Audi A3 TDI is 'Green' car of the year

Audi board member Peter Schwarzenbauer (Marketing and Sales) stands next to an Audi A3 Sportback TDI at the LA Auto Show in Los Angeles, USA, 03 December 2009.

The Audi A3 TDI has been chosen as the 'Green' car of the year at the Los Angeles Motor Show with consumption listed at 5.6 litres per 100 kilometres while making no sacrifices to comfort and other features.

It is the second year in which a diesel car has been chosen for the award after last year's prize went to the VW Jetta. The other finalists chosen by the jury of car and environmental experts were the Toyota Prius, Honda Insight, VW Golf TDI and Ford's Mercury Milan hybrid.

The editor of Green Car Journal, Ron Cogan, said the jurors were impressed by the '50 per cent better fuel efficiency' compared to the similar petrol-engine A3.

Cogan added that this year's list of cars was the most competitive 'which clearly shows that the car industry is on the right track' in offering more environmentally friendly vehicles.

The A3 TDI sells for about 30,000 dollars in the United States.

Audi A3 TDI gets 71.3 mpg

Audi A3 1.6 TDI
The north-south trans-European Audi efficiency challenge ended late this week and the 120 customers and journalists covered 4,200 km demonstrating how thrifty these cars can be. As expected, the A3 Sportback 1.6 TDI came out on top of the heap with an average over the full distance of 71.3 mpg (U.S.).

By the time the fleet of 20 cars and SUVs arrived in Italy, the A4 2.0 TDIe had covered the distance at an average of 53.5 mpg, excellent for a mid-sized sedan. However, Audi brought along more than just the usual high-mileage specials. The high performance TT-RS achieved 31.8 mpg. The Q7 TDI clean diesel equipped with the same after-treatment system as the U.S.-spec version averaged 29.4 mpg, similar to what we achieved a year ago on the U.S. mileage marathon. The biggest surprise was the 500 hp Q7 V12 TDI which got 24.8 mpg!

2010 Audi A3 TDI Manages 30/42 MPG - Eco-Friendly

The numbers are in: According to the EPA, the 2010 Audi A3 2.0 TDI returns a substantial 30/42 mpg city/highway.