New Audi A3 matches A-class price

Audi has bowed to the dollar pressure applied by the BMW 1 Series and especially the Mercedes-Benz A-class, revealing the entry price of its new A3 Sportback will tumble by $5600 to $35,600 when it arrives in Australia in May.

That recommended retail price will line the entry-level A3 1.4 TFSI five-door up directly against the new Benz A 180 BE and undercut the BMW 116i hatchback by $1300.

“With a lower entry price compared with the previous generation, the new model will be within reach of customers that have never been able to consider an A3 Sportback before,” said Audi Australia Managing Director Andrew Doyle.

“It’s our intention to lead the compact, premium class.”

Mr Doyle’s ambition reflects the importance of the A3 for Audi in Australia. It has been a compact premium segment leader in the past and is one of its sales pillars here alongside the likes of A4 and Q5.

The third-generation A3, which is based on the same new MQB platform as the Golf, will be offered here only in five-door Sportback form. Click here to read motoring.com.au’s review from the global launch last year.

In something of a dance of the seven veils, however, Audi has only revealed the base price, declining to announce the pricing of the other three models in the range, the 1.6 TDI, 1.8 TFSI and 2.0 TDI.

But it has confirmed the 1.6 TDI will share base-level Attraction specification with the 1.6 turbo-diesel, while the 1.8 and 2.0 will be specced at Ambition level. All models will come standard with seven-speed S tronic auto, although manual gearboxes are available for special order.

It is expected the 1.6 will be slightly more expensive than the 1.4, while the Ambition level pricing will start at around $42,000.

Quite what those spec levels deliver Audi is also unprepared to say, preferring to promote a group of option packages that will cover high-end connectivity, infotainment and drive assistance systems, as well as more traditional items such as S Line adornments.

Audi confirmed new MMI Navigation plus and control system will be available in a Technik package, with other features, for under $3000.

Motoring.com.au understands standard equipment levels will include seven airbags, leather trim and fuel-saving idle-stop across the range.

In the third quarter the only mainstream quattro all-wheel drive model, a 1.8 TFSI Ambition, will arrive. It will be accompanied by a second 1.4-litre TFSI, this one fitted with fuel-saving cylinder on demand technology that turns the engine into a two-cylinder when cruising.

Arriving at that time will be the option of Audi Connect, which offers such features as Google Earth, Maps, Street View and search functionality and WLAN, which allows the wifi connection of up to eight mobile devices in an A3.

However, some Audi Connect features such as Facebook and Twitter access are not necessarily legal for installation in a car in Australia, while others such as instant weather and traffic update aren’t supported by local technology providers.

In the fourth quarter the 221kW S3 Sportback quattro arrives, while the only other confirmed A3 variant at the moment is the petrol-electric plug-in hybrid e-tron hybrid, which will arrive in Australia late in 2014 or early 2015.

With Audi abandoning plans to import the A6 hybrid, the A3 e-tron will be its first hybrid on sale in Australia. It won’t be cheap though, potentially priced north of $60,000 and roughly in parallel with the S3.

The e-tron averages 1.5L/100km on the European fuel economy cycle, although that is a deceptive figure because the first 50km are completed on electrical power alone. By comparison, the most economical conventional A3 will be the 77kW 1.6-litre diesel which averages as little as 3.8L/100km.

The A3 1.6 TDI is something of a technical Luddite compared to the rest of the range, because it makes do with a torsion beam rear axle when other A3s get independent rear suspension.

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