The 2015 Audi A3 is the perfect luxury car for a young up and comer who is planning to live in the luxury segment for many years. With a price that’s easy to enjoy and a capability that makes it a lot of fun to drive, the A3 sedan is a car that is built to handle a young couple just starting out, or provide some excellent driving fun for folks heading into their retirement years. With a ton of Audi luxury features and equipment to enjoy the A3 stands hard against the competition which includes the Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class, Acura ILX and Buick Verano.
The A3 shows up as a small and sporty luxury sedan that offers a great deal of performance in either the A3 or S3 packages. This lineup is all new for 2015 making it a great car from Audi that fits right in with smaller and sporty luxury vehicles. Driving the A3 offers an owner the pleasure of a car that is highly energetic and feels athletic from the ground up. Small enough to dart in an out of traffic, and powerful enough to pass easily on the highway, the A3 shows up as a car that has a highly refined suspension and steering system.
The A3 is offered with two engine choices and the S3 with one other making three possible engine setups for this very enticing luxury vehicle. The first, base engine comes in the form of a 1.8-liter turbocharged inline four-cylinder engine that brings in 170 horsepower and 200 lb.-ft. of torque. This engine is mated up to a six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission that allows this model to achieve a fuel efficiency of 23 city/33 hwy mpg. All models of the vehicle require premium gasoline to operate making it an across the board cost at the pump.
The second engine shows up in the form of a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline four-cylinder engine that carries in 220 horsepower and 258 lb.-ft. of torque. This engine is mated to the same transmission as the first and shows up with a fuel efficiency of 24 city/33 hwy mpg making it actually more efficient than the smaller engine.
For the S3 model the engine is the same 2.0-liter turbocharged inline four-cylinder engine that offers an even greater amount of turbocharging to gain a huge boost in power. This engine reaches 292 horsepower and 280 lb.-ft. of torque and when matched up with the same transmission as the others the fuel efficiency comes in at 23 city /31 hwy mpg still giving plenty of fuel efficiency even with the added horsepower.
To go along with a sporty and smaller luxury car, Audi has put a sports cabin in place that looks like it belongs in a high end sports car but adorns the A3 very nicely. The control features are well in line with what is needed and all controls are easy to use and intuitively placed. The seats are covered in plush and comfortable leather making it very enjoyable to ride in this car. The only knock on the interior is the small space in the backseat, which is ok to fit three people, but not ideal.
On the outside the A3 offers a look and design that are recognizable as an Audi vehicle, but also give a feeling of athleticism and function which makes this awesome luxury car one that should become a top seller very quickly. Adorned with bi-xenon headlights, a large sunroof and 17-inch aluminum-alloy wheels this car looks and feels like a luxury model, even at the respectably lower price. With great lines and curves the outside of the A3 is not overdone, but offers interests and intrigue in many views of the vehicle. The truck offers a large 12.3 cubic feet of space and the trunklid has a spoiler attached to add a bit more of the sporty appearance to the overall vehicle.
The standard equipment offered for the A3 includes leather seats, a panoramic sunroof, bi-xenon headlights, LED taillights, Bluetooth connectivity, and a seven-inch audio/information screen. The S# adds the standard Quattro all-wheel drive, 18-inch alloy wheels, a flat-bottom steering wheel and a sport tuned suspension. The safety features offer eight airbags, electronic stability control, and several others but surprisingly omits a rearview camera. With so many standard features aboard this car is a very enticing and easy to enjoy as a luxury sports car which will have friends and neighbors looking to take a ride with anyone who owns one.
The A3 and S3 offer a very nice array of optional equipment to enjoy starting with the LED headlights, heated seats, rear-seat thorax airbags, a Bang & Olufsen audio system, a navigation system with Google Earth map imagery, and MMI Touch which is a touchpad controller that recognizes handwritten text entries. Optional safety features include active lane-keep assistance, blind-zone warning, dynamic cruise control and a parking assistance package that includes front and rear parking sensors and a rearview camera. The S3 can add a Magnetic Ride Control suspension system that offers owners three driving modes to choose from, dynamic, comfort and individual. Putting all the bells and whistles on the A3 turns this already feature laden luxury car into one full of safety and awesome features to enjoy and even brag about at during any conversation about cars.
Starting out at the base model, the A3 can be had for a very reasonable $30,795 which is a great price for anyone to own a luxury car at an affordable price. At the top range for the A3, with the 2.0-liter engine the price comes in around $45,000 for owners to enjoy all the features and benefits they can add to this car. For the S3 models, the pricing starts at $42,000 and can reach a top range of $50,000 with all the features added. Regardless of the model chosen, this is one luxury sport car that will absolutely turn heads and makes a great choice for someone starting out or heading into retirement.
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