The Audi A3 will be available for the first time as a sedan, when the all-new Audi A3 sedan launches in late 2013.
Debuting at today's New York auto show, the Audi A3 sedan marks the small car's entry into the compact sedan market for the first time.
Blending Audi's three-box and coupe design philosophies, the 4.46m-long A3 sedan has short overhangs, sharper door lines and slightly larger wheel arches flares than the 4.29m-long Audi A3 Sportback, while riding on a 62mm longer wheelbase and being 11mm wider. The bigger A3 sedan also sees boot capacity increase 55 litres, to 425L.
The new four-door also receives subtle changes to its bonnet, bumpers, air intakes and grille while the sedan's rear end gets an integrated boot-lid spoiler and optional LED tail-lights. LED headlights are standard.
The 1250kg Audi A3 sedan will launch across Europe with a three-engine line-up featuring one diesel and two petrol four-cylinder engines – a 110kW/320Nm 2.0-litre TDI, 103kW/250Nm 1.4-litre TSI and a 132kW/250Nm 1.8-litre TSFI – featuring direct injection and stop-start technology.
Fuel consumption figures reach as low as 4.1 litres per 100km with CO2 emissions hitting 108 grams per kilometre while a 0-100km/h sprint time of 7.3 seconds will also be achievable via either a six-speed manual transmission or S tronic dual-clutch automatic.
Audi connect – the German manufacturer's integrated wireless hotspot system – is again included in the A3's technology package, but with a new parking space information service making its debut. The service shows information on parking spaces and parking garages near a destination selected by the driver and, whenever possible, indicates the number of spaces available and any associated parking fees. The specific street address of the parking space can then be used as a navigation destination for the car's satellite navigation unit.
Electronic stability control with an electronic differential lock, an electromechanical parking brake, lane assist, park assist, traffic sign recognition, and adaptive cruise control with Audi's auto-braking Pre sense collision avoidance technology also feature as do 16- to 18-inch-wheels.
Audi Australia's Shaun Cleary told CarAdvice, the Audi A3 sedan is expected to sit above the current A3 Sportback range, attached to a small premium, when the new four-door arrives locally in the first quarter of 2014, to be followed soon after by the flagship 221kW/380Nm Audi S3 sedan.
Full pricing and specification details will be announced closer to the car's launch.
