I'm sure many of you have read about the upcoming A3. The exterior is classy, Audi interiors are the best, the base engine is way torquier than the TSX's, and it offers that killer 6-speed DSG tranny.

Its base price of $25K puts it in TSX territory, but I'm wondering how much it'll be with DSG, nice sound system, and navi. (I don't want the big motor or Quattro.) Anyone have any info on pricing? Is this model out already in Europe, where we could get an idea of option prices? How much does the DSG cost in the TT, for example? How much does Audi charge for navi in an A4?

I'm ready to buy an '05 TSX in mid-November, and I can barely stand waiting that long. It'd be awful to wait until May, when the A3 comes out, only to find out that the options I want push it out of my price range. Especially considering that when it comes out, it'll certainly have the dreaded 'added dealer markup' and I'd have to wait a couple of extra months for the ranks of idiots willing to pay it to thin out.

 

Best way of finding out is to ask... in a TSX forum! J/K.

Right. So you want pricing on an A3.

Lemme see if moving the thread to car talk would help you get an answer...

 

I've heard the 1 series is rumored at 25k, so I'm sure that the A3 would be around that ballpark as well.

Junkster, whose only guessing

 

Are you sure about that?

 

Audi...known for their quattro system... will not offer the A3 with AWD!!!! pathetic... at least not for the 1st year. In the US. I mean.

 

a lot

 

According to Road and Track:
base 207 hp 200 ft-lb 3100 lbs.
V6 250 hp 235 ft-lb 3431 lbs.

Base should be quite a bit faster than the TSX.

 

Any plans for a four-door, Quattro S3 hatch coming to America? That could be a sweet ride. Once this A3 gets Quattro, I see it as a Legacy with a good interior in exchange for less power. Plus some brand cache.

 

Yeah, after I posted my original message, I found I could go to Audi UK's web site, where you can configure and price an A3. I've been spoiled by the TSX--in the A3, seemingly EVERYTHING is an option. You want AC? Pay for it. You want HID headlights, leather, heated mirrors, cruise control? Ka-ching. They even charge for a 'premium' steering wheel that has the additional controls on it that TSX owners take for granted.

If they follow a similar policy in the U.S., the base price of $25K will be a joke. To get a UK A3 equipped similarly to a TSX, you'd pay a lot more.

 

Just like the A4, the base price means nothing. Until you add all the option packages, you don't really get a good idea of what the car will cost. My guess is that even with a $25k base price, the A3 will likely average about $28k to $30k before taxes and fees. It'll probably end up doing about as well as the MB C230 Kompressor coupe.

 

So the base A3 engine is better than the base A4 engine? That's weird....

 

Is this A3 a long-standing generation car in Europe, or a new one? A brand new Audi would scare me - I wouldn't buy a first-year one.

 

The A3 model has been around for at least one previous generation that I know of, but this current A3 is a relatively new model (within the last 2 years).

 

From edmunds





from C&D

 

One more thing from C&D

 

With the exception of it missing a trunk, the A3 is the same as an A4 - it comes off the same assembly line, will have virtually the same options so I'd venture to guess that the price will be just under a similar A4. The configuration options will also be the same as the A4. In the US, the land of the package deal, you'll have fewer single options and more "package" deals.

 

The A3, Golf, and Jetta share a platform. The A4, A6, and Passat share a platform. Isn't that right? Do they really build the A3 and A4 on the same line?

Just curious.

 

no, the a4 will get these engines as well

 

i love how people say things like "for a couple grand more, i could get a (base) g35, is300, or a4"
what's so great about that? you are getting a base model w/ shit for options. yay!

 

I see. That's good... it needs them.