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Audi looks to clean up in the premium sector with revised A3 TDIs
27.11.2009 |
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AUDI’S ongoing emissions crackdown has yielded another breakthrough within the A3 range, this time for the 140 PS 2.0 litre TDI models, which, it is claimed has become the cleanest at its level in the premium sector. Thanks to the addition of engine start-stop and recuperation technology, the common rail diesel three-door, five-door Sportback and Cabriolet variants benefit from emission cuts of up to 20 g/km or around 16%, bringing output down to 115 g/km for three-door and Sportback versions.
The improvements apply immediately to all 140 PS A3 2.0 TDI models equipped with six-speed manual transmission. They also help to increase economy by at least 8 mpg across the board on the Sportback range taking fuel economy on the combined cycle from 55.4 mpg to 64.2 mpg and cutting emissions from 134 g/km to 115 g/km.
The Cabriolet benefits from an 8.1 mpg increase to 61.4 mpg and a 20 g/km emissions reduction to 119 g/km, another lowest-in-class figure in the premium Cabriolet category.
In terms of company car taxation, this downward shift repositions the A3 2.0 TDI in the 13% benefit-in-kind category, the movement from its original 18% position equating to a saving in annual tax liability of £373 for the three-door standard hatchback model, which will now cost a 40% tax payer £972.
The start-stop system cuts engine power at idle when the clutch pedal is released and the gear lever is in its neutral position, and then restarts in just two-tenths of a second - more rapidly than any other comparable system - when the clutch is depressed.
Recuperation technology provides further fuel and emissions savings by recycling a proportion of the wasted kinetic energy which is generated under normal braking and normally dissipated as heat, and storing this temporarily in the vehicle battery to reduce the engine load when the car subsequently accelerates again.
The updated TDIs follow hot on the heels of the efficiency standard bearers for the A3 range - the 1.4 TFSI petrol models with emissions from 132 g/km and the 1.6 TDIs with outputs of 109 g/km. The new technology which they adopt has had no bearing on their prices, which for fixed head 2.0 TDI 140 PS versions range from £18,860 on-the-road to £23,630 and for Cabriolets from £22,635 to £26,865.
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