The new Audi A3: what’s new – more technology and ADAS

The new range of this German premium compact car incorporates electronic and digital architectures featuring AI, inherited from the brand’s flagship models. Consequently, the advanced Level 2 semi-autonomous driving system – which operates at speeds of up to 210 per hour – now includes functions for assisted lane change and lane-keeping, even in the absence of road markings. Furthermore, the A3 features a system capable of autonomously calculating braking distances before junctions and when red traffic lights are detected. The range of driver-assistance systems is rounded off by a function which, thanks to 360° radar mapping, allows the A3 to memorise up to five recurring manoeuvres, such as, for example, those for accessing parking spaces or driveways, so that it can carry them out autonomously whenever it approaches the stored locations. Furthermore, the Remote Parking Pilot function – which can be activated even without prior memorisation or driving past parking areas – can be controlled via a smartphone.

Exclusive to the A3 Sportback range, the Design trim combines a look characterised by 18-inch alloy wheels and tinted windows – borrowed from the top-of-the-range S line – with the option to customise the car after purchase. In fact, with ‘Functions on Demand’, optional equipment – such as the navigation system – can be installed and activated, even on a temporary basis, whilst digital services linked to Audi licences allow users to access features via a monthly subscription rather than for pre-defined periods. These two solutions are designed to keep the prices of the A3 Sportback Design models competitive; they are lower than those of the Business versions with similar engines.

Prices for the A3 Sportback Design start at 32,600 euros for the 1.5-litre TFSI version with 116 cavalli, rise to 35,000 euros for the 48-volt mild-hybrid variant paired with a dual-clutch gearbox, to €37,000 for the 1.5 TFSI with the same technologies but delivering 150 cavalli, and rises to €43,000 for the e-hybrid version, featuring a 204 cavalli plug-in powertrain and a battery that can also be charged via direct current at up to 40 kW, promising a zero-emission range of up to 140 kilometres.

The A3 Sportback is also available in the Business, Business Advanced and S line trim levels, with petrol engines – including those with 48-volt electrification – plug-in hybrids and turbo-diesels, with power outputs ranging from 116 to 272 cavalli, and is on sale at prices ranging from 33,000 to 54,000 euros. The Allstreet, with its raised suspension, is available in the same trim levels as the A3 Sportback (except for the Design variant) and is available only with 150 cavalli TFSI petrol engines and 48-volt mild-hybrid systems, paired with a dual-clutch gearbox, priced from 40,000 to 52,000 euro; the five-door S3 and four-door S3 Saloon with 333 cavalli are priced from 57,000 euro, whilst the equivalent Rs3 hybrid models with 400 cavalli are on sale for 71,000 and 73,000 euro. Finally, the price list for the four-door A3 saloon – available with the same trim levels as the Sportback but without the e-hybrid powertrains – starts at 34,000 and goes up to 46,000 euros.

View our price list

Motori24 videos