The A3 gets a mid life-cycle refresh and although it doesn’t involve many technical changes, it does get some useful features which have trickled down from higher up in the model range. In terms of styling changes, the headlight casing design and the DRLs and a sharper edged hexagonal Audi grille bring the Audi A3 in-line with the new design language seen in 2017 Audi A4 and Q7. The headlights can also be optioned with Audi’s Matrix LED technology, first seen on the Audi A8. The airdams surrounds are a might more aggressive in the new A3 and grille gets a sort of a lower lip beneath it. The updated tail lamps round of the changes to the exterior.
At a glance, the interiors look unchanged, except for one element, which is the instrument binnacle. The new A3 can now be optioned with Audi’s Virtual Cockpit fully digital display, which should be available here in the higher variants.
While there are no changes to the gearbox, with the six-speed S-tronic dual clutch transferring the power to the front-wheels, the 2.0-litre (35 TDI) engine gets 7 bhp more, now putting out 148 bhp. Globally, the entire A3 range including the cabriolet has received the update, and they should be making their way to India soon.
