Audi A3 Facelift Revealed
Audi has revealed the facelift of the entire A3 range, which includes a four-door sedan, a three-door hatchback, a five-door sportback and a two-door cabriolet.
The Audi A3 has been a fairly popular car in India. Though people usually consider buying its elder sibling, the A4, the A3 still remains one of the best entry level luxury sedans. Now, Out of these, the four-door sedan will enter India to replace the current model sometime next year.
The new A3 sedan features some changes in the bodywork, the most prominent being the new headlamp units and the front grille. The headlamp units now come with an option of Matrix LED and the grille is still a hexagonal unit with slightly more angular lines. The bumpers have also been reworked to accommodate larger air vents.
The wheels are new 16-inch units with an option of 19-inch ones. The rear and side profile largely look the same, except for the tail lights, which have been reworked to look much sleeker.
Inside, the car gets a new steering wheel and a new instrument cluster, which still remains a 2-dial unit with an information display in the centre. Other than that, all the elements are largely the same. This time around, Audi is also offering the virtual cockpit technology in the A3. This feature is already present in the A4 sedan and lets the driver choose between Classic or Infotainment modes for the 12.3-inch display.
The facelift series introduces two new engines for power delivery. The first is a 1.0-litre three-cylinder TFSI engine, producing 113bhp and 200Nm torque. What's special about this entry is that, for the first time ever, the A3 gets a three-cylinder mill. The second entry is the 2.0-litre four-cylinder TFSI engine, producing 187bhp. This uses cylinder-on-demand technology which shuts down two cylinders when the power requirement is less, increasing fuel efficiency.
The Audi A3 has been an arch rival of the Mercedes-Benz CLA in the Indian car market. Both these cars come in petrol and diesel variants and offer a lot of comfort features, which make them true to their brand value. Here is an engine comparison of the two:
| Audi A3 | Mercedes-Benz CLA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | 40 TFSI | 35 TDI | CLA 200 | CLA 200 d |
| Fuel | Petrol | Diesel | Petrol | Diesel |
| Displacement(cc) | 1,798 | 1,968 | 1,991 | 2,143 |
| Power (hp) | 180 | 143 | 183 | 136 |
| Torque (Nm) | 250 | 320 | 300 | 300 |
| Top Speed (kmph) | 250 | 215 | 235 | 220 |
| 0-100 kmph (sec) | 7.3 | 8.6 | 7.8 | 9.8 |
| Transmission | 7-Speed S tronic | 6-Speed S tronic | 7G-DCT | 7G-DCT |
Both of these are entry level sedans from the German carmakers, and are wonderful choices for someone who wants to make an entry in the luxury car segment.
Do tell us what you think of the Audi A3 facelift in the comments section below.
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