Audi has launched its entry-level luxury offering, the A3 sedan, starting from Rs 22.95 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi) for the base diesel model. The new Audi A3 sedan is the first compact luxury sedan to be sold in India and is available with four trims — Attraction, Premium, Premium Plus and Technology — for the diesel car and only one Premium Plus trim for the petrol.
The new Audi A3 sedan comes with two engine options. There's a 177.5bhp 1.8-litre TFSI direct-injection turbo-petrol motor mated to a seven-speed gearbox and a 141bhp 2.0-litre diesel engine paired to a six-speed automatic 'box.
Despite being its most affordable model on offer in India, Audi has equipped the A3 with all the luxury bells and whistles. The top trims of the new compact luxury sedan come with Bi-xenon headlamps with LED daytime-running lamps, 17-inch alloy wheels, a retractable 7-inch display for the multimedia infotainment system, touchpad with handwriting recognition, auto dual-zone air-conditioning, electrically adjustable front seats, a rear view camera, panoramic sunroof (optional) and seven airbags, among other features.
Audi has also introduced a new nomenclature for the India-spec cars with the A3 sedan. Now, instead of 2.0TDI, the diesel car's badging reads Audi A3 35TDI. This is an indicator of the car's performance factor or in other words, the bigger the number, the quicker the car is to 100kph. So, the more powerful petrol variant is badged Aud A3 40TFSI instead of the typical 1.8TFSI.
The new Audi A3 sedan rivals entry-level offerings from the other two German luxury car marquees, the Mercedes-Benz A-class and the BMW 1-series hatchbacks and with the aggressive starting price, Audi is definitely set to make the competition very stiff.
New Audi A3 sedan prices (ex-showroom Delhi)
Diesel
Audi A3 35TDI Attraction: Rs 22.95 lakh
Audi A3 35TDI Premium: Rs 25.95 lakh
Audi A3 35TDI Premium Plus: Rs 29.95 lakh
Audi A3 35TDI Technology: Rs 32.66 lakh
Petrol
Audi A3 40TFSI Premium Plus: Rs 28.95 lakh
Audi A3 petrol exclusive review