Baby Designs That Rule

Shrinkage in general is never a good thing whether from the warehouse, your bank account or from your favorite sweater. It's also true in design as at best a shrunken-down design ends up being cute but rarely fierce or gorgeous. Fortunately there are exceptions as the following three recent "baby" designs prove that a tailored slim fit look can do wonders at times. Not only do all three do an excellent job of adapting the brand design to their smaller proportions but arguably end up with better and fresher designs than their more expensive brandmates.

Audi A3

The A3 sedan reminds many of the popular fan favorite "B5" Audi A4 based on its size and tidy design. The A3 sedan leans heavily on the current A4 but sharpens up every angle perfectly. It is one of the rare sedans developed out of hatchbacks that actually looks better than its five door counterpart and has a completely own identity. While both are stylish compacts the A3 works the Audi design theme better than its rival CLA does the Mercedes theme.

 

Why Going Downmarket Doesn't Hurt

With the ability to get into a new Audi, BMW or Mercedes for less than the average new car on the market there has been a lot of chatter of the German 3 dropping down. Whether through underboosted engines or through physically smaller models the cost of entry is under 30,000 for two of them and the other gives you a 5,000 discount. With such a seemingly low price point many have wondered if the brands are diluting themselves and their heritage and if their top of the line models are still special. While some of the media has called out the brands the consumer has paid little attention. Neither the recently introduced A3 sedan nor the earlier debut of the CLA has hurt either brand's sales of its top of the line models. The people that are buying the flagship Mercedes and Audi models costing over 100,000 aren't concerned that someone else can buy a Mercedes or an Audi for only 30,000. As long as they are getting a product with power, design and technology commensurate with the price of admission the existence of an entry level model won't bother them. Even for the few status conscious that do want to show off how much their car is worth there is little to worry as it isn't hard to see that an S class or an A8 retail for a quite a bit more than 30,000.

As with everything there are practical limits and thresholds that shouldn't be breached but so far both Audi and Mercedes have introduced a new model at the lower end of their spectrum without missing a beat at the top. The second round is coming right up as both are introducing the crossover version shortly.

Audi Reveals Next Generation A3 Interior and the A3 Itself

While Detroit is the center of the automotive universe in early January, the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is becoming more and more important to the auto industry as cars become rolling multimedia platforms. Therefore it makes sense that Audi would show off the latest iteration of its MMI infotainment system in Las Vegas. However, Audi went far beyond just showing screencaps from the new MMI system and decided to show the entire dashboard from the next generation A3. Like other new Audis the A3 will feature a pop-up navigation display and a touchpad for writing commands, a neat touch is that the touchpad is now on top of the MMI rotary knob. Apparently showing the interior of the A3 was not enough as one of the photos of the navigation screen shows a rendered image of the A3 3 door in its entirety. Keep in mind though this time around the US will only get the sedan version. Nevertheless here is a preview of how the next A3 will look like in other parts of the world.

A3 Sedan Concept

A few days ago Audi released some sketches of its Geneva A3 "nothcback" concept but now it's time to take a look at the actual concept along with a few additional specs. Audi says that the 408 horsepower 2.5 liter turbo 5 cylinder will propel the A3 to 60 in only 4.1 seconds or about as quick as the current TT-RS. A low weight of only 3,395 pounds helps achieve the acceleration figure as well as contributing to a 26 combined mpg rating on the European fuel economy tests. Using our propriety estimation techniques we guesstimate that such an A3 would achieve around 18/28 mpg on the EPA test. Take a look at the photos of the concept below.

Audi A3 Sedan Concept Sketches

Audi pulled a quick one on the unsuspecting masses by revealing sketches of its Geneva bound A3 sedan concept on a Sunday. The A3 sedan will preview the styling of the upcoming A3 model range that as the concept indicates will be joined by a sedan for the first time. The next generation A3 will also be the first Audi to use the upcoming MQB modular platform. Powering the concept is a 408 horsepower 2.5 TFSI engine last seen in the fall on the quattro concept. A 340 horsepower version powers the current generation RS3 and TT-RS thus this concept is a good indication that the RS3 will continue into the next generation. The A3 sedan concept measures 174.8 inches in length thus splitting the difference in size between the current A3 Sportback and the A4. The sedan bodystyle will be paramount in the A3 picking up its sales in the USA. Take a look at the sketches below.

Audi A3 2.0 TDI Priced

Audi has announced that the 2010 A3 2.0 TDI pricing will start at $29,950. The A3 TDI gets an EPA fuel economy of 30 mpg in the city and 42 on the highway. The A3 will be available for purchase at Audi dealerships in late November.

HERNDON, Va., Sep 3, 2009 - Audi today announced pricing for the 2010 A3 TDI, its second U.S. clean diesel offering launched this year. Expected to begin arriving at U.S. dealers in late November 2009, the 50-state certified A3 TDI delivers the highest highway fuel economy in the luxury car category – 42 mpg, according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates.


The competitive set for the A3 TDI clean diesel is unique. Only one competitor is currently playing in the field of fuel-efficient compact luxury vehicles, but does not offer the driving experience or the 5-door flexibility that includes 40/60 split rear-folding seats. The Lexus HS 250h offers similar combined fuel economy with hybrid technology, but not superlative highway mileage range. The A3 TDI offers more superlatives in value, including a standard S line exterior sport appearance for 2010, a tighter steering turning circle, a top speed of 130 mph, as well as a 12-year limited warranty against corrosion.