The updated Audi A3 is heading to South Africa, with the revised A3 Sportback and A3 Sedan line-ups scheduled to make landfall on local shores early in 2025. Though pricing has yet to be announced, Audi South Africa has confirmed the initial derivatives — and what we can expect in the future — of the fresh-faced model ranges.
For starters, the A3 Sportback and A3 Sedan will, at first, exclusively be available with the Ingolstad-based automaker’s 1.5-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, which incorporates mild-hybrid technology. Indeed, the updated 35 TFSI variants ditches the 110 kW/250 N.m 1.4-litre turbocharged four-pot employed by the (similarly badged) pre-facelifted models.
In addition, whereas the latter unit is coupled with the German marque’s eight-speed Tiptronic automatic cog swapper, the 1.5-litre powertrain, which produces the same amount of power and torque as the 1.4-litre motor, is equipped with Audi’s seven-speed S tronic dual-clutch gearbox.
However, the local arm of the brand with the four rings has announced that “sportier” derivatives will be added to the updated A3 Sportback and A3 Sedan ranges later in the coming year. As such, a fair bet would be that we will see the refreshed versions of the S3 and the barnstorming RS3 — the pre-updated version of which we have driven in Sportback guise in 2023 — in South Africa. Fingers crossed!
As a reminder, the updated S3, which was unveiled earlier in 2024, has received an injection of power and torque, with the 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged petrol unit sited below its bonnet uprated to produce to 245 kW and 420 N.m, increases of 32 kW and 20 N.m, respectively. According to Audi, thanks to the latter, the revised (all-wheel-drive) S3 now completes the obligatory 0-100 km/h sprint in 4.7 seconds, two-tenths of a second quicker than before.
The RS3’s outputs remain unchanged, though not that it needed any more grunt. The RS3’s sonorous 2.5-litre five-pot produces 294 kW and 500 N.m for a claimed 0-100 km/h sprint time of 3.8 seconds.
But back to the 35 TFSI models. Noteworthy, the updated models will be available in S line level of specification as standard, with customers having the option of specifying the Black Edition package. Included with S line trim are Audi’s virtual cockpit arrangement, touchscreen infotainment, a Sonos 3D sound system, and park assist. Sports seats and a sports steering wheel are also included with S line spec.
