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Audi’s upcoming A3 may represent a certain amount of a break from recent Audi strategy, but as new sketches of the compact luxury car emerge, it’s clear that Audi isn’t taking any steps into the unknown with its design. Park this sketch next to a new A6, and the only difference appears to be some extra nose and rear deck. I suppose that if the fashion gods are smiling upon you, as they seem to be smiling upon Audi these days, you keep your designs consistent and conservative. But with Mercedes-Benz breaking out of the “one sausage, different lengths” mold and throwing funky, expressive hatches into the A3’s competitive space, shouldn’t Audi be trying a little harder to beat off the oldest trap in German luxury sedan styling?
12 Comments on “What’s Wrong With This Picture: I’ll Take The Audi In “Small” Edition...”
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The Merc looks better and ‘funky’ is a good word for it. US luxury car buyers have some infatuation with sedans and CUVs that I just don’t get, so Audi may profit from the saloon version of the car more than Merc with the swoopy hatch. Maybe it’s becuase hatch says “fun and practical person with golden retriever and roof-rack mandatory sports gear”, and sedan says “junior exec hiding his golfclub in the trunk so the staff doesn’t figure out that his afternoon meeting has a tee time”.
Its true that Mercedes may be introducing funky looking hatches in the A and B segments, but honestly, what exactly are people paying for when they buy these premium compacts? Not only are they buying a decent car, but they are also buying into the brand. Audi has invested heavily in styling and design, so it would be a shame to throw it all away by introducing people to the brand in something fugly. Remember, half the reason people will buy this car is because “it looks like an A4/A6/A8,” which are all reasonably pleasant to look at.
If MB expands it lineup without taking styling into consideration, I think it will end in a repeat of the C200 or BMW 318i. Theres a reason those cars failed. Because they told everyone “Hey, look at me, I bought the cheap luxury car that has less luxury than a Camry, and is ugly to boot!”
I don’t think my Merc C230 Sport Coupe is ugly – just unreliable, expensive to repair and starting to rust which really P!$$es me off
Before I drove an A3 I would probably got a Subaru 5 door, nice reliable practicle car, just what I was looking for. When I drove the A3 I was really impressed with it’s driving dynamics, interior and appearance and I couldn’t stop thinking about it It took me awhile to find one I could afford and I haven’t regretted it for the 3 years and 40,000 miles I’ve put on it.
I personally like Germany’s classic “one sausage, different lengths” design strategy. I especially like the stark contrast between VW group’s sensible, functional designs and the funk coming from Stuttgart. It would be a mistake if Audi and VW simply went wild like their German rivals. Somebody has to keep the classic Teutonic fires burning.
Mercedes just seems to be belatedly following BMW’s Bangle-led lead wih increasingly radical, striking but polarizing designs with little or no link to the automaker’s heritage. New for the sake of new; change for the sake of change. BMW caught a lot of flak, but also sold a lot of bangle-butted cars in the last decade, so Benz is trying their hand at slapping arbitrary lines and creases all over their models. If you removed the three-pointed star and stuck twin-kidneys on the CLS and new A-Class, they’d make more-than-passable BMWs – if Bangle were still around.
BMW, meanwhile, has significantly toned-down the funkyness with new designer Hooydonk at the reins. The new 7 and 5 series are improved enough for me to rank BMW as second amongst German marques, with Audi in the lead, stoic but consistent VW third, and the ambitious but seemingly lost-and-confused Benz ranked last.
No. No. No. A thousand times no. There will always be a sizeable (and reliable) market for conservative German cars that don’t offend the neighbors’ sense of equitable distribution of wealth. And if Audi sales are any indication, it may be a growing market. Flashy and funky may impress temporarily, but it’s like chasing last quarter’s market returns – you’re up, you’re down, and you never quite understand why. Audi would be fools to add any frippery at this stage of their brand development.
I read that the new design is really for Chinese and Americans who think hatchbacks have no status. I’m not ready to pass judgement until I see the car in the flesh. The real judgement will be in about 2 or 3 years when I replace my 2007 A3
Count me in as a member of the “conservative is better” camp. I think that while the new A8 may be a bit *too* derivative, the new A3 concept and design is very well proportioned, handsome without being garish, and very functional looking. In short: a perfect 21st century pseudo-luxo car that isn’t pretentious, but definitely stands out from the more pedestrian heritage it is derived from.
This thing looks like it’s trying to be a Bangle-era 3-series. And I dont mean that in any way as a compliment.
The passing of the “beltline up around the nipples” styling fad can’t come soon enough for me. I remember when seeing out of a car was a given, not a challenge.
“But with Mercedes-Benz breaking out of the “one sausage, different lengths” mold” Quote
The latest Mercs are looking rough , though the C-Class was OK before they facelifted it.
‘One sausage-different length’ works for me , and it worked for BMW before Bangle came along and fouled things up.
I think Audi is getting it right, with the exception of the TT. Audi has never been about flash. Remember what BMW M cars used to look like? That’s Audi. “Captain sensible” as Clarkson calls them. I think the new CLS is pretty hideous, and it will age rapidly. The A7 on the other hand won’t have either problem.
The TT though I think is still trying to compete with the old Z4 and SLK. Its rivals aren’t luxury Miatas anymore, they’ve grown up, and the TT needs to follow.
I do think Audi has taken the OSDL (one sausage, different lengths; can we just say OSDL?) thing a bit too far lately. The latest A4/A6/A8 really just look too much alike, but more importantly, they don’t, IMO, look as good as their predecessors (well, A4 and A8 don’t; the A6 looks exactly the same). The A6, in fact, is now going on its third generation with a design that first came out in 1998.
That said, at least from what I’ve seen so far, I actually find this new a3 sedan to be the best looking new Audi sedan in quite some time. It’s chunky and pert, and I believed sized, like the first A4. I think it’s exactly what they need, at least here in the US, now that the A4 and the others just keep getting bigger and bigger.