Almost a year since its European debut, the smallest sedan from the brand with four brings, the Audi A3 was rolled out in India on Thursday, in the presence of celebrities like actress Nimrat Kaur and former Indian cricket captain Ravi Shastri. The base petrol model of the car comes with a price tag of Rs 30.5 lakh while the diesel variant will cost Rs 32.3 lakh (both prices ex-showroom, Delhi).

The car has received the first major facelift since its launch in the country in September 2014. Major competition will come from the likes of the new Mercedes-Benz CLA, alongside the BMW 1 Series, Mercedes-Benz A-Class and the Volvo V40 range that also slot in the same price bracket.

“Audi A3 serves well in our sustanable growth and new set of customers, specially the first time buyers”, says Head of Audi India, Rahil Ansari said addressing his first press conference at the helm. Audi A3 is the fifth product launch by the company in 2017 with six more launches scheduled this year.

Speaking of what has changed on the outside of the baby Audi, it now gets an aggressive front fascia featuring revised headlights with LED DRLs and dynamic indicators. The overall dimensions and the underpinning platform are retained from the outgoing model but the new tail light and bumper make its styling more coherent with the Audi design language.

The biggest talking point though is the 1.4-litre TFSI petrol motor, which churns out 150bhp of power and 250 Nm of torque. It replaces the larger 1.8-litre petrol engine, making the A3 the most fuel efficient car in its segment with a claimed mileage of 19.2kpl. Power is transmitted via a 7-Speed S tronic dual-clutch transmission.

The Audi A3 diesel variant continues to be powered by the familiar 2.0-litre TDI engine that puts out 143bhp of power and 320Nm of torque. Transmission duties are taken care of by a 6-Speed S tronic gearbox.

Variant-wise pricing (ex-showroom, Delhi)

Audi A3 1.4L TFSI – Petrol              Rs 30.5 lakh

Audi A3 2.0L TDI – Diesel               Rs 32.30 lakh