[zaimon]

According the Road and Track magazine (which showed the orange photo above), the new 5-door sport tourer is supposed to compete with the BMW 1-series and the MAZDA3. There is speculation that these photos are photoshops (the sketch is real); nonetheless, the car looks amazing and is tempting me to wait to test it against the Mz3!

 

[Kazbaeden]

There's A3 is indeed real, it's just not in North America. There's also an A2. I don't know why anyone would bother to chop a car which already exists.

http://www.audi.co.uk/newcars/model.jsp?section=/models/a3/a3

 

[zaimon]

Sorry if I made it seem that way. The next-gen A3 was introduced only as a 3 door hatchback in Europe, the next generation 5-door is a completely new development.

Also, if you review the photos closely. You'll find some differences between the cars (shortened rear-window), different roofline, different belt-line.

 

[atl]

Looks good. Now I see why the mazda3 gets a HID/Navi Option.

 

[Kazbaeden]

It seems as if the MZ3 is trying to compete at the hi and low end of the segment spectrum. The Audi and BMW will most likely not even be below $20k.

 

[zaimon]

Found this while searching online. Audi is calling the 5-door the A3 sportback. Pricing looks to be fairly expensive, similar to the A6...
The article mentions that there's a new turbocharged inline-4 2.0 liter making 200 hp and a 3.2l making 250 hp.

http://www.niceaudis.ch/a3/a3_2003/a3_sportback/s1_s2.jpg

More Photos:
http://www.auto-motor-und-sport.de/d/25237

Audi Press Release:
http://www.audi.com/com/en/company/news/press_echo/articel_display/articel_display.jsp?News=1653868

 

[Kazbaeden]

similar to the A6...

Wow, that's way too expensive. That's almost a $40k car.

 

[zaimon]

I hope I'm wrong on that. I was using babelfish to translate the page, a useful but highly limited tool.

The press release mentions that the grille is like the A6's. I'm crossing my fingers that that's the only similarity.

Audi should announce the Sportback around the time I'm in market for the Mz3 (March/April). We'll see what happens.

 

[AK/47]

I was really interested in the BMW 1 series and Audi's 3 series.

I love German cars (mmm, Porche) but was skeptical about VW reliability and the cost of Audi or Bimmer.

Don't care about that know though. My 3's got German styling, Mazda handling and Japanese reliability and price. That's a tough combination to beat!

PS. It's only taken me a month, but I'm finally up to 40 posts At this rate I'll catch Dinu about a month after Lucifer has to shovel the snow from his walk. :lol:

 

[zaimon]

It'd be an easy decision for me if the A3 didn't have Quattro. I go up to the mountains every other weekend during snowboarding season and AWD certainly comes in handy.

I've heard that the previous gen A3 really caused Audi's overall reliability to fall. The VW golf (which the A3 is based on) and Jetta had similar problems here as well.

 

[Kazbaeden]

I'd wager a good deal that you are wrong about it, Zai. I don't think we have much to worry about. I think it'll fall nicely in the $20k-$30k price range. There are a whole lot of engines to choose from too.

But yeah, quattro is REAL nice. I've actually tried to lose control of an A4 in the snow, and just couldn't.

 

[USCMazda3]

But yeah, quattro is REAL nice. I've actually tried to lose control of an A4 in the snow, and just couldn't.

I dare say you didn't try hard enough.