Audi Brings 2010 A3 Sportback TDI diesel to the States, Priced from $29,950

The second diesel offering from Audi to be launched in the US this year after the Q7 TDI is the 2010 A3 Sportback TDI and it will begin arriving at the company's dealers in late November 2009. The base price for the front-wheel drive model with Audi's S tronic dual-clutch transmission is $29,950, but you'll have to add another $825 to that for destination charge, taxes, title, options, and dealer charges. Power comes from a 2.0-liter turbo diesel that makes 140 horsepower and 236 lb-ft of torque offering the five-door hatch a top speed of 130mph.

According to Audi the A3 TDI returns an EPA-estimated of 30mpg in the city and 42mpg on the highway. For some reason, Audi thought it would be a good idea to compare the diesel-powered A3 hatchback to the Lexus HS 250h four-door sedan in its press release saying that the Japanese model "offers similar combined fuel economy with hybrid technology, but not superlative highway mileage range."

For what it matters, the 187HP HS 250h, which starts from $34,200 in the States, received EPA-estimated ratings of 35 mpg city and 34 mpg on the highway for a combined 35 mpg.

-->Read More...

Audi Presents Updated Navigation System Plus for A3, TT and R8

Just like any other electronic product, navigation systems are continuously upgrade with better software and hardware. Audi's updated navigation system plus with MMI (Multi Media Interface) for the A3, TT and R8 models promises to offer improved route calculation speeds thanks to a latest-generation processor clocked at 600 MHz while another significant enhancement is are the 800 x 480 pixel, high-resolution graphics displayed on the 6.5-inch screen.

On the back of the display, which can be folded away at the push of a button, are two slots for SD and SDHC cards with capacities of up to 32 GB, enough to store about 14,000 songs or 700 hours of music.

Also new on Audi's updated navigation system plus is the optical parking assistant which can be combined in the Audi R8 with the rearview camera. Aside from the acoustic warning signals, the distance to the front and to the rear is now displayed optically on the high-resolution display.

The new system is available for order now with prices ranging between €2,270 and €2,565, depending on the model.

-->Read More...