Would anyone use this gimmick from the updated Audi A3?

It’s Tuesday morning, we’re not quite awake yet, so maybe that’s why we roll our eyes when we read about the daytime running lights of the updated Audi A3.

Audi has been using this trick on some models for several years now: configurable daytime running lights. In other words: As a user, you can determine the shape of your Audi’s daytime running lights yourself.

Lighting Audi A3

In the updated Audi A3 there are four options that you can activate in the infotainment system. Well, it’s a fun gimmick and we wonder if anyone will ever bother to try it out.

The same applies to the lighting in the interior, which goes through a whole animation cycle every time you enter and leave. Of course you also have the choice. There are thirty colors!

Flatter and wider grille

But now to the really important aspects of the new A3. Its design has been particularly refined at the front, where the single-frame grille has become flatter and wider.

Interior adjustments

Inside the A3, the dashboard has also changed, with adjusted grilles and a slightly different center console layout. In addition, the multimedia system now belongs to a newer generation.

All Audi A3 models come standard with a virtual cockpit, a 10.1-inch touchscreen, a wireless phone charger and four USB-C ports. The ability to buy options afterward is bizarre.

On-demand features

For example, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are not standard. You can order this, as well as the adaptive cruise assistant and the dual-zone air conditioning “on demand” via the myAudi app.

Just to clarify: The software and hardware for all of these functions is already present in the car, but is only activated when you take out a (temporary) subscription.

As a mild hybrid

The Audi A3 is initially only available with a 1.5-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine supported by a mild hybrid system. The model produces 150 hp and has a seven-speed automatic transmission as standard.

An entry-level model with a 1.0-liter three-cylinder and manual transmission will follow later this year. Later, Audi will also introduce a plug-in hybrid variant of the A3 and the A3 Allstreet.

Audi A3 All Street

The latter is new and stands 3.0 centimeters higher on the wheels than the regular Audi A3. Furthermore, it follows the typical soft-roader recipe, with some “rough” plastic on the sides and rails on the roof.