Audi A3 Buyer's Guide

                                                                                                                                                                                                               Audi's new A3 has already launched as a-two-door-hatchback which won't be sold in the U.S. We have full details on the versions that will.

The mainstream A3 is the sedan previewed by the concept at 2011 Geneva. Its wheelbase stretches by 1.5 inches to 104, and it's slightly wider than the hatchback.The dash and instrument packs are carried over from the new two-door hatchback, but the longer wheelbase gives a better rear package.

The sedan body, Audi thinks, is vital to spurring sales of compact cars in the U.S. and Chinese markets. In addition to European production, Audi will build the car in a new Chinese factory coming online in 2014, where it will offer a long-wheelbase version for that chauffeur-intense market.

With the new modular MQB platform come new powertrains, so the A3 in the U.S. will get new four-cylinder gasoline engines. The base version will be a 180-hp, 1.8-liter with variable valve lift on the exhaust side. The 2.0-liter version produces about 230 hp. Topping the range is a 300-hp S3 quattro. Well, at least it tops the range for the moment. In 2015, Audi's 2.5-liter in-line five will be wedged under the hood for the RS 3 quattro. This engine makes 360 hp in the TT RS, and was rated 408 in the concept; the RS 3 quattro's final number will be somewhere in between.

A plug-in hybrid for 2014 is likely to be named A3 e-Tron, and will use the hatchback body for differentiation. The A3 four-door hatchback shares the sedan's wheelbase, but has the same width as the two-door hatch. Like the new VW Jetta conventional hybrid, the A3 e-Tron's engine is a 1.4-liter turbo direct-injection engine with displacement-on-demand technology that deactivates two cylinders at light load. This links to a seven-speed twin-clutch transmission, with an integrated electric motor. The battery is in the rear, under the trunk.

 

Electric range is about 35 miles. Various cruising modes range from one that maximizes fuel efficiency to one that uses the electric motor to boost the gas engine for big-engine style high-performance.