Audi A3 and S3 Sedan

Once again we’ve seen a new vehicle arriving without fitting in any of the existing categories. Once again we’ve seen the public acceptance ending up so good that now, once again, we’re seeing the rival brands making their best to bring some differences to their follower vehicles, in order to make them almost as competitive as the category founder. This time Mercedes-Benz became followed by Audi for the compact sedans. This article will show why this sedan has everything to be successful, specially at emergent markets.

This article will also spare you of reading another text stating that all this recent effort into seeking market niches to fulfill with a new product is a result of the car market’s growing competitiveness over the years. After all, this model’s particular background has another very important aspect to take care, which is the conquer of new customers. There’s an enormous fight among the luxury customers for decades because they’ve always been used to purchase this kind of cars and nothing below it. So besides of persuading them to also change brands at each car change, these automakers have started to expand their operations into the other extreme of the public, the clients with smaller budgets.

The first attempts with them began at the 1990s with names such as Audi A2 and the first Mercedes-Benz A-Class, but they all failed for the same reason: being too different from the rest of their brands’ line. What this experiente taught to these automakers is that their image is what makes most of their excellent reputation. And since such image was built by the concerns on technology and quality without ever leaving their classic elegance, releasing models with a different focus was taken as an offer which could be made by any other brands whom those clients were just trying to leave.

The two new kinds of public seeked by the luxury automakers are younger clients in general and the biggest emergent markets. They’ve always had in mind that attending both groups demanded a big concern with the prices, but they had to figure a way to reduce the costs without taking away what makes their fame. Most of them have already began to sell compact hatchbacks, but Audi now decided to extend the fight with Mercedes at the sporty sedans’ market, which was created by CLA. A3’s current generation showed a sedan from the beginning as a concept-car, but there weren’t any important changes for the production version. This car differs from the rival’s compact line because those give an opulence impression, with fluid lines marked with strong creases.

Audi’s conception, on the other hand, gives a much nimbler interpretation: their design language once again was applied so strongly that makes hard to tell A3 Sedan from the bigger brothers, but whoever cares to give a longer look soon concludes that the newcomer’s casuality impression comes from the size, rather than the shapes. For an interesting example, CLA’s rear is a smooth fall which disguises it is not that shorter than C-Class’. A3 Sedan’s, in turn, features a high-deck design which ends on such an abrupt cut that it would make it very successful in the 1990s.

Audi’s intention of maintaining the family identity is proved by the fact that the new car never tries to be something else than an A3’s version – certainly because doing that would mean messing with A4. In other words, this is nothing but an A3 which uses a very attractive third volume and shows no bigger concern with being classic than the brand’s general impositions. There’s the same MQB platform, the same Audi interior combination of black, silver and chrome items and the same contrast of retro-inspired air outlets right next to the infotainment system’s screen. In fact, since this car’s differences from the hatchback A3 are mostly concerned to adapt the very same concept to a sedan, it was possible to release the S3 Sedan at the same time.

Yes, as your memory may be already telling you and these pictures confirming, the discreet aerodynamic kit composes a sportier look along with bigger wheels, exclusive bumpers, typical logos and four exhaust pipes. This sedan’s equipment list is shared with the hatchback’s as well as the powertrain list, which means the base option is made by the 140-hp TFSI 1.4L, followed by the 180-hp TFSI 1.8L and a diesel engine, the 150-hp TDI 2.0L. What makes S3 most different from A3, as usual, is applying the TFSI technology to a 2.0L unit, which delivers 300 hp and enables the car to go from 0 to 60 mph in 5s3, along with a 155-mph limited top speed.

Lançamento do A3 Sedan no Brasil (15/01/2014)

Aproveitando o sucesso da versão hatchback, agora é o sedã da linha A3 que desembarca no Brasil. Seu conjunto compete em forma direta com o Mercedes-Benz CLA, criando um nicho no mercado de luxo formado por sedãs mais acessíveis que os tradicionais A4 e Classe C, além do Série 3 para completar o trio alemão. Mas em vez de perder em luxo ou tecnologia, eles apostam em concepções mecânicas de custo menor como tração dianteira e plataforma modular. Passando ao caso da Audi, seu novo três-volumes ainda tem a vantagem de ganhar produção nacional em 2015, na mesma fábrica de onde sairá a nova geração do VW Golf. Mas por enquanto ele ainda vem como importado, e sai por R$ 116.400.

Como era de se esperar, o modelo escalado para o Brasil vem completo. Um dos itens mais importantes de sua lista é a Multimedia Interface Touch. Esta central multimídia utiliza uma touchscreen retrátil de 7” e controla as funções do carro tais como áudio, DVD e navegação, além um disco rígido de 40 GB e um touchpad que se usa para “escrever” letras e números com o toque. A primeira versão na qual o A3 Sedan chega ao Brasil traz o 1.8 TFSI de 180 cv associado ao câmbio S-Tronic, conjunto capaz de acelerar de 0 a 100 km/h em 7s3 e de chegar à velocidade máxima de 235 km/h. Na mesma ocasião, a Audi também anunciou que o esportivo da família, S3, vai chegar em março.

Lançamento do Audi S3 Sedan no Brasil (15/08/2014)

Agora é a vez do esportivo. Como as versões mais baratas já vêm ajudando o sedã da Audi a emplacar, chegou a hora de investir no outro extremo da linha. Por R$ 207.890, o S3 Sedan conta com um motor 2.0 TFSI, que gera potência de 280 cv e torque de 38,7 kgfm. Utilizando câmbio automatizado de seis marchas e dupla embreagem, o alemão acelera de 0 a 100 km/h em 4,9 segundos e alcança a máxima de 250 km/h, limitada eletronicamente. Parte desse desempenho se deve às exclusividades visuais da versão, como parachoques mais agressivos, pacote aerodinâmico completo, difusor traseiro com quatro saídas de escape e rodas de 18”.