All-new Audi A3 earns IIHS Highest Rating of TOP SAFETY PICK+

Mar 25, 2014 , HERNDON, Va.

• 2015 Audi A3 receives “ADVANCED” rating for front crash prevention
• Ratings reflect the importance Audi places on safety
• All-new Audi A3 on sale in April

The all-new 2015 Audi A3 sedan equipped with Audi pre sense® front received the highest 2014 safety rating available from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) earning a TOP SAFETY PICK+ (TSP+) rating. 

Additionally, the A3 sedan earned an “ADVANCED” rating for front crash prevention which is the qualifier for the “+” portion of the TSP+ rating. The 2015 A3 received “GOOD” ratings for all crashworthiness tests, including Moderate Overlap Front Test, Side Test, Roof Strength Test, Head Restraints Test, and Small Overlap Front.

“The TOP SAFETY PICK+ rating for the A3 sedan demonstrates the full Audi commitment to safety,” said Mark Del Rosso, Chief Operating Officer, Audi of America. “With a host of standard luxury features, industry-first technology and uncompromised design, the Audi A3 raises the bar as to what is expected out of entry-level luxury vehicles.”

The all-new Audi A3 sedan goes on sale in April 2014 and will be priced from a base MSRP of $29,900. It will be joined later in the fall of 2014 by the Audi A3 Cabriolet, A3 TDI clean diesel sedan, the high-performance S3 sedan and in early 2015, the A3 Sportback e-tron® gasoline electric plug-in hybrid (PHEV). The A3 marks the first time that an A-segment vehicle will offer available features like MMI® technology, Audi drive select, 4G LTE connectivity and Bang & Olufsen® audio.

The Audi A3 will offer several advanced technology features which are new to the entry luxury segment, including: standard Audi pre sense® basic system which helps detect when an emergency maneuver is being made and prepares the vehicle and its occupant restraint systems in advance of a possible collision; and an optional advanced technology package, which includes Audi active lane assist, Audi pre sense® front and adaptive cruise control with stop and go. The A3 also introduces secondary collision brake assist and is the only vehicle to offer this system as a standard feature. The system automatically brakes the car after a collision so as to prevent a secondary collision with nearby or oncoming traffic. 

IIHS Top Safety Pick Ratings
IIHS tests evaluate two aspects of safety: crashworthiness — how well a vehicle protects its occupants in a crash — and crash avoidance and mitigation — technology that can prevent a crash or lessen its severity.

To determine crashworthiness, IIHS rates vehicles good, acceptable, marginal or poor, based on performance in five tests: moderate overlap front, small overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraints. In the area of crash avoidance and mitigation, IIHS assigns vehicles with available front crash prevention systems ratings of basic, advanced or superior, based on the type of system and performance in track tests.

For more information on the 2015 Audi A3, please visithttp://www.audiusanews.com/newsrelease.do?id=3700&mid=16.
For video of the all-new A3, please visit
http://audiusanews.com/videogallery/view/18863277a253/0/2015-audi-a3-2.0t

Uncompromised’ positioning for A3 came out of consumer comparisons

Very Illuminating

The message behind the just-launched Audi advertising campaign for the new Audi A3 sedan–about the “uncompromised” luxury provided by the new entry-level nameplate–stemmed from customer research last year that pointed out the clear advantages the A3 would enjoy over its competition.

In new TV ads airing on NCAA March Madness this weekend, Audi doesn’t mention any rival premium sedans by name. But it’s easy to infer from ads such as the first one, “Dues,” that the Audi insistence on “no compromises” is painting a contrast between the fully loaded Audi A3 and less-generous competitors.

Audi conducted research clinics last year with consumers “taste testing” the A3 versus the competition while remaining unaware of what brand was paying for their opinions.

“We allowed them to walk around the car, feel the fit and finish and play with the technology,” said Anna Russell, General Manager of Brand Marketing for Audi of America. “They concluded that the technology was way beyond their expectations. And when they examined [others] side by side in terms of fit, finish and product features, they felt the A3 was exceptional.”

Further, Russell added, the mindset of premium buyers who are Millennials “of ‘not compromising’ was a natural fit with what our product clinics showed in terms of the car being uncompromised.” The generation of American consumers who are new adults through their early 30s, also known as Generation Y, comprise one of the key targets within what the brand now is calling “Generation Audi.”

More broadly, the target audience for the Audi A3 sedan will be first-time luxury buyers, many of whom will be considering the Audi brand for the first time. “So it was essential that despite the $29,900 starting price, the A3 was every bit a true Audi from its exceptional technology to the fit and finish,” Russell said. “They’ll know that not one millimeter was cut anywhere despite the highly competitive price.”

And while Audi won’t be calling out competitors’ specific vehicles in its TV advertising, Russell said that point-of-sale materials at Audi dealerships will make explicit comparisons. “It’ll be,” she said, “very illuminating.”

There are no shortcuts to greatness

In a class that’s full of compromise, we took a different path with the A3. It features uncompromising craftsmanship, and several Audi and industry firsts, like available 4G LTE Wi-Fi® hotspot connection, MMI® touch, and more. With standard leather seating surfaces and a large panoramic sunroof, the A3 sheds light on how a compact luxury vehicle can go big.

Driver-centric cabin design

The elegant dash design gives you a sense of space you’d normally only experience in much larger vehicles.

Luxury’s not a luxuryIt comes standard on the A3

The A3 interior is a new benchmark of intelligent design. From standard leather seating surfaces, decorative inlays, and an ultra-thin retractable MMI screen, to available Audi connect* with the MMI® touch wheel, every inch is artfully crafted with the driver in mind.*

The all-new 2015 Audi A3

The striking exterior design of the A3 sedan is paired perfectly with the 1.8-liter engine or the available 2.0-liter TFSI® engine beneath the hood.

Audi S3 Cabriolet is a topless two-door temptress

By Steven J. Ewing

Posted Mar 4th 2014 10:30AM

Via Autoblog  

Now that we've driven the Audi S3, we're pretty eager for it go on sale in the United States. And while we won't get the Sportback version, there's a teeny tiny chance that Audi may grace us with this new Cabriolet version that makes its debut at the Geneva Motor Show this week.

That certainly wouldn't be a shame, considering the topless S3 packs the same 290 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque as the sedan, all of which comes from a turbocharged, 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder engine. That folding roof mechanism adds a bit of weight to the S3 package, and thus, reaching that ever-so-special 62 miles per hour takes an extra half a second – 5.4 compared to 4.9 with the S3 sedan.

Looks-wise, we dig the aggressive little S3, though the chrome wheels of the show car are kind of throwing us off. Swap out a set of standard alloys, and we'll be good to go. Have a look in the gallery above to see the topless Audi for yourself.

Get a load of Audi's TTs

By Steven J. Ewing

Posted Mar 5th 2014 3:59AM on Autoblog 

The third-generation Audi TT coupe has made its debut here at the Geneva Motor Show, showing an evolutionary design for the German automaker's fashion-forward coupe. As expected, the new TT takes plenty of inspiration from the Sport Quattro Concept that debuted in Frankfurt last year, and it draws upon cues from the model's past two generations.

After seeing it in person, the Autoblog crew on-site in Geneva is sort of torn about the new model. It's crisp and well-proportioned, but in terms of its exterior design, it also doesn't come off like a significant generational leap forward – the aesthetic distance between the original TT and the second-generation model was quite a bit larger. Of course, it's hard to reimagine a design icon, and either way we'll have to wait until we see the car on the road to make final judgments.

Audi is offering a trio of engines for the new TT, including a 2.0-liter turbodiesel powerplant that's good for 184 horsepower, 280 pound-feet of torque and an excellent 56 miles per gallon. On the gasoline front, Audi is offering two versions of its well-liked 2.0-liter TSI turbo-four. The less-powerful spec still offers up a healthy 230 hp and 272 lb-ft of torque, while the higher-output 2.0T sends 310 hp and 280 lb-ft of twist to all four wheels in the TTS coupe. Potent stuff.

Inside, there's a brand-new interior with a fresh, modern design, incorporating the slick Virtual Cockpit thatdebuted at CES earlier this year and temperature controls mounted in the air vents, which lowers the cockpit's button count considerably. It certainly looks nice, and is decidedly more forward thinking than the exterior design, in our opinion.

All this discussion has us wondering: what generation of the TT design do you like best? Check out the videos below, vote in our poll and then have a look at a fresh set of TT pics in the gallery above.