI petrol engines, as well as 77kW 1.6-litre and 103kW 2.0-litre TDI turbodiesels. Six or seven-speed S tronic transmission is available with the three most powerful engines.


The A3 goes on sale in Europe in the second quarter of this year – as yet no dates have been confirmed for the new model’s launch in Australia.




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