GENEVA MOTOR SHOW: Classy new Audi A3 hatch debuts

Audi has pulled the drapes off its all-new fourth-generation Audi A3 Sportback during an online press conference following the cancellation of the Geneva motor show.

Highlights of the 2020 A3 five-door, which along with the new S3 Sportback arrives in Australia by the end of this year, include stylish new looks, a range of more efficient engines, an upgraded interior, trick new adaptive suspension and advanced variable-ratio steering.

After more than five million sales since the original A3 first arrived back in 1996, Audi's latest BMW 1 Series rival benefits from a raft of technical advances similar to those seen in the recently revealed Volkswagen Golf Mk8 hatch.

Like the VW hatch, the Audi A3 still rides on the Volkswagen Group MQB architecture, but the heavily updated 'evo' version of the platform brings an increase in stiffness while saving as much as 35kg – although the new tech and safety gear is said to offset most of that weight-saving.

Mirroring what Volkswagen did with the Golf, Audi has chosen to drop the three-door version for this generation of A3, cutting development costs for the slow-selling body style, although another A3 sedan will be forthcoming.

Dropping the three-door, says one of the team who designed the new A3, provided an opportunity to make the core five-door hatch a more attractive proposition.

“The previous A3 Sportbacks have all looked like small Avants [wagons] and that's fine, but without the three-door it provided us an opportunity to inject some character back into it and put some sporty DNA into the Sportback,” said Juan Carlos Huerta Martinez.

Measuring in at 4340mm long, 1820mm wide and standing 1430mm tall, the latest Audi A3 is 30mm longer than the current car but, crucially, 10mm lower. Although it's difficult to tell with the optional roof rails fitted, this has led to sportier, more rakish proportions.

In the metal, the new Audi A3 packs a surprising amount of visual punch and the huge single-frame grille, gaping side vents, boomerang LED headlights and clever surfacing brings plenty of the muscle that was lacking in the outgoing A3.

The result is a car that narrows the styling gap between the mainstream A3 variants to the forthcoming 300kW RS 3 hot hatch that will inevitably follow.

Inside, Martinez who also penned the e-tron GT, says his team tried to make the new A3's cabin as visually impactful as its sharp suited exterior.

Believe it or not, this even saw designers draw inspiration from fellow VW Group-owned brand Lamborghini when it came to the two dash vents surrounding the instrument panel that are almost at eyeline.

Fit, finish and quality, meanwhile, are all claimed to top the class and prevent any comparisons with the cheaper VW Golf.

We’ve had the chance to inspect the new A3 at close quarters and the only annoyance we could find was the redundant stitching that runs across the middle of the dash in front of the passenger, which strikes us as a little fussy.

As standard the 2020 Audi A3 gets a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster and a 10.1-inch infotainment system, with a larger 12.3-inch version being an option.

Like the Golf, Audi harnesses the power of an operating system that's claimed to pack 10 times the computing power of the system it replaces and offers natural voice control to rival Mercedes' MBUX system first seen in the A-Class.

There's also a Car-to-X communication system that one day will be capable of connecting and communicating with traffic lights, or help you find a free parking spot.

Under the bonnet, in the European market the A3 will kick off with a 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine that will produce 81kW in the new Audi A3 Sportback 30 TFSI.

Most buyers will ignore it and plump for the 110kW 1.5-litre turbo-petrol four (badged as the 35 TFSI) that's available with or without a 48-volt mild-hybrid belt-driven alternator/starter.

There's no word on whether Volkswagen's cheaper 12-volt electrified engines will join the range too, but with Euro-led CO2 emission regs it's inevitable.

On the diesel side there's just a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel that produces 85kW or 110kW.

All engines will be offered with either six-speed manual or seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmissions.

At the top of the tree, at least until the 300kW-plus RS 3 arrives, is the 228kW S3 Sportback, which uses the old car's EA888 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four without any electrification.

We've already driven that car and come away impressed at its stunning turn of speed cross country.

The 2020 Audi S3 prototype drive also gave us a chance to sample Audi's new adaptive damper control and Progressive Steering systems.

The dampers are claimed to offer a wider bandwidth between comfort and body control, while the variable-ratio steering is also claimed to offer more responsive reactions on a country road and reduced steering effort in town.

Audi’s A3 shares the same hardware as the VW Golf, but the Ingolstadt bean counters haven't gifted all versions with a multi-link rear suspension; all versions with less than 110kW get the cheaper torsion beam rear axle.

As you would expect, the 2020 A3 Sportback comes with Audi's latest driver-assist package, which gathers data from a mid-range radar, another two rear-end radars, four surround-view cameras and 12 ultrasonic sensors.

Said to offer the highest levels of safety, the systems are claimed to be capable of differentiating between vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists, and able to not only brake but steer to avoid an impact.

From 65km/h, the new Audi hatch can also keep itself within its lane, while adaptive cruise control can steer, brake and maintain its lane position and distance from the car in front at up to 210km/h – but only if you keep your hands on the wheel.