- Audi debuted a new A3 Sportback, the hatchback version of its compact that’s sold in Europe.
- The new A3 has more athletic proportions and a more tech-focused interior.
- We’re not likely to get the hatchback in the U.S., but a new A3 sedan should come here later this year.
A new generation of Audi’s A3 compact car is here, and we’re liking the way the Europe-market hatchback variant looks. This redesigned A3 Sportback has bolder styling and additional tech features, and it tells us a fair amount about the new A3 sedan that should make its way to the U.S. market later this year.
So far, Audi is only releasing details about the front-wheel-drive A3 Sportback, which offers either a turbocharged 1.5-liter gasoline engine and a 2.0-liter turbo-diesel. We won’t get either of these engines in America, or the available six-speed manual transmission. Instead, we’re most likely to see an all-wheel-drive A3 sedan with a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-four and a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.
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Audi also says that hybrid versions are coming later. The company briefly sold the plug-in-hybrid A3 e-tron in hatchback form in the U.S. from 2016 to 2018, but we wouldn’t bet on the hatch coming back anytime soon.
A 10.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system is standard, as is Audi’s Virtual Cockpit digital gauge cluster. A larger 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster is optional and offers additional display modes.
Higher-performance S3 and RS3 variants are also on the horizon, and Audi is already talking about performance-enhancing features such as torque vectoring and adaptive dampers. We should learn more about these forthcoming versions of the new A3 throughout this year as Audi fleshes out its U.S. plan for launching this new small car.
Source: Motor - aranddriver.com
