Does the new A3 get real quattro

[Karcsi]

The Audi UK website says:

"In 1980, the Audi quattro was the first permanent four-wheel drive production car. So while the technology is thoroughly tried and tested, it has also been enhanced and evolved ever since it was first introduced and can now be experienced with the new Audi A3 quattro."

Then again the Q3 brochure says:

"It’s called quattro® permanent all-wheel-drive. In this system, four permanently driven wheels deliver better acceleration, road-holding and safety, while asymmetric dynamic torque distribution intelligently controls the flow of power to the front and rear axles.

It means that the Audi Q3 can ‘read’ the road, sensing changes in the surface beneath the wheels and adjusting their grip accordingly. So when conditions get a little more demanding – in particular, when you go off-road – quattro® adapts, putting all the force of the Q3’s engine precisely where it’s needed to handle the change in terrain."

But that has Haldex, AFAIK.

Will the new A3 have the torsen system (is that possible with a transverse engine, or have they turned it around)? Or are Audi ignorant of their own technology....again?

 

[Vertigo1]

Not only will I pretty much guarantee you that the A3 will stay with Haldex, but I wouldn't be surprised if other, previously Torsen-equipped models, moved to Haldex in the future, both because of improvements in the Haldex system and because it results in fewer transmission losses and a more efficient car with better MPG and lower CO2, which is the manufacturers' main driving force these days.

 

[Karcsi]

Thanks. I doubt it as well - and it is not the first time Audi pubs material has been wrong.

I agree, torsen, in my experience, is a thirsty system - both in power and fuel. However, I hate haldex - at least the incarnation that was in my Mk2 TT. It just seemed to act as a on-off switch when it sent power to the rear. Plus, it can never be rear biased (unless it is artificially done through somekind of braking of the front wheels), so I guess the transverse engined S/RS models would always get the torsen system.

 

[audicruiser]

It will be Haldex for sure as the engines will be transverse.... The Q3 does use Haldex too which is why you can't get it with a V6 engine. The Q5 and Q7 get the "proper" Quattro set up.