You won’t see them at the 2013 New York Auto Show, but Audi took the wraps off the MQB-based A3 and S3 for North America at a private event today.
The standard A3 was revealed with its world engine lineup; a 1.4T making 140 horsepower and 184 lb-ft, a 1.8T making 180 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque and a 2.0 TDI engine making 150 horsepower and 236 lb-ft of torque. Audi hasn’t announced on which engines will come to America. The S3 will get a 296 horsepower 2.0T engine mated to a DSG gearbox and all-wheel drive. There will be no manual for the American market across the board, unfortunately.
Audi has also announced that we will get the A3 Sportback, though the S3 Sportback hasn’t been confirmed. The Hungarian-built A3 will go on sale in 2014.
It’s nice to have the old A4 back. Across the board, as no manuals at all? Dodge Dart sales should increase then.
But it’s not the old A4, since it’s a transverse front-engine layout, like the Golf that it’s based on. Which is a good thing, since it could feasibly get the TT-RS 5-cylinder turbo motor someday.
You’re exactly right — the current RS3 has the TTRS engine, I believe.
I’ve told anyone who will listen to me at Audi that that engine needs to find itself on a Torsen diff. :)
I was mostly alluding to the exterior dimensions, like with the new A4s being similarly sized to an old A6.
I’ve only owned one older Audi and it was a wonderful car. This just got lumped into the not so pleasant CLA file cabinet in my head, and I feel pretty much over Audi. Honestly, I’d rather have a manual Verano.
If Audi buys Alfa, what does that make a Dart?
Great-loking car, inside and out.
I presume North America will not get the 1.4 egine, only the 1.8 and diesel?
As I observed before, in profile the back half is very reminiscent of the first A4. Which is not a bad thing. The Sportback has sold well in Canada, so the new one should as well.
Is the Nav etc. screen fixed in place, or does it retract into the dash?
I lust after the S3….
The new S3 will supposedly be around $39K? Not bad for an S-car.
Will the new A4 eventually have this 296 hp version of the 2.0T?
Will this be about the size of an 8th gen Corolla? (mid-90s to early 2000s)
I’m not entirely surprised by the no manual thing — they are probably less popular for the A3 than the A4.
It’s actually nearly identical in size to the original A4
My understanding is that it will be a good bit lighter than the B5 A4, as Mr. Kreindler stated in a prior post last year, apples to apples. Some reports are saying under 2700 lbs for a 1.4T, and others are saying 2750 or so — but is that Quattro or FWD?
In US spec with the 1.8T, I believe the B5 A4 was above 3000 lbs for FWD and above 3200 for Quattro.
I could see myself replacing my A4 with this in a couple of years. I won’t touch the 2015 model, as it is a good rule-of-thumb to avoid all first year Audis, but maybe for 2016.
I’m not surprised by the no-manuals thing either, but it is a stupid move by Audi of America. The car is available, and it would add to their S3 sales, even if the S3 got the manual and the A3 didn’t.
I was excited by this car but they’ve ruined it for me…
If it’s the TTS engine (which is likely), it has only been certified with the DSG gearbox.
The manual will be available in the Golf version, no doubt. The typical status seeking lease signer will want sunroof and automatic, with an upsell for the nav and xenons. These are the same folks who buy “manager special” 3 series (no sport package, automatic trans, base seating, no real electronics)
Americans don’t drive stick…a self fulfilling prophecy.
I bet the only cars you drive are manual diesel wagons.
a good automatic, that you can control > manual.
I disagree. I’m yet to see any automatic that’s better than a manual in terms of driver’s involvement and connection to the car.
Besides, we both know that all that automatic control stuff is going to be used once or maybe twice and then it will be left in auto mode for the rest of its life. People that buy automatic don’t buy it to change their own gears.
Says you, pal.
The DSG is as good as a manual. It’s a lot faster shifting for one.
“as good as” in what sense?
Sure a good CVT can beat a manual for fuel economy. Sure, a good paddle-shift automatic is faster on a track. So?
so your only buying manual as a personal preference. not because it has any tangible benefit.
..I’m only buying what I prefer? Shocking!
Your point still eludes me. What’s wrong with a car company selling me (and a portion of the car buying public like me) the car I want to buy?
Some enjoy driving fast with computers in control. I don’t, I like shifting and thinking about how I’m driving. 0-60 doesn’t mean sh&% to me.
at least the S3 auto box is a DSG. if its not a stick, at least make it a good auto, that can be manually controlled.
Yea but it’s more expensive to maintain, and prone to more problems than the manual which I’ve never heard of anyone having trouble with. I was hoping to trade my manual 2007 2.0 at 100k miles but I’m not so keen now.
golf R and current euro s3 have a weak clutch that has to be upgraded beyond 300 hp. Sure not a big expense but not cheap either
Sometimes when you modify performance items, other things need to be beefed up. Par for the course.
What concerns me, and I expect many others, is will Audi’s DSG box make it to 100,000 miles and as a buyer would you be willing to bet the over or the under?
I was really looking forward to this car and previously it was reported it would have a manual in both A3 and S3 guise.
Color me disappointed.
No manual? Excellent. My list grows shorter.
+1
+2
No manual, no hatchback… *** takes list: scratch scratch ***
My nipples explode with delight! *
* And if you get the joke, you’re really cool
Is that a bouncy-bouncy suspension, then?
It’s from an old Monty Python skit around an English – Hungarian phrase book. It was one of the mistranslated phrases. As the “Hungarian” (played by Cleese) was getting arrested he screams, “my nipples explode with delight.”
Apparently he was probably trying to say, “I’m innocent of any crime,” or something to that effect.
This seems to be the year in which we will farewell the mechanic hand brake.
What is the Diesel and AWD probability?
Diesel is pretty much guaranteed given that the current A3 already has it, and Audi keeps adding it to new models in North America. AWD should be the same but I think there is some additional risk …
That’s a nice looking… Mercury Tracer.
I see the Ford has been spawning slant-eyed mongrels!
What is “the Ford”?
I have 3 Audis. all of them stick, all of them 2006 or newer. My wife’s A3 is up next. If she can’t get a stick, she’ll be shopping elsewhere. This is a stupid move on Audi’s part. Every generation of Audi gets more features slashed from the option sheet. I honestly believe they want to just sell one car with one drivetrain in three non-alterable trim levels in the buyer’s choice of white, black, or grey paint. Oh, wait, they’re already there..
“…in the buyer’s choice of white, black, or grey paint.”
But you gotta admit the cars do look good in white.
Just sayin’.
In white it looks like a Stormtrooper
I get no manual on A3. But S3, really? This from a company whose RS5 is manual only?
In Europe, the S4 and S5 are S Tronic (DSG) only, the manual gearbox for those two is only in North America. The sad reality is most buyers want nothing to do with a clutch pedal.
That said, according to the Vortex guys (who are fairly well connected), there is some hope that the S3 might yet be available with a manual as well, even though none was announced.
Most drivers want an automatic. But that leaves SOME drivers who insist on a manual, myself included. Automaker need to just start charging extra for the manual transmission option, just like automatics used to be extra charge.
As others have said, no manual, no consideration.
the cost of provided a manual on a small production car, are far more then the people wanting a manual are willing to pay.
500 Abarth..? Focus ST? Fiesta ST? Audi TT RS?
“Automaker need to just start charging extra for the manual transmission option…”
Agreed. I’d gladly pay for a manual as an option.
ok manual fan boys.
audi will see you a manual… only 10k extra.
A few months back various media outlets we’re reporting that both the A3 and S3 would come with a manual. It didn’t appear to be speculation as they mentioned various sources within Audi both named and anonymous.
The RS5 is DSG only in the US. I think Audi has done the research and knows that the DSG appeals to the largest market if there is only enough volume to support a single transmission.
The current RS5 is automatic-only. The TT RS is manual only in the US, but DSG in Europe. Go figure.
Nice Jetta.
No Sportback, No Manual, No Fog Lampules. Annoying.
Read the last sentence of the article. The sportback is coming.
No fog lights, but then I’d be happy enough for fog lights to be banned altogether from all cars — practically no one uses them the way they were intended.
Ah, well that is good news about the Sportback.
I see you are a stickler for function over form on the fog lights. You would hate seeing me on the road, all my A4’s lights are ablaze (including rear fogs), all the time! There are too many douchbags and douchbaggettes on the road that lack situational awareness – and simply don’t see other cars.
I feckin’ hate the rear fog light being used on a perfectly clear night. Get stuck behind someone with that laser beam of blindness on in stop and go traffic and you just want to pull out a BB gun and shoot the damn thing out.
Sportback.. as a hybrid only.
Why, AoA, why?!
Based on looks alone, this should eat the CLA’s lunch.
Congrats Audi. You built a really, really tarted-up Golf/Jetta. Complete with Audi’s nasty reputation for unreliability. OOOOHH can’t wait!
Unreliability is irrelevant if you are leasing :)
Audi’s actual reliability record over the past few years is actually quite good – far better than BMW or Mercedes, for example.
Now, if you are looking at a used Audi from 2003-6, good night…
I really like Audis, and this one is no exception. A couple of friends own them and like them, but the maintenance is expensive. Apparently, paying the price for European luxury is something they’re willing to do.
The price of owning an Audi would bankrupt me.
“The price of owning an Audi would bankrupt me.”
Probably not. I did a comparison of an Audi vs. a Honda Civic, and the Civic was costlier in maintenance costs up to 100K miles, partly because that Civic’s timing belt bumped it higher. However, the timing belt on the Audi at 110K would have pushed it higher than the Civic at that point, but not by as much as people would think. If you had to do some control arms on the Audi after 100K, that would also be slightly more.
The current incarnations of both cars have timing chains instead of timing belts now. The comparison was apples-to-apples, both by the book — even though the Audi had service included for 4/50K, I included the cash cost of that. In the Civic’s case, the maintenance was done entirely at an independent mechanic (except that some oil changes were done by the owner, I didn’t include cost of labor for those oil changes), and in the Audi’s case, it was done entirely at the dealer before warranty and entirely at an independent mechanic after warranty. The Audi had a longer maintenance interval and didn’t have a lot of major services before 100K, whereas the Civic had incremental services at 60K, 75K, and 90K, so that’s probably why the result was as it was.
I think the problem is that people who own Audis tend to take them to the stealership instead of an independent mechanic, and those guys rip you off. It’s much cheaper when you don’t have an incompetent service writer lying to you.
Interesting reply. I re-read my comment and did forget to mention that my friend’s Audis were bought USED, not new, so I suppose that’s the difference.
My Impalas, once they’re out of warranty, I take them to my own mechanic, too. Wifey, on the other hand, prefers the dealer nearby for her CR-V..
Uh, when exactly did you do your cost comparo? Virtually all Honda engines lost their timing belts around 2002. My 2005 Civic had a timing chain (never needed replacement). The wifes 2003 Accord also had a chain.
“Virtually all Honda engines lost their timing belts around 2002.”
Sadly the civic kept the belt until 2005. I own a 7th gen civic (2000-2005) and it needed the belt replaced (along with water pump and tensioner). I’m guessing your civic is an 8th gen (2005-2011) which has a chain (if not, you’d better get that belt done).
I did my cost comparo recently. It was a low mileage (for the number of years) 7th gen Civic, so it still had a timing belt — see what Slicky said for the accuracy of your statement on Honda timing belts. An 8th gen obviously wouldn’t have had a timing belt.
Current Audi 2.0Ts don’t have a timing belt either.
Another thing (with the other replies) is don’t Audi’s include bumper-to-bumper and free regular maintenance for 4/50? Doesn’t that make a 4 year 48K mile lease perfectly optimal if you can get a good rate? You get a good car and the only thing you have to worry about is turning it back in with door dings or scratches in the paint.
Audi used to include maintenance through 2006. As I mentioned, I included the cash value of the free maintenance in my cost for an apples-to-apples comparison. I’m not sure if this is fair to the Audi, because the cost of maintenance is effectively included in the cost of the car. If you deduct the cost of the free maintenance through 50K, the Audi is quite cost competitive with the Civic even at 110K with the timing belt.
Current Audis do not include maintenance for 4/50, but you can buy a maintenance package for for 4 years/50K miles of dealer maintenance. I believe you can also get a maintenance package for certified pre-owned that covers through 75K (although that’s still mostly oil changes + I believe spark plugs).
That’s not so say that certain Audis aren’t more expensive. If you have the 4.2L V8, even an oil change can be relatively expensive because you need 9-10 liters of synthetic. I’d imagine the V10 is also expensive. Brake jobs are more expensive than my old Panther because Audis have overkill for America autobahn-worthy brakes (especially the ones with OEM Brembos), and it’s recommended that you replace rotors every time you do pads (although dealerships don’t seem to do that by default).
You really don’t want to go to the dealership after the warranty ends — that’s the mistake people make. What’s odd, however, is that some dealership parts departments actually charge much lower than retail for parts.
Are you kidding me? No stick? What is Audi thinking?
Had been holding out on getting the Focus ST in hopes that the A3 would tick all the boxes. It doesn’t. (yeah… I know it’s an odd cross shop).
You’re not alone. My short list is eclectic.. Audi A3/S3, Focus or Fiesta ST, BRZ/FR-S…
Audi has quite a few models with manuals. The real issue is the traverse mounted engine. That means is basically FWD, no?
What is with the useless, goofy-looking inside rearview mirrors on more and more of these high-priced makes? (Not just cars like this one and the Minis–the M3, IIRC, is guilty of this same crime!)
If I’m going to drop $40K+ on a car (or make $500/month payments and receive nothing at the end), I expect to be able to see the entire back window!