New Audi A3 to stick with petrol and target big quality boost

Audi will reimagine its petrol-powered A3 hatchback in the next few years, using a heavily modified version of the current car’s MQB platform but featuring the brand’s striking new design language.

With a clear desire to reestablish itself as a leader in design, quality and technology, Audi recently installed fresh leadership and introduced a totally reformed styling language. But while it’s easy enough to channel this on expensive new flagship models such as the Nuvolari supercar and forthcoming road-going version of the Concept C, it’s harder to achieve in a mainstream and price-sensitive model such as the Audi A3.

The complete overhaul came as a result of sustained criticism of Audi’s drop in quality over the past decade, especially in its cars’ cabins. 

Among major decisions taken by new CEO Gernard Döllner, Audi appointed a fresh leadership team including Massimo Frascella as the brand’s new chief creative officer, and brought Rouven Mohr back into the role of chief technical officer. With a new team in place, work has already started on the next generation of the company’s models.

Auto Express spoke with Mohr recently, and he told us: “Cars like the Nuvolari and Concept C are the brand-defining cars. These are the pinnacle, a kind of North Star that is what the brand should stand for.

“But it’s clear that our portfolio will follow the same path. I can tell you, you will be surprised by the so-called ‘standard cars’, how many elements you will find in these. The reduced interior, the mechanical haptical feedback, the round steering wheel, the material quality,” the German brand’s technical boss added. 

It’s this core fix that both Mohr on the engineering side and Frascella on the design side want to execute with all future models – and the most important of those for UK buyers is the next A3. 

Audi A3 design details

As shown in our exclusive images, the new model will look completely different to the current car, with a design based on the Radical Next philosophy. This drives the basic aesthetic through a few fundamental elements first revealed on the Concept C in 2025 and set to be shared across all Audi models.

Core to this are details such as the four-part front and rear lights, the single-frame grille’s clean square shape and fresh wheel designs. But it goes deeper than that. There’s a new focus on the elements that might not immediately jump out, such as cleaner body surfaces, too.

Focus on interior quality

The most obvious place where this ethos will apply is the cabin, because Audi’s focus on tactility and quality will be reimagined. Mohr stressed the importance of this: “When it was presented, the first A3 [from 1998] had the same perception of quality as the A8 of this time. There was no difference; even the haptics of the switch, everything was the same.

So, there was a strength of Audi, bringing this high-quality premium feeling across all the segments. “The pillars of an ‘Audi touch and feel’ were always solidity, quality perception and easy-to-use, intuitive controls, even in the old cars,” Mohr added. 

“If you remember, the first generation of Audi TT had this climate control you can turn, you have a click, you put it in. It’s really the love of the detail.” As such, we expect to not just see more physical controls brought back into the cabin, but a more acute focus on their quality, including both the material with which they are made and the haptics. In other words, Audi will bring back the iconic click sound to accompany every button press. 

But we live in a digital world, and Mohr is clear about the fact that while Audi can re-focus on proper controls, there’s still a requirement to ensure future models such as the A3 offer all the digital capabilities expected today. “If you speak about the digital experience, the Audi way is definitely curating or, let me say, embedding the digital aspects in a way that is really not stressful to the driver, but supports the driver in an intuitive and also human-orientated way,” he said.

The digital interfaces will need to live within a technological ecosystem that’s already in place, especially with the firm’s new and expensive curved display that’s been integrated into the fresh Q3, Q4 and the existing A3. Audi is yet to confirm whether this unit will be integrated into the next A3 or if it will adopt a new solution.

But despite the company’s desire to reduce the digital real estate in its new models, buyers of this class of car will still expect such tech alongside more physical controls, so we expect a pair of large displays will remain.

Platform and practicality

Of course, the new A3’s design ambition will be limited by its fundamental structure. It will join other revised MQB-based C-segment models in the wider VW Group including a new Volkswagen Golf, Skoda Octavia and SEAT Leon. So while Audi will have some say in the fundamental proportions and volumes, it will ultimately be limited by the aspects shared between it and its cousins. 

This plan gained renewed focus following recent news of the VW Group’s plan to rationalise its model spread and development programmes. But the A3’s importance to European markets should see its current development plan remain largely intact. Interior space will be close to that of the existing car as a result, but the current proportions are well suited to buyers in this class. A3s already have a good amount of space inside for five, including a decent boot capacity – and we expect this to continue. 

Petrol hybrid engines to lead

Combustion engines will still play a central role, but as in the next Golf and Leon, hybridisation will be the key new factor.  As it stands, though, VW’s plug-in hybrid system in its current compact MQB models is one of the most efficient on the market, so we don’t expect to see radical improvement in raw numbers.  

The set-up is capable of providing up to 70 miles or so on battery power, thanks to a 25.7kWh pack, which is paired with a 1.5-litre turbocharged engine and a six-speed dual-clutch transmission. But as a less expensive option, the VW Group’s new 1.5-litre hybrid engine – as used in the Volkswagen T-Roc compact SUV – will also be installed.

This works with a much smaller battery pack, reducing cost, and features two electric motors – one driving the wheels and the other acting as a starter generator. This is similar to Nissan’s set-up, and could reduce fuel consumption dramatically without owners needing to plug the car in. These two electrified powertrains will be joined by more mild-hybrid options that will be the entry-level engines. 

There’s little chance of another diesel, and this platform is not suited to a battery-electric powertrain – Audi’s new A2 E-Tron will play that role in this class. It remains to be seen how many pure-petrol engines will comply with the incoming Euro 7 emissions legislation and continue as part of the range.

These regulations also call into question whether there will be a new generation of the hot Audi S3 model, and if there is, whether it’ll feature some form of hybrid drive system. 

It could be that VW’s new hybrid set-up can be retrofitted to a more potent version of the 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine used in today’s S3, or perhaps a second electric motor on the rear axle could give more punch and drive the wheels in a compact and space-efficient package.

A new saloon model should also be in the programme, because while this bodystyle’s appeal is limited in the UK and Europe, it’s a key entry point into Audi’s range in markets such as the US.

We’ll have to wait for more details on the next A3, which is due to go on sale before the end of the decade. But, as mentioned, core to its appeal will be an attempted return to form for the German manufacturer.

The intention is that Audi’s next generation of models won’t just be built to the standard they used to be, but potentially one that’s even higher.

Our dealer network has 1,000s of great value new cars in stock and available now right across the UK. Find your new car…