7 months ago 26th Apr 14:26
Keeping up with the ‘Jones’ I am led to believe is a rather tenuous exercise as somehow they always manage to keep one step ahead of you. Well the same could apply to Audi for just when you think you have caught up with their vast range, another one pops out.
Now the Audi family are quite complex and appear to be launching a new model on a repetitive and consistent level. However, basically what they do is launch a new ‘year’ variant of each model with delicate changes. Some may be facelifts, other engine additions or improvement and in some cases, a completely new addition.
Take for instance my test car last week the Audi A3 Special Edition. Now the Audi A3 shares the same frontal styling as its siblings but is a much smaller five-door hatch so do not be too surprised when you see its petite dimensions. The Audi A3 Special Edition is thanks to a new highly efficient 1.9 TDI four-cylinder diesel engine so finely tuned to deliver an excellent performance yet holds a secret. The CO2 emissions on this car are 119g/km making it one of the most envoirmentally friendly engines to befall this planet and comes under VED band B. Further savings to us cost-conscious motorists are to be found in the excellent fuel consumption of 53.3 mpg on a combined cycle. Prices for this Special Edition start from £16,100 but please take into consideration the vast array of optional extras that could send the price spiralling.
So now you can enjoy the attributes of an Audi A3 save in the knowledge you are doing your bit to help save our doomed environment.
udi RS6 quattro Avant that is effectively an estate car and the working horse of the Audi range. Why on earth have they put such a powerful engine into an estate carFemaleFirst
However, with summer looming just around the comer, thoughts turn to cabriolets. So the A3 has gone topless and is the first ever Audi compact cabriolet available on the Standard, Sport and S line trims. The order books are open ready for May delivery and prices start from £20, 750 rising to £27,060.
Initially two petrol and two diesel engines will be on offer, but we know Audi, they will be more. Le Castellet, in the south of France was the chose destination to unveil the A3 cabriolet that is an area combining outlandishly challenging roads from the mountains down to the glorious south coast complete with equally outlandish yachts. We had a choice of two cars, so first up was the 2.0 litre TFSI Sport S tronic that saw us sprinting fro 0-62mph in just 7.3 seconds, claims a top speed of 143 mph yet reins in the pennies with fuel consumption 37.1 mpg on a combined cycle and CO2 emissions at 182g/km. Prices start from £26,910 and standard specification includes electric windows plus door mirrors, air conditioning and CD radio. However, being the Sport variant at a £1,850 premium, the hood operation is fully automatic and takes just 9 seconds to go topless in addition to sports suspension, sport seats, 17 inch alloy wheels and superb Audio system to which I regressed back to the seventies listening to the ‘Jackie’ Album.
Being an S tronic means effectively an automatic transmission but with the option of gear shifting making this a very pleasurable experience. The steering is solid as is the ride and handling Audi are renowned for and certainly very apparent on the A3 Cabriolet. The second car was the 1.8 TFSI petrol Sport with a six speed manual transmission but only a fractionally slower than the 2.0 litre and gave an equally impressive ride. Prices here start at a very competitive £22,000 making this an affordable option. Thankfully as we entwined ourselves around the mountains roads narrowly missing landslides, we were particularly thankful to Audi engineering under the bonnet as well as the vast amounts of safety features on aboard that kept up upright. As well as the normal airbags, ESP is standards along with ABS, EBD AST and EDI. Both front and rear seats have ISOFIX child seat preparation as well as the seatbelts and pretensioners
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