We The People have done it again. Our disdain — whether real or perceived — for station wagons means we won't be getting Audi's sexy A3 Sportback hatch/wagon in the U.S. The sedan version is on it's way, though.
But are we that unlikely to buy A3 sportbacks? Perhaps it's time to give the wagon-buying (or at least wagon-curious) American public another chance.
A touch larger in size than the last A3 sportback, the redesigned five-door will have a longer wheelbase than the previous model. But the increase in size won't affect weight, which will actually be nearly 200 pounds lighter. Like many other manufacturers, Audi is using more aluminum in its cars these days.
For now, the anti-American estate-trimmed A3 will be available with three engine options — 1.6-liter and 2.0-liter TDIs, a 122 hp 1.4-liter gasoline engine, and a 180 hp 1.8-liter gasser. Audi claims that the smaller diesel will turn in fuel economy numbers approaching 62 mpg on the Euro scale. Even though it runs a less-than-stellar 10.9-second 0-60 time, that's not bad gas mileage in a car that's maybe as fun to drive as the outgoing model (which we liked). Not bad at all.
The cars will be available with either a six-speed manual or a seven-speed automatic, but we're pretty sure we'll see more of the S-tronic autos in the sedan versions that make it across the pond next year.
Euros will enjoy a some extra cargo space in the little wagon — 13 cubic feet with the back seats up, 43 cubic feet with the back seats down. The sportback is both sexy and useful. But since they probably count that space in liters on their brochures anyway, we'll just ignore all that metric gibberish and go back to being sedan-driving Americans.
Photo credit: Audi