Interior update for the A3 range

mab12

mab12

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www.audi-mediacenter.com

Upgrade for Audi A3 models

The A3 model series has been widely popular for generations. Now, the compact class is getting an upgrade, focusing on the redesigned interior with a panoramic display as well as a wider range of driver-assist systems. The A3 series is becoming more capable and more digital.
www.audi-mediacenter.com www.audi-mediacenter.com

A263477 web 1440
 
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So it's true. Inevitable I guess, but goddamn. Wasn't expecting it that soon - looks like the dash part is much simpler so it must be cheaper for Audi to build so the car is more profitable.

They basically kept what was questionable in the original design - the large piano black center console with only few functions reserving space from storaging, with a bit clumsy connection to the cupholder section, and wiped away everything that made the A3 stand out in its segment - the HVAC control panel, elegantly integrated MMI and a decent virtual cockpit. This only makes me happy I didn't wait too long to change for a new so I don't have to hurry now to get one with the outgoing design.

Anyone with similar thoughts or am I the only one disliking this "upgrade"?
 
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JKP said:
So it's true. Inevitable I guess, but goddamn. Wasn't expecting it that soon - looks like the dash part is much simpler so it must be cheaper for Audi to build so the car is more profitable.

They basically kept what was questionable in the original design - the large piano black center console with only few functions reserving space from storaging, with a bit clumsy connection to the cupholder section, and wiped away everything that made the A3 stand out in its segment - the HVAC control panel, elegantly integrated MMI and a decent virtual cockpit. This only makes me happy I didn't wait too long to change for a new so I don't have to hurry now to get one with the outgoing design.

Anyone with similar thoughts or am I the only one disliking this "upgrade"?
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I picked mine up on Friday so I have to dislike the new design Lol!
 
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I'd be damn happy with a week old RS3, reading the news now! :sweatsmile:
 
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Dealer told me this was coming last month, and here it is. Doesn't look promising, does it? I wonder if it has more EU nanny crap now.
 
According to Auto Express all the revised models will be on sale from September slightly cheaper than the outgoing ones with the exception of the RS3 which will start at £63655
 
I am surprised they are passing on the cost savings to buyers, other than the RS3. I wonder if there is some as-yet unknown upgrade to it.

The graphics changes look bad, and Audi has ditched the virtual cockpit that's been around for a long time. The interior update has dented my interest, but I will try to keep an open mind until all details are known.
 
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Me too. Maybe they try playing the price card now since it looks like the A3 might not be selling as well as they hoped.

A headline in the mediacenter press release: "Assistance systems: reliable support in everyday driving". Thanks, I have enough of those already. Maybe now you'll really need those since you have to take your eyes off the road for much longer than before, to place your finger to the right spot on the ****** screen.

Every single person have said the new virtual cockpit graphics look crap, even the most smarmy youtubers. Got to agree with that. While the screen design is questionable by itself, I'm bewildered these are the graphics that got accepted for use. I'd not be surprised if they offered a decent looking option in the functions on demand store sooner or later, for a significant price of course.
 
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I just can't bring myself to like those ridiculous strip screens that run so far across the dash, regardless of what brand of car they're in.

They're more fiddly to find the controls you want and they mean the interiors of all marques look increasingly the same, which is invariably generic and clinical (but not in a good way).

My reaction to any interior like this is just meh. Which for the one bit of the car you get to see as the owner, is pretty depressing!
 
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You'd be rather annoyed if you had an RS3 on order and this turned up. The screens I can almost accept, but the dreadful graphics would stop me. I will reserve judgment until there are some YT clips showing how they look, but the press shots are dire.
 
Jsimba said:
I just can't bring myself to like those ridiculous strip screens that run so far across the dash, regardless of what brand of car they're in.

They're more fiddly to find the controls you want and they mean the interiors of all marques look increasingly the same, which is invariably generic and clinical (but not in a good way).

My reaction to any interior like this is just meh. Which for the one bit of the car you get to see as the owner, is pretty depressing!
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It's being discontinued mid 2027 also confirmed by an Audi rep to Evo mag.
 
Mondie said:
You'd be rather annoyed if you had an RS3 on order and this turned up.
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I do and I am. Not even a build week set yet and had to play the "cancel the RS3 order" card to get the recent (hopefully picking up the car this afternoon) repairs to the S3 done under warranty.
 
I don't know what I would do if I had one on order. are you already at the point of no return? I could probably learn to live with the screens, but would want to see more info on the graphics and how reliant you are on using the thing for regular settings.

HM3P said:
It's being discontinued mid 2027 also confirmed by an Audi rep to Evo mag.
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Euro 7 starts in November 2026. Existing Euro 6 models can be sold for one year after, so that makes sense.
 
Mondie said:
are you already at the point of no return
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No build date so I'd argue no. The dealer does have a black one at another site. Might explore that, but did rather want Python Yellow.
 
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I noticed Python Yellow dropped off the configurator about a month ago. I wonder if they will screw you on that too?
 
Mondie said:
I noticed Python Yellow dropped off the configurator about a month ago
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Oh For Finigal's Sake you are right.

The order has been acknowledged by Audi so I hope that they are committed to building it as specified - it does not help that it was only confirmed on Jun 4th despite paying a deposit on March 3rd. I think there was very poor hand over when the sales guy I was dealing with was away for a bit.

Sounds like I need another conversation with them.
 
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I don't think they can deliver you a car that's against your configuration, at least without any conversation. If the color was available when you ordered the car, they'll make it. The chip shortage during the covid was an exception.

Right after I had ordered my previous car the trim levels changed and the alloys that were standard at the time of my configuration were also dropped off. Even though it was the time of covid and it took a whole damn year to deliver the car, it came with the alloys that were on my order.

I think they won't take new orders now until they start selling the newest FL models.
 
JKP said:
I don't think they can deliver you a car that's against your configuration, at least without any conversation. If the color was available when you ordered the car, they'll make it. The chip shortage during the covid was an exception.

Right after I had ordered my previous car the trim levels changed and the alloys that were standard at the time of my configuration were also dropped off. Even though it was the time of covid and it took a whole damn year to deliver the car, it came with the alloys that were on my order.

I think they won't take new orders now until they start selling the newest FL models.
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I could hope that's the case for the dash...
 
My dealer guy said that when the delivery times were very long it would have been a tricky situation if there was a facelift happening before the delivery. Maybe so, but then how about the pricing if the facelift affects to the prices too? Not only the consumer price, but also what the factory bills from the dealer. I think it would be both Audi's and the dealer's intention to avoid that kind of situation.
 
I have a new RS3 on order with an estimated build date of the 27th July. It is due to be at the dealers in September, will this have the new style dashboard or is that for 2027 cars only.
 
Simon R2RS said:
I have a new RS3 on order with an estimated build date of the 27th July. It is due to be at the dealers in September, will this have the new style dashboard or is that for 2027 cars only.
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When did you put the order in?
 
I'd call the dealer and ensure that the incoming car was the one I ordered and not that clusterf*ck Audi just presented.
 
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RS3nz said:
Look at how low the centre air vents are
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That's pretty common, similar to E-Tron GT or Cupra products. Some said they were too high in the original 8Y and hard to aim so the AC don't feel uncomfortable.
 
JKP said:
I'd call the dealer and ensure that the incoming car was the one I ordered and not that clusterf*ck Audi just presented.
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Yea I will drop them a message and see what they come back with. Regardless of which dash it comes with I will still keep the order as I drive a 25 MK8.5 Golf R black edition and I have got used to the climate controls in the screen, yes there not the best and would prefer the current cabin but its something I can live with if it means I am driving the 5pot.
 
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JKP said:
I'd call the dealer and ensure that the incoming car was the one I ordered and not that clusterf*ck Audi just presented.
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Yeah, I just emailed to say WTF is going on.

Admittedly they have fixed one thing which annoyed me - or was an obvious bit of functionality that the lane assist lacked - which is that the car will now stop at a red light.

I wonder if it knows not to pull out of a T junction on onto a roundabout when there is cross traffic.

Oh, it can change lanes itself as well, apparently - driver initiated with with a turn signal AIUI - which might be somewhat useful as it could be difficult to get the car to track the lane again if you are going around a slight bend. You needed to apply steering input to make the lane change, then need to continue applying steering input to follow the lane, so the car thinks you want to steer, so you need to continue doing so. I guess if I trusted the system enough to let go and let it figure it out by itself - but on a busy motorway? No chance.
 
JKP said:
That's pretty common, similar to E-Tron GT or Cupra products. Some said they were too high in the original 8Y and hard to aim so the AC don't feel uncomfortable.
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I've always thought that about the 8Y vs my previous 8V and this week has confirmed it. The vents either shoot cold air at my hands on the wheel or past the sides of my head, because they've been positioned right behind the wheel.

These seem a bit low but I guess at least might offer an unobstructed airflow. Another compromise just to have that ridiculous new screen!
 
Jsimba said:
I've always thought that about the 8Y vs my previous 8V and this week has confirmed it. The vents either shoot cold air at my hands on the wheel or past the sides of my head, because they've been positioned right behind the wheel.

These seem a bit low but I guess at least might offer an unobstructed airflow. Another compromise just to have that ridiculous new screen!
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The placement of the vent on the door side looks better than before, might be the only positive I can find from this facelift. The original place isn't optimal and I've always found the aimings a bit weird but I've got along with them.

Shame there are no pics that would show the entire dash or how the passenger side meets the door in the FL.

The configurators aren't up-to-date. Ours doesn't know anything about the facelift yet, the German site shows the new model but allows you only configure the old one. You may not be able to order one though.
 
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ptf said:
Yeah, google will find the direct link to the configurator - my point was that if you go to audi.co.uk, then navigate to models, then A3, then RS3 and wind up on the product page there is (currently) no "build and price" link as there is for most other models (ditto the S3)
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God knows, I just hope mine comes with the current interior.
 
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Simon R2RS said:
God knows, I just hope mine comes with the current interior.
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I know what you mean. Actually I'd quite like the pre facelift steering wheel, post facelift interior otherwise and the extra functionality for the driver assist stuff (oh, I forgot, if you trust it you can get out of the car and get it to park itself).

Oh, and I'd like proper TPMS as well please.

Unfortunately it's not Pick 'n' Mix :(
 
ptf said:
(oh, I forgot, if you trust it you can get out of the car and get it to park itself).
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I'm not brave enough to ever use the parking assistant again. Even if it's surely improved from what it originally was, it's hard to get past of my experiences when I tried it few times - a minor bumper hit and almost-curbed alloy. Luckily polishing and touch-up paint were enough to fix the bumper, and my tyres had rim protectors wide enough.
 
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Simon R2RS said:
God knows, I just hope mine comes with the current interior.
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Got confirmation back that mine will be in the 2025/2026 spec, build date 20th July (surprised Audi hasn't emailed me that but that's what the dealer is saying) and will be in Python Yellow. Phew

I just about could be persuaded that the additional driver assist functionality was worth the cockpit changes, though I think you could only tell how practical the new interface is by having an extended test drive (which everyone offers and my experience is no one delivers).

However the colour is non-negotiable and it **does** look as though Audi are "retiring" Python Yellow from the A3 colour options in favour of shades called "Progressive Red" or "District Green Metallic" - who the heck even thinks up these names?

So, fingers crossed but looking good.
 
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That's good news on your order. I hope the dealer is on the ball and not FOS.

Progressive red has been an option for a while, but DMG is new and questionable, a bit too Army for me, maybe.

I don't think the prospect of some enhanced self-driving gubbins I will never use will convince me that the changes are an improvement.
 
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