Audi A3 and A3 Sportback get Revised 1.6 TDI with Even Better Fuel Economy and Lower Emissions

It's only been three months since Audi began offering the VW Group's new 1.6-liter common rail diesel engine on the A3 range, but the German firm has already announced a newer version of the 105HP 1.6 TDI with lower fuel consumption and improved CO2 emissions. In particular, the four-cylinder TDI continues to deliver the same output as before at 105HP but peak torque has been increased from 230Nm to 250 Nm (184.39 lb-ft). Audi claims that fuel consumption on the combined cycle has been reduced from 4.1lt/100km (57.4 mpg US) to 3.8lt/100 km (61.9 US mpg) with CO2 emissions of 99g/km, down from 109g/km.

The reworked TDI engine that uses Audi's start and stop technology is linked to a five-speed manual gearbox featuring a final drive ratio longer by some seven percent.

The German firm says that the diesel engine propels the three-door A3 from 0 to 100 km/h (62mph) in 11.4 seconds and on to a top speed of 190 km/h (118 mph) while the A3 Sportback reaches 100 km/h in 11.7 seconds. The corresponding figures for the current A3 1.6 TDI 105HP 3-door are 11.4 seconds and 194km/h.

Audi will begin selling the A3 1.6 TDI and the A3 Sportback 1.6 TDI in Europe in the first half of 2010 with prices said to be similar to those models already offered on the market.