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NEWS
PARIS MOTOR SHOW: Audi unveils new A3 Sportback
Australia's next-generation A3 emerges as Audi reveals its newest SportbackAudi has revealed the only version of its new A3 hatchback that will become available in Australia, from the second quarter of next year – the redesigned A3 Sportback.
As with the outgoing A3, Audi Australia says it will not offer the new A3 three-door (which was unveiled at the Geneva motor show in March) because the five-door is vastly more popular here and our much smaller premium car market cannot support the same model proliferation as Europe.
In effect, the new A3 three-door won’t be sold here because it would cannibalise sales of the smaller A1 hatch, which opens at $26,500 and closes at $32,250 (five-door) and $35,800 (three-door). Currently, A3 Sportback pricing starts at $41,200 and finishes at $53,400.
Audi says it will also “streamline” its engine line-up in the new A3 Sportback, which hits German dealerships in February, suggesting it will introduce fewer than the five available here in the existing A3 Sportback, but has confirmed both petrol and diesel engines will continue to be available.
Set to make its world debut at next week’s Paris motor show, the new A3 Sportback is 58mm longer overall than the current model at 4310mm, making it 73mm longer than the new A3 three-door just released in Europe. Apart from offering two extra doors, it also rides on a 35mm-longer (2636mm) wheelbase, while width (1780mm) and height (1425mm) are also up slightly. According to Audi, the slightly longer wheelbase delivers “several” millimetres of extra head and leg room for rear passengers, and the A3 Sportback can accommodate three adults.
Also growing in size is the five-door A3’s boot space – up 10 litres on the model it replaces and 15 litres on the three-door, to 380 litres – while total cargo capacity increases to 1220 litres (up from 1100 litres for both the new A3 and existing A3 Sportback). And the new model’s luggage area will be available with LED down-lighting.
Other new options will include bi-xenon plus headlights with LED daytime running lights, first-in-class LED headlights and S line sport or interior packages.
Despite being larger, the new A3 Sportback weighs up to 90kg less than its forebear because it rides on the Volkswagen Group’s new modular MQB transverse-engine platform. Audi says the new car’s passenger cell is 37kg lighter than before, while the bonnet, quarter guards and suspension sub-frames are all made from aluminium, saving a further 12kg. Fitted with a 1.4 TFSI engine, the five-door weighs 30kg more than the A3 1.4 TFSI three-door at 1205kg.
Like Europe’s new A3 three-door, the Sportback will initially be available from the factory with 1.4 and 1.8-litre TFSI turbo-petrol and 2.0-litre TDI turbodiesel four-cylinder engines, with entry-level 1.2 TFSI and smaller 1.6 TDI engines to follow.
Australia’s current A3 Sportback is also available with 1.4, 1.8 and 2.0 TFSI engines (the latter with quattro all-wheel drive) and 1.6 and 2.0 TDI engines, so we’d guess the largest (2.0-litre) petrol and diesel engines will continue alongside a price-leading 1.4 TFSI.
Also to come next year will be a new S3 hot-hatch and a super-frugal 81kW TCNG natural-gas version, while the A3 Sportback e-tron plug-in hybrid will follow in 2014.
Audi says fuel consumption is reduced by an average of 10 per cent across the board, thanks to weight savings and improved engines. Most efficient is the 1.6 TDI at 3.8L/100km and 99g/km – despite reasonable 0-100km/h acceleration in 10.9 seconds. The new 2.0 TDI features balance shafts that now rotate in the crankcase and will be produced in both 110kW/320Nm (4.6L/100km) and 135kW/380Nm (4.3L/100km) forms.
VW’s familiar 1.2 TFSI engine delivers 77kW/175Nm and consumes 4.9L/100km in the A3 Sportback, while the new 1.4 TFSI now also gains an aluminium crankcase and delivers 90kW/200Nm while consuming 5.3L/100km. A second 1.4 TFSI engine will be offered later in Europe, delivering 103kW/250Nm outputs and cylinder-on-demand (COD) technology, allowing it to run on two cylinders and consume 4.7L/100km in the A3.
The top-shelf A3 Sportback, for now, will be the 132kW/250Nm 1.8 TFSI, which sprints to 100km/h in 7.3 seconds and a top speed of 232km/h, while being able to consume 5.6L/100km.
Once again, six-speed manual and S tronic dual-clutch automatic transmissions will be available across the range, while quattro AWD (with a new multi-plate clutch) will be available as an option in Europe for the 1.8 TFSI and 2.0 TDI.
As with all MQB models, all engines will be tilted backwards in the engine bay by 12 degrees, with the exhaust side facing the firewall. In the new A3 Sportback, the front axle is shifted 40mm forward, shortening the front overhang by the same amount. Naturally, the Sportback rides on the same MacPherson strut front and four-link rear suspension as the A3 and 15mm- and 25mm-lower sport suspension packages will be available in Europe. Steering is electromechanical power steering with a 15.3:1 ratio. Lane-keeping and self-parking systems will also be offered overseas. Turning circle is 10.9 metres and standard wheel sizes will be 16 and 17-inch, with 18s available as an option.
As expected, the Sportback appears identical to the all-new A3 hatch (including its larger front air intakes) except for the addition of two extra doors, resulting in an aerodynamic drag coefficient of 0.30Cd. However, it features a tailgate design that borrows more from its SUV models including the Q3, Q5 and Q7 than the A3 hatch. The rear-end also features an adaptive brake light and one or two exhaust outlets on the left side of the vehicle, depending on engine choice.
Inside, Audi’s MMI vehicle interface system takes pride of place via a retractable 5.8-inch monitor, which can be replaced by a seven-inch high-resolution screen with 3D graphics, 60GB of storage capacity and voice control. Also optional is a 705-Watt 14-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system, while three- and four-spoke steering wheels with flat bottoms and gearshift paddles are fitted depending on the model.
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Written byMarton Pettendy
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