A small family car produced by the German automaker Audi since 1996, the Audi A3 is a third-generation model. The first two generations of A3 were based on the Volkswagen Group A platform, which they share with several other models such as the Audi TT, Volkswagen Golf, Volkswagen Caddy and Volkswagen Touran and others. The third-generation A3 uses the Volkswagen Group MQB platform…which is the company’s strategy for shared modular construction of its transverse, front-engined, front-wheel drive automobiles. We’re not Audi A3 history buffs necessarily…but the more exciting news is the A3 for 2015. Here’s a collection of the best reviews, first looks and test drives.
Video First Look: 2015 Audi A3 – Kelley Blue Book
Read More – Kelley Blue Book
2015 Audi A3 2.0T Quattro EPA Ratings Out, Gets 33-mpg Highway – Car and Driver Blog
As compact German sports sedans go, the 2015 Audi A3 2.0T Quattro has adequate, but not stellar, fuel economy. The EPA rates the 2.0T with Quattro all-wheel drive—for now, the top powertrain until the hot-rod version S3 arrives—at 24-mpg city and 33-mpg highway.
The A3 comes with a six-speed dual-clutch automatic on all trim levels. All-wheel drive comes standard on models with the 220-hp, 2.0-liter turbo four and is unavailable on models with the 170-hp, 1.8-liter turbo four. We expect to see a new 150-hp, 2.0-liter turbo-diesel four-cylinder to be offered in the A3 as well, for the fans of oil burners out there.
2015 Audi S3 First Drive – MotorAuthority
The S3 comes from the new A3 family of cars, which land ashore next year in the U.S. in all sorts of body styles. There’s the sedan, an Avant wagon, a pretty convertible, and a plug-in hybrid hatchback all to come–and we’ll throw in the compact Q3 crossover, which isn’t as precisely related to the others, but close enough for short attention spans. Audi’s new compact cars will go on sale about six months after rival Mercedes-Benz launches its new 2014 CLA 250 compact four-door and its 355-hp CLA 45 AMG companion piece and the GLA crossover, which it totally lumps together with the others.
New 2015 Audi A3 boasts 4G connected tech – CNET
2015 Audi A3
LOS ANGELES — Mansions, yachts, limousines: luxury often equates to large, but Audi has other things in mind with its new A3 model. The smallest car in its US lineup, the all-new 2015 A3 sedan gets features found on Audi’s flagship sedan, the A8.
US buyers may be a little confused by the new A3, which has gone from a wagon body style to a sedan, and skipped a model year in the process. Audi intended to market a sedan here, a more popular body style, but development of the three- and five-door hatchbacks took precedence in other markets.
The wait seems to be worth it, as the new A3 packs some of Audi’s most cutting-edge tech.
2015 Audi A3 gets augmented reality app in place of owners manual [w/video] – Autoblog
There have been a few, seemingly half-hearted, attempts at reinventing the owner’s manual – that thick stack of bone-dry information that you only look at if you’re well and truly stumped. Hyundai tried swapping in iPads with the Equus, which didn’t really take, while Chrysler switched its owner’s manuals to digital form in 2010. Chrysler subsidiary Dodge even released a smart phone app that included all the info contained in the paper manual.
Audi, though, may have taken things to their logical conclusion – augmented reality. While it’ll likely be more practical once Google Glass and other wearable tech is adopted on a wide scale, augmented reality allows users to project information on scenes, usually through a phones camera, which is how Audi does it.
Called eKurzinfo, the app looks through your phones camera to identify and explain different parts of the car. According to Metaio, the app’s developer, the app recognizes 300 different parts of the car.
