Consider the current A3 that little tailgate at the back of Audi showrooms just a toe in the water. A project and an testing. Audi never predictable big sales numbers from its little five-door in the U.S., instead only seeking to attract some little people to the product as testing the temperature here for premium-badged small cars.
When the next A3 arrives premature next year (in the first quarter of 2014 as a 2015 model), Audi will no longer be live around. Exclusively to please American and Chinese car shoppers, the third-generation model append a sedan body style to our formerly hatchback-only A3 lineup. We still will get a hatchback in the form of the five-door Sport back, even though only the e-tron plug-in amalgam version has been established for America.
The sedans, though, are where Audi is focusing its labors. A base model will use a 1.8-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine with 170 horsepower and more than 180 lb-ft of torque, a new component distinct to the old 1.8T wedged into Audis of the last decade. (It’s part of the EA888 engine family, further particulars on which can be found here.) A vaguely superior 2.0-liter version of the engine, ubiquitous in Volkswagen and Audi products, and will serve up up about 200 horses in the all-wheel-drive A3 Quattro.
From what Audi has said so far, it emerge as if only the 2.0-liter four will be opposite with all-wheel drive. That the base 1.8-liter engine and the 2.0-liter diesel will be front-wheel-drive-only isn’t a big agreement, really Benz will be selling a front-drive version of the CLA250 even though the diesel’s torque strength make hard launches a bit of a handful. Energetically, we came away frequently frightened from our drive of a Euro-spec three-door hatchback, which bodes well for the sedan. The suspension consists of swagger up front and a multilink rear, while steering is of the effectiveness boosting electric type.
Regardless of the engine or driven wheels, the only transmission on present is a six-speed dual-clutch automatic. A six-speed stick, obtainable on the base orderly of the outgoing A3, is off the books for the new sedan. Keep your handle crossed that, should Audi offer a conservatively motorized A3 Sport back in the U.S., a manual transmission emerge on its options list.
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