Audi debuting petrol particulate filter in Australia

Audi will be among the first brands to offer a car with a petrol particulate filter (PPF) in Australia, today announcing the updated RS3 sedan and hatch will feature the emissions control technology.

Now required to meet strict European emissions standards, a PPF sits between the engine and exhaust to catch harmful pollutants.

Peugeot was first to offer a PPF in Australia, while Skoda this morning announced it will offer a limited run of Superb Scouts with a filter-equipped petrol engine.

A number of brands sell versions of their European engines without a PPF in Australia, but Audi says it wasn't able to source the five-cylinder engine in the RS3 sans PPF.

"We've got to have a particulate filter" said Shawn Ticehurst, Audi Australia product planning and pricing director.

"The alternative was not take the car at all ... we had to make the call."

Some brands claim Australia's low-quality fuel, which is allowed to have far more sulphur than Europe's petrol, will clog the petrol particulate filters in their cars unless owners are diligent in using 95 or 98 RON fuel.

Volkswagen has been particularly vocal, although its Skoda sister brand this morning announced it will bring the Superb Scout to Australia with a PPF.

But Audi says the PPF in the RS3 won't give owners troubles, provided they only use premium unleaded.

"We tend to find these performance drivers tend to go for 95 [RON fuel] or 98, so we're not so concerned in the early stages," Ticehurst said.

Audi Australia says head office has tested the engine extensively with lower-quality fuel, albeit in Germany, not on local soil.

Although the 2020 RS3 will carry a PPF, the updated engine in the 2020 R8 won't be fitted with the emissions-improving technology because it mutes the naturally-aspirated V10.

That means Australian examples will be down 7kW on their PPF-equipped counterparts in Europe.

MORE: Audi RS3 news, reviews, comparisons and videos
MORE: Everything Audi