Daily Archives

1 March 2011

I want to

Well, isn’t this a lovely little car?  “What is it?” I hear you asking.  Well, friends, this is Audi’s preview of the next A3.  As a sedan.

This would be about when the sound of a record scratch would be queued.

As many of you know, I really am a fan of the hatchback/small station wagon body style.  Thus is why I own the current A3.  So seeing this wickedly sharp-looking small sedan is causing me some concerns.  I like it just fine, don’t get me wrong, it’s just not really what I thought the next A3 was going to be about.

Judging by the comments on several North American auto sites, though, it definitely is what Audi needs the A3 to be if it wants to sell them like hotcakes here.  The US readers, especially, are falling over themselves to claim that they’ll be the first one to line up, cash in hand, when the car launches.  And that’s great!

But not without my hatch.  You can call this a “notchback” or a “four dour coupé” if you must, Audi, but it’s really a sedan and you know that.  “It harkens back to the B5 series A4!” you have stated, too.  Which really only means the B8 series (current) A4 has gotten too big for its britches.

I get it.  I just don’t want it for myself.  Give me an A3 Avant, A3 Sportback, etc – just don’t leave us hanging.  It would be a shame to see Ford bringing a truly remarkable European hatchback to the States just as Audi takes theirs away.

On the positive side of things, I’m really digging the new interior: