# A3 Sportback for MY2016 in the USA



## ChrisFu (Jun 9, 2012)

Anyone heard any more arrival dates for the FWD TDI sportback that was announced for the USA last year? AoA claimed Summer of 2015. Have those of you with dealer connections received any advance info?


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## t.oorboh! (Feb 11, 2012)

i check this forum once a week looking for exactly this news.

i'm probably going to swing by my dealer in the next 2 weeks. i'll post if i hear anything of substance, but i've basically given up on this year. no mention in the recent 2016 model line up news. meh, i'm still loving my 06 A3. 230km and still feeling tight and pulling hard.


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## ProjectA3 (Aug 12, 2005)

TDI is pushed back until early next year. e-tron will be out this fall.


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## Golf RRR (May 16, 2015)

And this is why I'm looking to buy a Golf R.
(I actually want the RS3- fat chance of that in 'Murica apparently. We can't even get a bloody S3 Sportback).


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## gamegenie (Aug 24, 2014)

We'll get the RS3 as it was originally meant to look like, a sedan. 

when you think about it, all the 8V hatchbacks are compromises, otherwise the A3 Concept would not have been a sedan.


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## Golf RRR (May 16, 2015)

gamegenie said:


> We'll get the RS3 as it was originally meant to look like, a sedan.
> 
> when you think about it, all the 8V hatchbacks are compromises, otherwise the A3 Concept would not have been a sedan.


I used to be a coupe guy... then a sedan guy. Now I'm a hatchback guy- I think the sedans and coupes are the compromises.


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## JDBVR6 (Dec 29, 2006)

gamegenie said:


> We'll get the RS3 as it was originally meant to look like, a sedan.
> 
> when you think about it, all the 8V hatchbacks are compromises, otherwise the A3 Concept would not have been a sedan.


Ummmm, no. The RS3 and the A3 in general was never originally designed to be a sedan. Until now, the A3 was always sold as a hatchback or sportback. The sedan was only introduced to please hatchback phobic Americans. I laughed at the fact that you said the hatchback was a compromise, when it is a fact that hatchbacks have more headroom and cargo capacity than their sedan counterparts. 

It still pisses me off that Mercedes sells the e63 AMG wagon here and Audi refuses to sell the RS3/ S3 sportback in the U.S. The e63 wagon is a bigger niche vehicle than the Sportback would be. :banghead:


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## gamegenie (Aug 24, 2014)

JDBVR6 said:


> Ummmm, no. The RS3 and the A3 in general was never originally designed to be a sedan. Until now, the A3 was always sold as a hatchback or sportback. The sedan was only introduced to please hatchback phobic Americans. I laughed at the fact that you said the hatchback was a compromise, when it is a fact that hatchbacks have more headroom and cargo capacity than their sedan counterparts.
> 
> It still pisses me off that Mercedes sells the e63 AMG wagon here and Audi refuses to sell the RS3/ S3 sportback in the U.S. The e63 wagon is a bigger niche vehicle than the Sportback would be. :banghead:


I'm not talking about those early A3's. I'm talking about the A3 8V. 


It's concept was a sedan. 


Even the E-tron was a sedan in concept form. Love it or leave it.


If I wanted more cargo capacity, head-room. I'd get an SUV. 

Americians wised up decades ago and said bye to the station wagon (hatchback/sportback/estate) and moved on to the Sport Utility vehicle. 

Sedans will never go out of style.


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## araemo (Dec 9, 2012)

gamegenie said:


> If I wanted more cargo capacity, head-room. I'd get an SUV.
> 
> Americians wised up decades ago and said bye to the station wagon (hatchback/sportback/estate) and moved on to the Sport Utility vehicle.
> 
> Sedans will never go out of style.


I'd rather have a wagon than a hatchback, personally. I just think the proportions work better for a mid-size or full-size wagon, while hatchbacks just look 'off' to me. I wish audi/bmw would still offer the avant versions of most of their cars here.

SUVs suck for driving dynamics - too top-heavy. Wagons at least can keep the center of gravity low enough to still feel sporty. That being said, until I NEED the extra space, sedans will be my go-to.


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## rabbitgtibbar (Apr 29, 2002)

JDBVR6 said:


> Ummmm, no. The RS3 and the A3 in general was never originally designed to be a sedan. Until now, the A3 was always sold as a hatchback or sportback. The sedan was only introduced to please hatchback phobic Americans. I laughed at the fact that you said the hatchback was a compromise, when it is a fact that hatchbacks have more headroom and cargo capacity than their sedan counterparts.
> 
> It still pisses me off that Mercedes sells the e63 AMG wagon here and Audi refuses to sell the RS3/ S3 sportback in the U.S. The e63 wagon is a bigger niche vehicle than the Sportback would be. :banghead:


The original RS, the RS2, only came as a 3-door (2 -door hatch). It was followed by the RS4, as an Avant only. Next came the RS6. It was released as an Avant, but a sedan did follow. A limited run of RS6 Pluses were made...all as Avants. The next RS4 broke tradition and was released as a sedan initially, with the Avant following. Another RS6 followed, with over 80% of them being Avants. Another RS6 was released...as an Avant only. The RS4 followed, as an Avant only. The TTRS is a 3-door. The RS5 is a fastback coupe. The RS7 is the only RS to only be available as a sedan.

That brings us to the current RS3. It is, as has almost always been the case for RS Audis, not a sedan. I do hope they keep that tradition going when it comes across the pond, but I'll buy one either way.


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## uvalax236 (Feb 23, 2011)

I emailed Mark Dahncke at AoA regarding the sportback TDI, and this is the response I got:


> We currently have the A3 TDI sedan available for purchase and the Sportback isn’t planned for some time I’m afraid. We will be launching the A3 e-tron Sportback which is a plug-in hybrid that is all Audi in terms of driving dynamics with exceptional efficiency.
> 
> I would recommend either of these as an alternative. Hope that helps and thank you for your interest in Audi.
> 
> Mark


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## rabbitgtibbar (Apr 29, 2002)

uvalax236 said:


> I emailed Mark Dahncke at AoA regarding the sportback TDI, and this is the response I got:



Up until a car is officially released (or at least announced for release), you won't get anything other than the non-committal/"buy a current product instead" sort of answer you got there.


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## Rudy_H (Jul 6, 2012)

They do!!! Starting at $22,345

http://www.vw.com/models/golf/

Now if Audi would be smart and offer the TDI sportback in quattro - I am there!


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## ChrisFu (Jun 9, 2012)

Did anyone else get the newest issue of the Audi magazine?

There was an entire segment devoted to "how great audi is" being for bringing the sportback to the USA...



> Thankfully, Scott Keogh, president of Audi of America, knows about our dedication and wanted to celebrate it. And for some satisfying moments at the 2014 New York International Auto Show, he addressed us, the committed fans of the style, and he told us what we wanted to hear: that the classic shape of the Audi A3 was coming back in upcoming model years [soon], as an Audi A3 TDI® clean diesel, and in 2016, as an Audi A3 Sportback e-tron® plug-in hybrid.
> 
> It was an act of listening. As Keogh said, those of us who cared about the style spoke up and were counted. With that collective voice, they heard us at Audi of America headquarters in Herndon—and in Ingolstadt too.
> 
> He knew that we were passionate and loyal fans of a particular style; he knew that we were out there and that we represented an opportunity as much as anyone. “You still have to do cool stuff that people like,” Keogh said. “Not everyone can appreciate a Sportback, but, man, the ones who are into it, are into it. That car will rock and roll for us.”


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## gamegenie (Aug 24, 2014)

E-Tron Sportback. 

Although the A3 Etron Concept wasn't no stinking Sportback. 














Looking at the return of the A3 hatchback in E-tron looks like a major downgrade from the concept. That concept electric-hybrid car look like it had potential to take on the Tesla Models S.


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## Golf RRR (May 16, 2015)

My favorite spec for the e-tron;
"Enjoy the silent, smooth, low-cost operation of driving on pure electric power with a range up to 18 miles1 — enough to cover many short commutes."
http://www.audiusa.com/models/audi-a3-sportback-e-tron

_UP TO_ 18 miles!
Golly! :what:


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## JDBVR6 (Dec 29, 2006)

gamegenie said:


> E-Tron Sportback.
> 
> *Although the A3 Etron Concept wasn't no stinking Sportback. *
> 
> ...




Of course you are wrong again. The A3 e-tron was orginally the sportback.


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## gamegenie (Aug 24, 2014)

I'm not wrong. I'm only focusing on the 8V current A3 generation.


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## Rudy_H (Jul 6, 2012)

gamegenie said:


> I'm not wrong. I'm only focusing on the 8V current A3 generation.


what about this?

http://www.audiusa.com/models/audi-a3-sportback-e-tron


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## gamegenie (Aug 24, 2014)

Rudy_H said:


> what about this?
> 
> http://www.audiusa.com/models/audi-a3-sportback-e-tron


I think its kind of sad that the A3 Etron Concept turned into that. 

like I said earlier, the A3 Etron Concept had Tesla Model S potential , but that 18 battery mile range hatch the production model produced has made it into a disappointment.


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## JDBVR6 (Dec 29, 2006)

gamegenie said:


> I think its kind of sad that the A3 Etron Concept turned into that.
> 
> like I said earlier, the A3 Etron Concept had Tesla Model S potential , but that 18 battery mile range hatch the production model produced has made it into a disappointment.


:sly:
Well, that's your opinion. There are many others on here (myself included) who think the sportback is much better looking. Sedans are boring because every other car on American roads is a sedan. It's great to have a vehicle that is distinctly and unapologetically European. Not some watered down Americanized product which I believe the A3 sedan is. If I wanted an American car, I would buy an American car. I don't know why you are such a hater of hatchbacks/wagons. Are you that concerned about your image that you can't be seen in such a car? :sly: 

People who are a fan of the sportback/wagon body style are being shafted. YOU, as a sedan lover can get what you want; However, people who don't want a sedan are left high and dry. Shouldn't our money be just as valuable as anyone else's? We are not saying that the sedan should not exist, but we are saying that the sportback should be offered in regular A3/S3 format just as the sedan is.


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## Rudy_H (Jul 6, 2012)

gamegenie said:


> I think its kind of sad that the A3 Etron Concept turned into that.
> 
> like I said earlier, the A3 Etron Concept had Tesla Model S potential , but that 18 battery mile range hatch the production model produced has made it into a disappointment.


ah, I see, you are a generic sedan guy

Personally I can only hope the TDI sportback will come to North America, as a simple 1.8T is doubtful, then I will be looking through the salvage yards like a mad man for a S3. The Etron I have a feeling will be too much work. At least Ford has it right.


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## araemo (Dec 9, 2012)

Rudy_H said:


> ah, I see, you are a generic sedan guy


As opposed to a generic hatchback guy? What does that even mean?


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## t.oorboh! (Feb 11, 2012)

we can't get an RS3 Sportback, but there's an RS2 for sale in the Toronto area!

http://wwwb.autotrader.ca/a/Audi/RS+4/BRAMPTON/Ontario/19_8750092_/?showcpo=ShowCPO&orup=2_15_6


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