Audi, the German luxury car manufacturer, today announced the launch of the much-awaited luxury convertible – the new Audi A3 Cabriolet. The low weight, elegant yet sporty four-seater convertible is an absolute head turner on all the roads it travels. The latest variant of the Audi A3 Cabriolet which boasts of lightweight construction, offers best-in-class safety, comfort and performance. The new Audi A3 Cabriolet is priced at INR 47,98,000 ex-showroom Delhi.

While we are still waiting for the refreshed A3 to land on our shores, Audi has gone ahead and launched the new A3 convertible, giving their only lifestyle cabriolet in India refreshed looks, new features and a smaller engine.

The new 1.4-litre TFSI motor allows two of four cylinders to shut off when not required, making it more fuel efficient. The frugal power unit still packs 148bhp and 250Nm of torque, which is a significant drop in power from what was on offer from the earlier 1.8-litre engine, but we’ll have to wait and see how it has affected the performance.

The new A3 Cabrio gets an optional acoustic top for more effective noise insulation over the lightweight cloth top and can be raised or lowered at speeds up to 50kph. Mildly resculpted body lines, new headlights with jagged bottom edges and a wider and sharper single frame grille highlight some of the cosmetic updates.

On the inside, Audi says it has fitted a newly designed three-spoke multifunction steering wheel and an electrically retractable 7-inch screen for the MMI navigation is a nice bit of tech that befits this entry-level luxury car. It would seem however that the Audi Virtual Cockpit feature has been skipped on this update. Safety features on the A3 include five airbags and ABS with EBD.

The 2017 Audi A3 drop top comes with a price tag of Rs 47.98 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), a tad costlier than its predecessor and a lot cheaper than the more powerful Mercedes-Benz C300 cabriolet.-WTN