Audi A3 News

  • Audi A3 e-tron prototype: first drive, June 2012

    Unlike other carmakers--including BMW with its ActiveE program--Audi has chosen to use only in-house drivers to test the fleet of electric A3 e-tron prototypes it has brought to the U.S. So we're pleased to be among the few media outlets to drive an Audi A3 e-tron, one of just 17 such cars in North America. Our short 45-minute test drive in the heart of New York City including both urban stop-and-go traffic and some freeway driving at speeds up to (and perhaps beyond) the legal limit on Manhattan's winding and unpredictable FDR Drive along the East River. Almost production ready To sum it up...

  • 2012 Audi A3 e-tron prototype
    Audi A3 e-tron Electric Car Testing Update (Video)

    It may have reportedly canceled its two smallest plug-in car projects, but Audi is hardly abandoning electric cars. Three months ago, the German luxury and sports brand said it would bring a limited test fleet of battery-electric Audi A3 hatchbacks to San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C...

  • New Audi A3 Hatchback live photos, 2012 Geneva Motor Show
    Next Audi A3 To Offer Diesel, Hybrid, CNG Options Globally

    Audi's next A3 will offer buyers a wider range of drivetrain options, at least in Europe.

  • 2010 Audi A3 TDI
    Five Reasons Small Diesels Won't Dominate the U.S. Car Market

    There's nothing like a rant from an old friend to focus the mind. We recently read a profanity-laced note from a high school pal excoriating all the major automakers for not selling small, high-mileage diesel cars and trucks in the U.S. We referred him to an article about why we can't buy small...

  • 2011 Audi A3 Sedan e-tron Concept
    Audi A3 e-tron Concept Packs Plug-In Hybrid Drivetrain

    After sticking to diesel for a long time as its sole green strategy, Audi is now storming ahead into smaller, hybrid, and electric cars with a fierce vengeance, seemingly determined to make up for lost time. Today the automaker’s green onslaught has gone up another notch with the unveiling of...

  • 2013 Audi A3 leaked official sketches
    Redesigned Audi A3 Getting New Sedan Model, Six Different Power Sources

    Audi is currently working on a new generation of its A3, a preview of which we got at last month’s 2011 Geneva Motor Show in the form of the Audi A3 Sedan concept. Since then we’ve received these official sketches showing the design of the production version due early next year. While...

  • 2011 Audi A3 e-tron prototype

    The growth of Audi’s ever-expanding family of ‘e-tron’ electrified concept cars and prototypes shows no signs of slowing with two more additions joining the fold this month alone, the latest being the battery-powered A3 e-tron revealed this week. The newest addition brings the number of e-tron vehicles to five, and we’re sure there will be even more in the not too distant future. The e-tron range now consists of the original R8-based electric supercar concept, the Wankel rotary range-extended electric A1 concept, the diesel-electric plug-in hybrid Spyder concept, the...

  • DBM Energy Audi A2 Electric Car
    Audi A2 Goes 375 Miles On a Single Electric Charge

    Since the automobiles were invented there as been movements to make them electric. In fact, there was a time in the 1890s and the early 1900s where the electric car was a fierce competitor to the internal combustion powered car. There were even fleet applications of the electric car in New York...

  • Audi A3 TDI running on RenDiesel Synthetic Fuel
    Audi A3 TDI Completes 1,000 Mile Trek On Synthetic Diesel

    A few years ago the idea of cars running on fuel created by people in a lab rather than dug out of the ground after millions of years of mother nature’s work would have been considered almost science fiction by most. However, just this past week a pair of Audi A3 TDI hatchbacks have traveled...

  • Audi A1 e-tron Concept
    Audi To Bring Back A2 Name With Electric Rotary Power?

    Back in March Audi debuted the A1 e-tron concept at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. You might remember that the e-tron name first appeared at the 2009 Frankfurt International Motor Show (more here) under the guise of a very powerful supercar with an electric drive system. Of course, the A1 e-tron that...

  • 2011 Audi A1 and Justin Timberlake on LA photo shoot
    Audi's Green Onslaught: A3 Sedan, A8 Hybrid, e-Tron Tesla-Fighter

    It's going to take Audi a long time to live down its U.S. chief's infamous quote that anyone who buys a Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle is an "idiot." But after sticking to diesel for a long time as its sole green strategy, Audi is now storming ahead into smaller, hybrid, and...

  • 2010 Audi A3 TDI named Green Car of the Year, 2009 LA Auto Show
    Green Car of the Year: 2010 Audi A3 TDI

    The 2010 Audi A3 TDI was awarded the 2010 Green Car of the Year Award today at the Los Angeles Auto Show by Green Car Journal, which has presented the award for five years. It follows last year's winner, the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI, to make two clean diesels in a row to win the award. The 2010...

  • Audi A3 TDI clean diesel - European model

    Will the Green Car of the Year be another TDI?

  • The 2010 Toyota Prius
    2010 Green Car of the Year Finalists Announced, List Includes 3 Hybrids

    Every year the Green Car Journal presents an award to the top Green Car of the year.  The award is decided by votes from a long list of people that include Jay Leno, Matt Peterson of Global Green USA, and Carl Pop of Sierra Club.  Last year's winner was the 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI.  The...

  • 2010 Mercury Milan Hybrid
    Green Car of the Year Finalists: Three Hybrids, Two Diesels

    The five finalists for the 2010 Green Car of the Year Award include three hybrid models--two Japanese hatchbacks and one U.S. sedan--and a pair of German clean-diesel cars. The nominations were announced today by Green Car Journal, which has presented the award at the Los Angeles Auto Show for five...

  • Audi A3 TDI clean diesel - European model
    Clean Diesels Cost More, But Will Americans Pay For Them?

    It's well known in the car industry that a diesel engine costs 10 to 20 percent more to build than a gasoline motor of equivalent output. That's because diesels have to be sturdier, and these days all US-bound diesels are fitted with turbochargers to boost their power. Now a European executive has...

  • Audi A3 TDI clean diesel - European model
    2010 Audi A3 TDI Priced at $30K, $8K Over 2010 VW Golf TDI

    As of November, you'll have two choices if you want a compact five-door hatchback with a clean diesel engine. One is the brand-new 2010 Audi A3 TDI, which was just given a base price of $30,775 today by Audi. It'll start arriving in dealerships in November. Longstanding diesel champ: Golf TDI The...

  • 2009 Audi A3
  • Peugeot 908 HDI at Le Mans 2009

    We were once told by an auto writer that "real car people" didn't want green cars. They wanted noise, and roaring engines, and squealing tires. Well, the triumph of diesel-powered race cars at the famed 24 Heures du Mans shows you can have both. The French carmaker Peugeot placed first and second at Le Mans with their 908 HDI TAP cars. The Audi R15 TDI, which had won last year, took third place in this year's contest. That's a clean sweep in the fastest, longest, most famous endurance race in the world. How did they do it? Better fuel economy! The higher gas mileage of the diesels meant they...

  • Audi A3 TDI clean diesel - European model
    First Drive: Audi A3 TDI Clean Diesel Hatchback

    A splendid gearbox and neutral roadholding make the A3 TDI appealing to drive, but will buyers go for Audi's small, pricey, diesel hatchback?

  • vw_twindrive
    Audi A3 TwinDrive Hybrid Planned

    As part of the same program that will develop an electric Volkswagen Golf, Audi is planning an A3 electric. The program, called VW TwinDrive, has not released any firm release or sale dates, but Audi is hinting at fleet trial target of 2012. AutocarUK is reporting that the hybrid A3 will run on a...

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