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Next generation Audi A3 sedan

2532 Views 9 Replies 8 Participants Last post by  vdubfan77, 
W
Not sure which section this should go in because it's the next generation A3. It looks like they are making a sedan just for the US. It'll be the same size as the first A4. The A4 was the car that made Audi. Put a TDI in it and I think we have a winner!
http://www.autoblog.com/2010/01/12/report-audi-a3-sedan-being-developed-for-u-s-only/

"Europeans go crazy for the Volkwagen Golf, but not so much for the Jetta. Like, not crazy at all. Americans, on the other hand, will give props to a hatchback, but what we really love is big butts and we cannot lie a trunk in which to put our junk. According to Inside Line, Audi has decided to stop letting its A3 hatchback be a whipping boy while trying to sway American tastes and instead it has committed to bringing us an A3 sedan.

The small sedan is already in the development pipeline and will arrive in the U.S. – its only intended market – in 2012. It is reportedly going be the size of the first-generation Audi A4, the B5 model. That sedan was 178 inches long and 68.2 inches wide, whereas the current A3 hatch is 169 inches long and 69.5 inches wide.

The question is whether the A3 only needs a trunk in order to lure more buyers. The current hatch starts at $27,270. If the Golf and Jetta are taken as examples, there is just $135 difference between the two cars, the Jetta being more expensive. This plan could theoretically work if the A3 sedan is similarly close to the hatch, but somewhere along the way we feel like it will need to shed its image as a gussied-up Golf for sales to really fly. "
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chittychittybangbang
Nice. I had a 97 Audi A4 and it was just the right size. The A4 really grew and I would look forward to an A3 sedan with 170hp TDI engine and quattro. They could also use that engine in the Audi A4 but I have a feeling it's going to get the 3.0L TDI. I like hatches and I really like wagons but Americans just prefer sedans.
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Also, I noticed that the article called it a hatchback. I sort of considere the A3 a very small wagon.
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5
It's definitely a hatchback. The JSW is a small wagon. I could see a little overlap with the A4 though. If they put a 4 cylinder TDI in the A3 and a 6 cylinder in the A4, the economy choice will be the A3, and not just because it should cost less. I don't care about quattro since ESP and ASR is 99% all you will ever need.
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M
Sedan only or Hatch + Sedan?

One of the major reasons I decided to order an A3 TDI now was that I wasn't sure that next gen A3 would have a hatch at all. While it's great that Audi had created a sedan version to attract other American buyers, I specifically want a hatch for its practicality.

The Golf, even though it's practically the same car, and would still have that hatch, it just don't do it for me stylistically and equipment-wise.

So I'm curious, whether the A3 sedan is a replacement for the hatch or an addition to the (new) hatch?
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G
The way I read it, it's a replacement for the hatch. I wouldn't mind seeing a sedan and a station wagon instead of the short wagon now.
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U
big butts

Seems you American guys really like big butts.

If you only drive straight lines, a heavy load in the back will not harm too much but cornering is a lot more fun in a well balanced car.
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uwaerts said:
Seems you American guys really like big butts.

If you only drive straight lines, a heavy load in the back will not harm too much but cornering is a lot more fun in a well balanced car.
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Was that a cut against Americans or a cut against hatches? ;) I agree, American sure like hatches, but they like to raise it up in the air so everyone can see their "big butts". :D On the other hand, it would seem that Europeans and Asians like their "big butts" even more than Americans based on vehicle sales with hatch.

A well balanced car is a well balanced car regardless if it's got a hatch or not. The weight difference between a hatch and no hatch design, I would argue, is negligible. So if the car is engineered well, cornering would be equally fun in either form. :)
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J
It would be a shame if all we got is the sedan. I just purchased my A3 TDI for two specific reasons: it is a good-looking, well equipped hatchback; and the mileage is great. It always cracks me up when someone says we Americans don't like hatchbacks -- sure we do, we just like them big, and called crossovers or SUVs! I guess I lean toward the European way of thinking.
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V
The body style looks like my 2008 Subaru Impreza Outback Sport (hatchback). Love the style!

Would love to have this with the TDI... but ONLY in automanual / "tiptronic"? :mad:

I sure wish they made the A3 TDI with a manual gearbox.
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