Launch of the new facelift Audi A3

SBPhoto

Launch of the new facelift AUDI A3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SyTzmO-sTGo

Zcott

Am I the only one who really doesn't like them as tiny saloons?

grogi

Zcott wrote: »

Am I the only one who really doesn't like them as tiny saloons?

Do two constitute a club?!

SBPhoto

I wouldn't class them as TINY saloons, They have as much interior space as the Avensis. Passat and the like

grogi

SBPhoto wrote: »

I wouldn't class them as TINY saloons, They have as much interior space as the Avensis. Passat and the like

Thanks, you just made my day... Why do we need A4 if A3 is as spacious?!

colm_mcm

SBPhoto wrote: »

I wouldn't class them as TINY saloons, They have as much interior space as the Avensis. Passat and the like

Not a hope. I was in a few of them last weekend, they're not even Jetta sized. Less headroom than the Jetta, less rear legroom and the boot is 30% smaller.

Agreed they're not tiny. But they're not big either.

wonski

SBPhoto wrote: »

I wouldn't class them as TINY saloons, They have as much interior space as the Avensis. Passat and the like

A4 doesn't even have that

I spent two hours in the back of A4 and don't think A3 can even compete with Avensis/Passat.

Different "class".

jimmycrackcorm

Zcott wrote: »

Am I the only one who really doesn't like them as tiny saloons?

As one of my good friends ( who had a BMW 5 at the time ) said about the introduction of the BMW 1: "It'll be a great car for the wife"

NIMAN

Looks much better as a hatchback.

Into The Blue

Facelift? Nearly identical as current one

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

SBPhoto

Don't know about the Passat but the A3 is a much nicer place to be than the Avensis, IMO I had 5 avensis's and changed to an A3 Saloon last year, the A3 is in a different class okay, Higher and actually cheaper to run. But then i am usually in the car on my own most of the time (I use for my work) I do prefer the saloon shape over the hatchback.

bazz26

I'd expect a small sized premium model to have a nicer finish than a large sized no premium family model considering the price difference between the two.

I think Merc, Audi and BMW all share a similar trait, in that they aren't really any good at designing a hatchback. All of their cars just look a little bit weird when viewed from any angle other than head-on. I never warmed to the A3 and similarly I look at the odd Mercedes or such coming towards me, and when they turn and I see it's a hatchback they just look a bit... weird.


Nice saloons. Estates look decent too. Both Merc and BMW have good looking looking SUVs. Their hatchbacks; I've yet to see one I like.

grogi

Deleted User wrote: »

I think Merc, Audi and BMW all share a similar trait, in that they aren't really any good at designing a hatchback. All of their cars just look a little bit weird when viewed from any angle other than head-on. I never warmed to the A3 and similarly I look at the odd Mercedes or such coming towards me, and when they turn and I see it's a hatchback they just look a bit... weird.


Nice saloons. Estates look decent too. Both Merc and BMW have good looking looking SUVs. Their hatchbacks; I've yet to see one I like.

4-Series Grand Coupe is not nice?

colm_mcm

Deleted User wrote: »

I think Merc, Audi and BMW all share a similar trait, in that they aren't really any good at designing a hatchback. All of their cars just look a little bit weird when viewed from any angle other than head-on. I never warmed to the A3 and similarly I look at the odd Mercedes or such coming towards me, and when they turn and I see it's a hatchback they just look a bit... weird.


Nice saloons. Estates look decent too. Both Merc and BMW have good looking looking SUVs. Their hatchbacks; I've yet to see one I like.

They tend to tone it down for the saloons as buyers are probably more conservative.

bazz26

grogi wrote: »

4-Series Grand Coupe is not nice?

4 Series Gran Coupe is a 4 door version of coupe like the Audi A5 Sportback. 3 Series GT is the hatchback/fastback version in the 3 Series range and ain't pretty from the rear quarter back. Ditto with the 5 Series GT.

grogi

bazz26 wrote: »

4 Series Gran Coupe is a 4 door version of coupe like the Audi A5 Sportback. 3 Series GT is the hatchback/fastback version in the 3 Series range and ain't pretty from the rear quarter back. Ditto with the 5 Series GT.

I know the difference between 3GT and 4GC. And I agree - what the hell were they on when the 3GT was conceived...

To qualify for a coupé, you'd need to have 2 doors. Some qualifications allow 4 doors coupé - it's very difficult to differentiate from a saloon though.

Yet 4GC has 5 doors, thus it is a hatchback... :-) Like Octavia or SuperB Mk2. And like Audi A5 Sportback

bazz26

I think the definition of a coupe has evolved into a bit more than the number of doors it has, it's as much about the sloping roof line, shape of the rear quarter, side profile, etc. While some may have 2 extra doors then are still designed from the original coupe concept.

colm_mcm

Coupe to me was always a 2 door saloon type, but its origins go back to before cars, so to be fair it's pretty ambiguous,
Then you had the likes of Renault calling 3 door Meganes coupes, Hyundai with the coupe which was fastback, and Mercedes calling the cls a coupe. It's all gone a bit mad since then.

Truckermal

colm_mcm wrote: »

Not a hope. I was in a few of them last weekend, they're not even Jetta sized. Less headroom than the Jetta, less rear legroom and the boot is 30% smaller.

Agreed they're not tiny. But they're not big either.

A friend has the A3 Saloon and there is hardly any difference in room to our A4 as in both are cramped as fcuk but yes Colm the Passat is miles bigger..

sunnysoutheast

The 2.0 TFSI quattro should be a nice car.

Be interesting to see what the PCP rates are like.

A3 is a lovely looking saloon imo.

Special Circumstances

colm_mcm wrote: »

Coupe to me was always a 2 door saloon type, but its origins go back to before cars, so to be fair it's pretty ambiguous,
Then you had the likes of Renault calling 3 door Meganes coupes, Hyundai with the coupe which was fastback, and Mercedes calling the cls a coupe. It's all gone a bit mad since then.

Slightly off topic, but I still won't accept that a shooting brake can have 5 doors, but if Mercedes had called the "shooting brake" a coupe-estate, or estate-coupe it would have been just as silly I suppose.

Nonoperational

I think the S-Line saloon is a fine car personally.

grogi

colm_mcm wrote: »

Coupe to me was always a 2 door saloon type, but its origins go back to before cars, so to be fair it's pretty ambiguous,
Then you had the likes of Renault calling 3 door Meganes coupes, Hyundai with the coupe which was fastback, and Mercedes calling the cls a coupe. It's all gone a bit mad since then.

That's how I see it: you start with a convertible, add a hardtop and end up with a coupe. It has to have sedan boot and two doors.

You can skip the convertible stage - but it one can imagine particular car without a roof and major changes to other parts - that's a coupe.

Jesus.

grogi wrote: »

Why do we need A4 if A3 is as spacious?!

Because car models grow but people's size requirements don't grow in line with them so they eventually put a new model into the segment the last car has outgrown to keep up with demand. Skoda for example said they built the Rapid to the exact size spec as the Mk1 Octy because the Octy has grown into the D segment.

People often mistake car models getting bigger for cars themselves getting bigger when in reality the cars people opt to buy don't really get much bigger at all. Its only because the A4 has grown that there's people buying A3 Saloons. There are more Fiesta classed cars bought today than say when the Escort was new because the Fiesta has grown into Escort territory etc etc.

grogi

Jesus. wrote: »

Because car models grow but people's size requirements don't grow in line with them so they eventually put a new model into the segment the last car has outgrown to keep up with demand. Skoda for example said they built the Rapid to the exact size spec as the Mk1 Octy because the Octy has grown into the D segment.

People often mistake car models getting bigger for cars themselves getting bigger when in reality the cars people opt to buy don't really get much bigger at all. Its only because the A4 has grown that there's people buying A3 Saloons. There are more Fiesta classed cars bought today than say when the Escort was new because the Fiesta has grown into Escort territory etc etc.

Yet A3 remains on the smaller side of compacts with wheelbase of only 2,636mm. Passat B5 had 2703mm, A4 B5 was a bit smaller (2,615mm). But both cars grew over the years and now have wheelbase around 2800mm...

So the newest A3 does compare to the 20 year old A4. And there is no way it is as specious as ANY Passat you can see in the roads now.

Jesus.

grogi wrote: »

So the newest A3 does compare to the 20 year old A4.

Sure does Grogi but it will itself evolve. The next A3 will no doubt be a bit bigger than the current one.

grogi wrote: »

And there is no way it is as specious as ANY Passat you can see in the roads now.

Not a chance.

SBPhoto

New Ara Blue
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Jesus.

I think she's a grand lookin yoke

MuddyDog

Will there be a new S3 too?

SBPhoto

Yes New S3 with an extra 10bhp

Truckermal

The interior is brutal though , a bog standard Octavia looks better inside.

pablo128

colm_mcm wrote: »

Coupe to me was always a 2 door saloon type, but its origins go back to before cars, so to be fair it's pretty ambiguous,
Then you had the likes of Renault calling 3 door Meganes coupes, Hyundai with the coupe which was fastback, and Mercedes calling the cls a coupe. It's all gone a bit mad since then.

The best was BMW bringing out a car badged as a GT. It turned out to be a fcukin people carrier!:eek:

pburns

I think about this kinda stuff quite a lot, maybe too much...

A3 saloon is too narrow/tall - proportions all wrong. I never really agreed with Clarkson's assertion that a Boxster is for those who can't afford a 911 but definitely think there's a whiff of it about the likes of the A3, Astra saloon etc. A3 sporthatch looks good to me - esp with optional roofrails which kinda straches it out visually.

3 series aggressive snout bulks it out but it looks quite narrow from the back. In fairness, new A4 proportions are pretty good.
http://www.automobiledimension.com/car-comparison.php

pm.

Not much difference than the A4 at first glance... Even on the road I find I have to look twice

colm_mcm

Even in the showroom it's difficult,

kirving

Agreed on the A3 Saloon and Astra Saloon. They look too much like their bigger brothers.

The Jetta and Passat at least look different enough to one another that the Jetta doesn't look like a slimline Passat as it did from 06- or so.

SBPhoto

Truckermal wrote: »

The interior is brutal though , a bog standard Octavia looks better inside.

Wouldn't agree at all, have you been in one? one of the best interiors by far in this class of saloon, and so stated by all the reviews. doesn't even compare with the Avensis or Octavia, and i have been in both. Porportionately i think AUdi got it spot on, thats one of the reasons i bought one, much nicer looking than the 3series IMO.

colm_mcm

I think the a3 interior is quite nice for what it is, even the SE has a motorised novelty colour screen that comes out of the top of the dash, and kinda MMI type controls near the gear knob. The seat trims look good, it seems about right for the price.

Wailin

SBPhoto wrote: »

Wouldn't agree at all, have you been in one? one of the best interiors by far in this class of saloon, and so stated by all the reviews. doesn't even compare with the Avensis or Octavia, and i have been in both. Porportionately i think AUdi got it spot on, thats one of the reasons i bought one, much nicer looking than the 3series IMO.

Won't disagree on the 3 series....not much of a looker but they are not in the same class. A3 is similar in size to octavia, A4 competes with 3 series.

grogi

Wailin wrote: »

Won't disagree on the 3 series....not much of a looker but they are not in the same class. A3 is similar in size to octavia, A4 competes with 3 series.

Well... Octavia is 20 cm longer, 2 cm wider and 4.5 cm taller, with wheelbase being bigger by 5 cm too. They are both compact cars, but by no means the similar size.

pm.

colm_mcm wrote: »

I think the a3 interior is quite nice for what it is, even the SE has a motorised novelty colour screen that comes out of the top of the dash, and kinda MMI type controls near the gear knob. The seat trims look good, it seems about right for the price.

Pitty the A4 mmi is not also motorised

Wailin

grogi wrote: »

Well... Octavia is 20 cm longer, 2 cm wider and 4.5 cm taller, with wheelbase being bigger by 5 cm too. They are both compact cars, but by no means the similar size.

Just checked, A3 hatchback and Golf are near identical in size, presume the A3 saloon with have a little more room. Nowhere near the size of a passat/avensis though as the OP claimed in an earlier post.

Jesus.

Kevin Irving wrote: »

Agreed on the A3 Saloon and Astra Saloon. They look too much like their bigger brothers. The Jetta and Passat at least look different enough to one another that the Jetta doesn't look like a slimline Passat as it did from 06- or so.

I often mistake the recent Jettas for Passats & vice versa on first glance

bs2014

Am I the only one struggling to see the difference. Although I thought I read the Golf is getting a facelift next year (I suspect very subtle); is this the a3 version. I struggled to warm to the A3 saloon initially but lately it has really warmed on me, only sline of course!
In saying that, I've a leon FR and thinking of changing next year and sat in an a3 recently, I know I'm stating the obvious, but its rediculous how similar such a more expensive car is. I'm considering going for a 1 series perhaps just so I'd feel I'm getting something totally different, just nervous of switching to rear wheel drive and the potential for oversteer on day to day driving maybe, any press on merchants here have experience of RWD Beemers or esp the 1 series

pm.

Why not go for quattro

kefir32

I prefer the s line sportback A3 with roof rails to the three door or the saloon..... proportions seem better, saloon always stuck me as an afterthought

Truckermal

SBPhoto wrote: »

Wouldn't agree at all, have you been in one? one of the best interiors by far in this class of saloon, and so stated by all the reviews. doesn't even compare with the Avensis or Octavia, and i have been in both. Porportionately i think AUdi got it spot on, thats one of the reasons i bought one, much nicer looking than the 3series IMO.

I just find them very plain and that motorised screen Colm mentioned is old tech as the A8 had it 12 years ago!!! I like gadgets and lots of buttons which this misses but I would still consider one next year when our pcp ends on the A4.