In two weeks’ time Audi South Africa will be launching the
brand new A3 hatchback. The car
obviously competes with the BMW 1 Series
and Volvo V40, as well as the
upcoming Mercedes-Benz A-Class
hatch. First we’ll see the “pedestrian”
models go on sale. Then the S3 will
arrive.
The new S3 is now
more hot and bothered than ever before. While it was disappointing to receive
the cooled-down 188kW version in
Mzansi, instead of the normal 195kW
that Europe boasted, it was still quite a nifty drive the now-previous S3.
Now enter the new 2013 S3, something really hot underneath
the proverbial collar. Charged forward by a 2.0-litre TFSI direct injection turbo engine, the car is now good
for a mouth-watering 220kW at
5500rpm, with torque switched on to 380Nm.
It’s about as powerful as the 3.0 T engines that Audi uses for the likes of A4,
A5 and A6, and is only 30kW short of the outgoing RS 3 Avant. They say it will skip from 0 –
100km/h in just 5.1 seconds when using the S tronic double clutch gearbox, or 5.4 seconds with the 6-speed
manual. Top speed is the usual 250km/h and average fuel consumption chills
nicely at 7 litres per 100km,
despite this being a quattro AWD.
In essence the new S3 is a direct rival to the BMW M135i hatch and looks like it will
give the little Beemer some serious competition
when it arrives here sometime in early 2013.
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