Audi shows new A3

Audi is giving the A3 small hatch range a facelift in time for the summer.

Changes to the A3 range bring it into line with Audi's current style seen on the new A4 saloon and A5 coupe.

This means daytime running lights that give the front of the A3 more attitude.

There are also reshaped front wings, bonnet and bumpers front and rear, which make the restyled A3 a fraction longer overall than the car it replaces.

Small changes to the interior include aluminium detailing and a lightly reshaped dashboard with instruments that now have a gear indicator to tell the driver when to change up for maximum economy.

The trim options remain the same, with Standard, SE, Sport and Sportline.

All A3s will come with alloy wheels, air conditioning, electric windows and a CD stereo.

New for the A3 is Audi's self-parking system, which recognises parking spaces large enough for the car and then works the steering to slot the car in.

Audi has revised the engine range to add the 1.8-litre turbo petrol with 160bhp.

The 2.0-litre turbodiesel engines have also been swapped for Audi's latest common rail diesels that offer better economy and lower emissions.

Biggest change of the lot is the addition of a five-door S3 hot hatch model.

It uses the same 261bhp turbocharged 2.0-litre engine as the three-door S3, but Audi says revisions to how the engine works makes the S3 marginally faster than the previous model.

The new S3 goes from 0-62mph in 5.7 seconds for the three-door and 5.8 seconds for the five-door Sporthatch model.

Both S3 models keep four-wheel drive and six-speed manual gearboxes as standard.

The revised A3 range will go on sale in the UK this summer with prices expected to stay much the same as for the outgoing models.

Alisdair Suttie