Everyone’s favorite Golf in fancy clothes, the Audi A3, is returning next year with its traditional hatchback garb and diesel engine, a combination that’s cannibalized more than half of all A3 sales in the U.S. Now that the new A3 has birthed a sedan—and soon, a convertible—the 2016 A3 TDI Sportback remains the pick of the hardest-core auto nerds and Europhiles.

As with the previous A3 TDI, the 2016 model is front-wheel drive and the brand has yet to say a peep about Quattro’s Norseman-like qualities in the winter. A new 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo-diesel developing 150 horsepower (up 10 over its predecessor’s mill) pairs with the gasoline A3’s six-speed S tronic dual-clutch automatic. Audi didn’t divulge torque or fuel-economy figures, but considering the outgoing model’s 236 lb-ft and hefty EPA-rated 30 mpg city and 42 mpg highway ratings, we’re sure the final numbers will go up when the car goes on sale next summer. An A3 TDI sedan will debut stateside later this year, along with an e-tron plug-in hybrid version of the A3 Sportback sometime after.

View Photos MARK BRAMLEY, MICHAEL SIMARI, THE MANUFACTURER

Like all A3 models, the A3 TDI Sportback is available with Audi’s first touch-sensitive MMI controller with picture navigation and high-speed 4G LTE data connections to stay current with the driver’s critical Facebook and Twitter accounts. Pricing and option packages have not been announced.

Audi’s other TDI models—the A6, A7, A8, Q5, and Q7—all owe the original A3 TDI a debt for creating a premium diesel market almost out of thin air. Since its debut, Audi has sold more than 37,500 TDI models in the U.S., which has no doubt factored into the Mercedes-Benz and BMW decisions to add more diesel trims across their lineups.

MARK BRAMLEY, MICHAEL SIMARI, THE MANUFACTURER

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