Audi has revealed a new compact saloon variant of the Audi A3. The new A3 saloon is described by Audi as 'a cross between the classic three-box concept and the coupe philosophy,' and is Audi's first foray into the compact saloon class.
It's amazing that Audi hasn't bothered to put an A3 saloon into production before. In the UK, small saloons have always been the poor relation to their hatchback cousins (the Ford Orion, the VW Jetta/Vento/Bora and the Vauxhall Belmont spring immediately to mind) but the compact saloon class is actually the largest car market globally.
You'd have to say that the A3 saloon a handsome little thing. It's slightly larger than the A3 Sportback on which it's based, but lower and shorter than its main competitor, the new Mercedes-Benz CLA. It also has very short overhangs and more sharply curved lines along its flanks than the hatchback. An integrated 'kicked-up' boot spoiler also adds to the A3 saloon's sporty feel.
Boot space is 425-litres -- 45-litres more than in the Audi A3 Sportback.
At launch there will be both 1.4- and 1.8-litre petrol engines on offer, and a 2.0-litre diesel. The flagship of the range, however, will be the new S3 saloon, which comes with a 296bhp 2.0-litre TFSI petrol engine.
The S3 will send its power to all four wheels via a six-speed double-clutch S-tronic automatic gearbox, giving a 0-62mph time of 4.9 seconds.
Prices for the new Audi A3 and S3 saloons have yet to be revealed. The new model goes on sale in the summer, with the first deliveries expected in the autumn.
