AUDI has added a 1.6-litre turbodiesel engine capable of more than 72 miles per gallon to its new A3 Cabriolet line-up.

Heralded as the efficiency champion in the German manufacturer's soft-top range, the new 110PS unit lowers CO2 emissions to 104g/km.

Initially available exclusively as a six-speed manual, the A3 Cabriolet 1.6 TDI can hit 62mph in 11.4 seconds and has the potential for 124mph.

The car is up for grabs in SE, Sport or S line spec, all of which include stuff like MMI radio with DAB digital reception and powered retractable colour monitor.

You also get preparation for SD card-based sat-nav, air-con or climate control, light and rain sensors and an automatic fabric hood that opens and closes in less than 18 seconds.

Sport models also feature the Audi drive select system which fine-tunes driving characteristics, larger 17-inch alloys, lowered sports suspension and front sports seats.

And S line models get 18-inch alloys, Xenon plus headlights with LED daytime running lights and S line interior and exterior design enhancements.

Audi is also adding a 1.8 TFSI petrol model with quattro all-wheel-drive to the A3 cabrio line-up. Peak torque is increased from 250Nm in the front-wheel-drive version to 280Nm in the Quattro, meaning a slight improvement in the sprint time to 62mph from 7.8 to 7.6 seconds.

Top speed is 145mph, and combined fuel economy stands at 42.8mpg with emissions of 154g/km.

There's also now a greater choice of gearboxes, the brand's S tronic transmission being extended to the 1.4 TFSI model with Cylinder on Demand technology and to the 150PS 2.0 TDI. It carries a premium of £1,480 over a manual equivalent.

All the new variants will arrive this summer and prices are from £25,890 for the A3 Cabriolet 1.6 TDI SE model to £29,265 for the S line version.

The 1.4 TFSI CoD S tronic SE starts at £27,270 with the 1.8 TFSI quattro from £31,755 for the Sport variant and 2.0 TDI S tronic from £28,720 for the SE.