The new Audi A3 three-door hatchback goes on sale in the UK this week, and if you’ve studied details of ti very hard, you’d still struggle to tell it apart from the previous model. Sure, there are new lights, front and rear, but with that profile and that grille, they should have saved the hassle. Anyhow, this sporty little bugger is really improve in terms of technicalities and feature, and stats at £19,205.

The lightweight A3 launches with a collection of fine engines, including 1.4 TFSI (122PS) and 1.8 TFSI (180PS) petrol engines and the 2.0-litre TDI have outputs of 122PS, 180PS and 150PS. The 1.8-litre TFSI is linked as standard to a seven-speed S tronic twin-clutch transmission; the 1.4-litre TFSI and 2.0-litre TDI are paired with a six-speed manual gearbox. Later on there will be more options for the powertain, but that’s it for now.

As is the case with Audis, you have three trim levels to choose; SE, Sport and S line. The basic SE grade comes as standard with a long list of features, including 6-inch alloy wheels, air conditioning, the acclaimed MMI radio with its 11 millimetre-thin electrically folding screen, preparation for SD card navigation, Audi Music Interface iPod connection, a Driver Information System, the Bluetooth mobile phone interface  and a multi-function steering wheel, as well as voice control. Not bad, right? Well, it starts at 19 grand, so…

The higher spec Sport model adds more technology features like Audi drive select adaptive dynamics system. This enables the driver to choose from five modes which dictate the car’s driving characteristics – Comfort, Auto, Dynamic, Efficiency and Individual. Highlights of the top S line specification include 18-inch alloy wheels, S line body styling, xenon headlights with LED daytime running lamps, an S line sports steering wheel and part-leather-upholstered sports seats embossed with the S line logo.

The car can also be specified with the MMI navigation plus which includes a powerful hard disk providing incredibly sharp and detailed navigation mapping with 3D capability and ‘jukebox’ music storage capacity, MMI Touch fingertip recognition, Google services and even in-car internet.

The all-new Audi A3 Pricelist: