- The Audi A3 family has been updated with a panoramic cockpit.
- The premium Golf sibling remains available in S and RS flavors.
- It also gains more sophisticated ADAS and remote parking.
It feels like only yesterday that the current A3 received a mid-lifecycle update, yet Audi has already pushed through another round of changes, this time concentrated inside the cabin. The compact hatchback, sedan, and crossover all pick up a curved digital cockpit and expanded ADAS, along with revised lighting signatures and special badging for the S and RS trims.
The headline change sits front and center on the dashboard. Audi has ditched the old two-screen arrangement in favor of a single piece of curved glass lifted from the Q3 SUV. The two displays measure 11.9 and 12.8 inches across, cant toward the driver, and ride above an illuminated strip. What the A3 doesn’t get is the passenger-side screen reserved for pricier metal like the A5, A6, and Q6 e-tron.
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Audi knows a thing or two about personalization, and the refreshed interior leans into it with four material packages: carbon fiber, Dinamica microfiber, a new “Light crepe” textile, and the “Impressum black” fabric.
The safety hardware is now available in three tiers: Tech, Tech plus, and Tech pro. Chief among the additions is a new Adaptive Cruise Assist Plus that manages both longitudinal and lateral control at highway speeds up to 210 km/h (130 mph), keeping the car in lane and at a distance with less input from the driver.
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Drivers who’d rather hand off the tight stuff can step up to park assist plus or the more capable park assist pro, which folds in remote parking. The system now also includes training functions, learning a given owner’s habits over time and adjusting to them.
Mechanically, Audi has left the engine lineup alone and concentrated on sharpening what’s already there. The entry point remains a turbocharged 1.0-liter three-cylinder making 114 hp (85 kW / 116 PS). At the far end of the range, the flagship RS3 still draws 394 hp (294 kW / 400 PS) from its turbocharged 2.5-liter five-cylinder, the one engine in the family people will cross a parking lot to hear.
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Audi RS3
As for the plug-in hybrids, they put out either 201 hp (150 kW / 204 PS) or 268 hp (200 kW / 272 PS), with an electric driving range of up to 143 km (89 miles) on the WLTP cycle. The revised PHEV models also see their maximum trailer towing capacity climb by 300 kg (661 lbs) to a sturdier 1,700 kg (3,748 lbs).
Audi S3 Quattro
The updated A3 range will reach European showrooms by the end of September 2026. German pricing opens at €31,850 ($36,300), the UK starts at £28,650 ($37,900), and the RS3 anchors the top of the lineup from $68,500. Audi hasn’t confirmed anything for the US yet, though we’d expect details on American availability to surface soon.
