Audi lobs A3 sedan from $39,800

BY TIM NICHOLSON | 24th Dec 2013

AUDI’S all-new A3 sedan may arrive too late for Christmas, but it will be more than $10,000 cheaper than its rival Mercedes-Benz CLA.

Pricing released today ahead of the car’s January arrival shows the booted A3 will have a choice of three powertrains, kicking off with the 103kW/250Nm 1.4 TFSI COD Attraction, fitted with Audi’s “cylinder on demand” idle-stop system, priced from $39,800 plus on-road costs, a $1900 increase over the equivalent five-door hatch.

The 132kw/250Nm 1.8 TFSI petrol brings the price up to $44,800, the same price as the sole diesel offering, the 110kW/320Nm 2.0 TDI. Both of these variants are available in Ambition spec only.

This marks a $2300 boost over the Sportback variants, as does the all-wheel-drive 132kW/250NM flagship, the 1.8 TFSI Quattro, which will sell for $47,800 when it arrives at the end of January.

All are mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

While fellow German rival BMW does not offer a small sedan based on its 1 Series hatch, Mercedes-Benz’s A-Class based CLA sedan that launched in Australia in October is the closest competition to the booted A3.

Pricing starts at $49,900 for the base CLA200, a $10,100 premium over the entry-level A3 sedan, while the CLA200 CDI diesel is priced at $50,400, a $5600 leap over its Audi counterpart.

Audi Australia managing director Andrew Doyle said he was confident the A3 sedan would boost sales of its small-car contender even further.

“We are thrilled with the price positioning of this new model. It’s a highly competitive segment of the market and the A3 Sportback has been very well-accepted since its May 2013 launch,” he said. “We are now looking forward to even more customer interest with the arrival of this all new body style for the range.”Local sales of Audi’s third-generation A3 Sportback have been strong since its launch in May this year, with 1919 units shifted to the end of November, an 83 per cent increase over the same period last year.

In November alone, Audi sold 246 A3s, beating not only the BMW 1 Series (233), but also the hugely popular Mercedes-Benz A-Class (188).

The Ingolstadt-based brand is set to expand the line-up further next year, with the S3 performance sedan slated to land in Australia in March and the RS3 hot-hatch a chance for a local berth sometime in the second half.

While Audi is yet to confirm the powertrain for the RS3, reports have suggested an updated version of the 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbocharged petrol that sits under the bonnet of the TT RS that will also propel the forthcoming RS Q3 performance SUV due in February.

2014 Audi A3 Sedan pricing*