Audi USA just announced pricing and details for the 2017 model year A3 sedan and convertible. But in Europe, deliveries have already started, which means we can show you what one looks like a little early.
As you may have heard, the A3 underwent a mid-life facelift that added copied the design of the A4. Or at least that's what the media says, because we think it looks different to the bigger car around the grille. This design is polarizing in the extreme, like the F30 3 Series.
Not even the hardcore Audi haters will be able to contradict us when we say the interior is great. They added the Virtual Cockpit system, which s a digital dash with maps, gauges, and all the vehicle information. We find the tech side is superior even compared to something like a 5 Series.
Safety features have been borrowed from the second-generation Q7, such as the adaptive cruise control with traffic jam assist, active lane assist and emergency braking with pedestrian detection.
The rest of the cabin is about the same except for the A4-style air conditioning. Even though the A3 Cabrio starts at over 30,000 euros, it doesn't come with all that much standard equipment. So most of the cool stuff we mentioned is extra.
Revisions to the engine range are not mind-blowing, but they do exist. For example, they used a newer 7-speed S tronic automatic model for the most powerful engines instead of the previous 6-speed. The 1.8 TFSI is gone, having been replaced by a 2.0 TFSI unit with 190 horsepower, which you can already buy in the A4 2.0 TFSI ultra quattro model we talked about yesterday.
The engine lineup now includes a 1.0-liter turbocharged three-cylinder with 115 horsepower at the bottom of the range, buy you can't order it on the A3 Cabriolet because it wouldn't cope with the weight of the car.
According to our information, the A3 will be discontinued, along with the 3-door versions of the A1 and A3 hatchbacks. So better buy one soon. Just kidding, don't buy one!
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News