The first generation A3 Sedan was a successful model for Audi mostly because it offered great value, performance, and comfort along with the Audi badge which impressed many users. And when launched it did not have proper rivals from its luxury counterparts including Germany's BMW and Mercedes-Benz. This gave the A3 great space moving forward but time did catch up with the A3 Sedan and now it has very capable rivals including BMW's 3-Series and Mercedes-Benz's A-Class. Both of them were recently launched and are a great value providing tough competition to the successful A3 Sedan.
And it is right about the time that Audi gave a refresh to its popular entry-level model. Audi has not just given it a tweaked exterior design but they have gone all out and given every best thing they had found even in higher-end models and filtered them down to the A3. These words are more than enough to prove how good the new A3 is but let's see what Audi has done from its side. Before getting deeper for starters the A3 gets the latest advanced Audi technology, premium interiors that were already good in the first generation, striking looks, standard all-wheel-drive system, and lots of safety features along with a host of driver assistance features.
The first generation A3 was stirring, sharp and had understated looks which can not be said for the second generation model. This new A3 takes sharpness and sportiness to an entirely new level with sharp edges everywhere and the design tweaks all over the car just make it even sharper and sportier. No doubt when it comes to choosing one between the A3 and its rivals as the 2-series gran coupe has a controversial design whereas the A-Class is too plain and elegant. The design of the A3 makes you want to buy one just because of its looks. And if the exterior design was not enough to attract you then you will definitely give yourself up to the A3 when it comes to the interior. Hands down, it is the best interior in this segment and that means it is best in everything on the inside. The quality of the materials used are top-notch, the features list are very long, new infotainment system which is on par with BMW's excellent iDrive system, and of course gets Audi's Virtual Cockpit MI which is undoubtedly the best in the segment with loads of information and the A-Class may get closer to it wheres BMW gets the last place.
With the second generation A3 Sedan, Audi has also made changes with the engine and transmission options. It now gets a choice from two TFSI engines and one TDI engine. All these engines are very potent but at the same time provide great fuel efficiency. The 35 TFSI variant gets the 1.5-liter direct-injection unit produces 150 hp and is mated to two transmission options which include a six-speed manual transmission and a slick-shifting seven-speed S Tronic automatic transmission. Another thing to note with this engine is that it is based on the cylinder on-demand technology. The engine works in conjunction with the S Tronic dual-clutch transmission system and uses a 48-volt mild system that recovers energy during deceleration and gives the engine an additional 50 Nm of true when needed. This may include conditions like when you are driving off-road or when accelerating from low engine speeds. This also helps the A3 in reducing fuel consumption by up to 0.4 liters per 100 km. The powertrain which will sell more is the TDI motor which is now a 2.0-liter unit producing 150 hp and is mated to a seven-speed S Tronic dual-clutch automatic transmission where the shifts are now handled with the help of a new switch using shift-by-wire technology.
Another major change with the new A3 can be seen in the suspension setup as it now tuned to be sportier than the first-generation A3. And thanks to these changes, the new A3 is now more precise and quick to react to the driver's inputs. This is also because of the new central dynamic handling system which ensures that there is optimal interaction between all the components in the car that is related to driving dynamics. Other than the standard setup, the A3 now also gets a sport suspension and another suspension setup with controlled dampers. The suspension setup with controlled dampers will be the best choice among the trio as it offers many options between highly comfortable setup or athletic handling. This is also helped with Audi's drive select dynamic handling system which allows the driver to play and experiment with the different levels of suspension setup tuning in the A3 Sedan from being strictly comfortable to be the most dynamic.
As told before, this time around the A3 is well packed with features and also is connected. The new infotainment system on top of the dashboard in the A3 is Audi's latest MMI Navigation Plus which uses the third generation modular infotainment (MIB 3) platform. The new third-generation MIB 3 platform based MMI Navigation Plus infotainment system comes with computing power that is now ten times higher than that in the first generation A3. This system connects the car with the help of LTE Advanced speed and connects the smartphones of the passengers inside the car to the Internet Wi-Fi hotspot. Other than these new features, the MMI Navigation Plus infotainment system has all the services which it offered before as standard which includes online traffic information, news, user reviews, and navigation. The new A3 is also connected to your smartphone with the help of Audi's smartphone interface which integrates both iOS and Android smartphones with Appl CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity in the MMI. And as it is a connected car now, the A3 Sedan can not only be locked and unlocked but also be started by using an Android smartphone along with Audi connect key. The DAB+ digital radio system now comes as standard across the entire range with the new A3. Optional equipment on the A3 now includes online and hybrid radio, and Amazon Alexa voice assistant.
This second generation of the A3 Sedan will be undoubtedly another success for Audi in the entry-level premium car segment. Keeping up with the twentieth century, Audi has loaded the A3 with tech and it is fully digital and connected, unlike the first-generation model. There are changes underneath the body too with a new drive system and a tweaked suspension setup which is now focussed to make the A3 more dynamic this time around. The A3 can be seen on European dealerships starting from summer 2020 but may get delayed because of the ongoing pandemic.
