# A3 Facelift!



## Canthoney (Aug 5, 2012)

http://fourtitude.com/news/Audi_News_1/audi-unveils-a3-facelift-goes-on-sale-in-europe-next-month/




























"Audi Unveils A3 Facelift, Goes On Sale in Europe Next Month

Audi announced today the details of their upcoming A3 range product improvement, first seen during the RS3 leak earlier this year. Going on sale late next month in Europe, the facelifted A3 will adopt a much more aggressive front fascia compared to the current car, thanks to a heavily revised front bumper and headlight design. But as you’d expect, the A3 update is much more than a pretty face.

Audi A3 Sportback
Beginning with the new model, Audi will bring it’s innovative 12.3″ Virtual Cockpit display to the MQB platform for the first time. Other MMI enhancements will make their way to the vehicle as well, including calendar appointment transferring via the Audi MMI connect app and a redesigned menu structure.

Audi A3 Sedan
Driver assistance features are also coming to the A3 family, namely traffic jam assist which works in conjunction with Audi’s adaptive cruise control and Stop&Go functionality to maintain a safe distance behind the car in front of you during heavy traffic situations under 40mph. Cross-traffic alert, active lane assist and pre sense front will all be available as well.

Audi S3 Cabriolet
For the European market, the A3 will be available with six different engines, three petrol powered, and three diesels. Highlights among the line include the new three-cylinder, 115hp 1.0 TFSI, and a brand new 2.0 TFSI delivering 190hp and an impressive 236 ft-lbs of tq which will be mated to a seven-speed s tronic gearbox. There’s no word on which engines will make their way to the US, but the 2.0 TFSI is a safe bet.

Audi S3 Sedan
As for the S3, the new car will come with a slight power bump (10hp/15lb-ft of tq), and an S3-specific electronic stability control program.

Read the full press release below for additional information, and scroll to the bottom of the page for more images."


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## VWNCC (Jan 12, 2010)

Looks great!


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## link1305 (Jun 27, 2014)

Already I'm dreaming about the possibilities of replacing the MMI computer and instrument cluster in my '15 with one from '17 :screwy:


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## VWNCC (Jan 12, 2010)

I like how the facelifted version now has much shorter head rests for all 3 of the rear seats. It would definitely improve visibility. :thumbup:


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## BEM10001 (May 14, 2007)

VWNCC said:


> I like how the facelifted version now has much shorter head rests for all 3 of the rear seats. It would definitely improve visibility. :thumbup:


I could be wrong but I am guessing they may fold down when not in use as opposed to being so much shorter. Either way it's a win.


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## VWNCC (Jan 12, 2010)

BEM10001 said:


> I could be wrong but I am guessing they may fold down when not in use as opposed to being so much shorter. Either way it's a win.







As per 1:39, they are simply new and shorter headrests. So much better....


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## BEM10001 (May 14, 2007)

Oh cool, yeah that is a lot better. You'd move them up when in use I assume, so it basically accomplishes the same thing as folding.


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## VWNCC (Jan 12, 2010)

BEM10001 said:


> Oh cool, yeah that is a lot better. You'd move them up when in use I assume, so it basically accomplishes the same thing as folding.


Yea, the facelift is definitely growing on me....I really like the front side air intakes and the rear valance. :thumbup:


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## BEM10001 (May 14, 2007)

VWNCC said:


> Yea, the facelift is definitely growing on me....I really like the front side air intakes and the rear valance. :thumbup:


While waiting for the RS3 is going to be another year at least, definitely worth it knowing that it will be getting the face lift as opposed to the current one I drove a few months back. From the photos and video at least love what I see so far. Wouldn't have thought of the grey alcantara but the contrast with the rest of the black cabin is really nice.


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## fred312b (Jul 15, 2012)

looks good!


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## tagsvags (Nov 25, 2005)

Nice face life can't wait to see them in the flesh .


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## gloom (Dec 28, 2004)

Nice video of the new models on the Audi DE YouTube channel:


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## VWNCC (Jan 12, 2010)

Another nice video that shows lots of driving footage and the lighting (both headlamps and rear).

I am in love!


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## errr (May 29, 2001)

Love the headlight! looks very fresh.
Love the front bumper air intake area. Very aggressive

Not loving the lip, especially the opening between the grill and the lip. MAkes the car looks like it has a really huge nose


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## will13k7 (Aug 30, 2015)

The more I look at the exterior changes the more glad I am I got the prefacelift.

I'm really not feeling the b9 A4/S4 exterior and they brought some of that to the A3/S3. The b9 interior was great by the way, made my b8 s4 feel really retro after getting into it afterwards. 

Overall still looks better than the competition though, but they changed it just to change it.

I did get to drive a B9 A4 as a loaner the other day, on a good note, the digital display wasn't as annoying as I thought it would be, they did a good job getting the frame-rate high enough that it still has the smooth analog needle movement. It didn't make me want to upgrade though, and the mode where nav takes over most of the screen made me dizzy. The mode where the tach and speedo were the largest was what I preferred and it felt just as good as the analog gauges.

Just my personal taste, to each their own!


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## araemo (Dec 9, 2012)

Lack of any mention of android auto or apple carplay in the press release is a big disappointment.... but makes my decision to bail on the S3 for rear legroom reasons easier.. since my other choice doesn't have android auto either. Otherwise, it looks like they're properly updating the LED headlights to be projectors, and hopefully the US spec ones will at least be adaptive (even if we can't get matrix LEDs).. I test drove an S3 at night specifically to compare the headlights with my current car, and losing the combination of xenon range/brightness and the adaptive feature was very jarring.


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## VWNCC (Jan 12, 2010)

araemo said:


> Lack of any mention of android auto or apple carplay in the press release is a big disappointment.... but makes my decision to bail on the S3 for rear legroom reasons easier.. since my other choice doesn't have android auto either. Otherwise, it looks like they're properly updating the LED headlights to be projectors, and hopefully the US spec ones will at least be adaptive (even if we can't get matrix LEDs).. I test drove an S3 at night specifically to compare the headlights with my current car, and losing the combination of xenon range/brightness and the adaptive feature was very jarring.



Yes, the facelift seems to finally get projector style LED. :thumbup:


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## Fizzboy7 (Feb 20, 2003)

Not real excited over it. It's different just to be different. Do like the new front and rear lights when illuminated though.
What leaves me the coldest is the huge smiley face. I'm I the only one who sees this? The rear diffuser appears chunky and busy- kinda Tonka-like. And the extra dimples with the front air intakes is overdone. If all that area was left open, it would be sportier. 
IMHO, the previous design was cleaner, smoother, and more typical Audi restraint. If any part of the car needed improvement, it is the dashboard. It's still plain and old-fashioned, while the exterior has a modern theme.


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## BruinToo (Jun 17, 2000)

I wonder how the virtual cockpit will be like for the e-tron. Love the external LED on the bottom of front side air dams.


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## DarthVWer (May 18, 2015)

Dig the headlights and lower intake grilles


IG: estudiog


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## link1305 (Jun 27, 2014)

VWNCC said:


> As per 1:39, they are simply new and shorter headrests. So much better....


From pictures I've seen over the past few years, the European version has always had those rear headrests. I don't think seeing them in these pics is confirmation that we'll get them; I don't believe Audi of America has released official pics of the updated A3 for North America. 










(taken from http://www.audis3.org/forum/threads/29-2015-Audi-S3-Sedan)

Here are more details on possible things we'll see (again, this is for the European version): http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/the-new-audi-a3-–-still-ahead-of-the-curve.268369/

One of the things it says is


> Mobile phones with iOS and Android operating systems can now be connected with the car via the standard Audi smartphone interface, which made its debut in the latest Q7 and A4 models.


I take this to mean Android Auto/Carplay. Hopefully that means it's coming here, because presumably they use the same MMI computer system.


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## araemo (Dec 9, 2012)

link1305 said:


> One of the things it says is
> I take this to mean Android Auto/Carplay. Hopefully that means it's coming here, because presumably they use the same MMI computer system.


You know, you might be right about that... I had glossed over that term, but now that I re-read.. yeah, that's what they call their CarPlay/Android Auto integration. Hmm, makes my decision as hard as I thought it was. :/


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## VWNCC (Jan 12, 2010)

link1305 said:


> From pictures I've seen over the past few years, the European version has always had those rear headrests. I don't think seeing them in these pics is confirmation that we'll get them; I don't believe Audi of America has released official pics of the updated A3 for North America.


Nice find, I didn't know that. I thought it was a facelift thing....I guess we got shafted again....


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## Canthoney (Aug 5, 2012)

Do you think heads up display will be available?


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## VWNCC (Jan 12, 2010)

Is it just me or is the facelifted A3's double-bar grille better looking than the S3's single-bar grille?

Seems reversed to me...like M cars have double-bar kidney grilles......


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## BruinToo (Jun 17, 2000)

*A3 e-tron with virtual cockpit*

https://vimeo.com/162039730


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## GBH (Sep 13, 2004)

Not liking the smile effect of the lower part under the grill, but to each his own. Do wish I had the extra 10 Hp and 15 Tq though.


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## BEM10001 (May 14, 2007)

Canthoney said:


> Do you think heads up display will be available?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Don't think you'd want it with virtual cockpit


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## SYMAWD (Apr 20, 2014)

BEM10001 said:


> Don't think you'd want it with virtual cockpit


Why? I love heads up on the Q7 with virtual cockpit. When you have the virtual cockpit in infotainment view, it's actually not that easy to see your speed at a glance.


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