Audi A3 E-tron Audi A3 E-tron Review 2017
Every bit THE resident country bumpkin of the Driving team, I've been elected to run an Audi A3 e-tron every bit part of our extended test of three PHEVs — or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Information technology should be revealing, for me at to the lowest degree. I drive to the train station once a calendar week to catch a train to London, and over the by couple of years the number of plug-in hybrid and pure electric cars parked at the station car park has visibly grown. Why?
Admittedly, the number is still modest. Gas-guzzling, super-size SUVs take multiplied like weeds in the garden, but there'due south a definite trend, borne out by the official sales figures. What is information technology that's convincing drivers to ditch their dirty diesel hatchback for a complicated, heavy hybrid?
The eastward-tron faces mostly local trips, ferrying children around, just there will exist the occasional long run for piece of work and weekend visits to friends and family.
View the Audi A3s for auction on driving.co.uk
The A3 e-tron is bachelor in only the Sportback, five-door hatchback body way. My test car is finished in Scuba Blue, which is a £550 metal pigment pick, and the interior is trimmed with Black Milano leather. All A3 east-trons come up with an automated gearbox; you can browse a list of the other standard equipment hither.
Only anyone because this machine for their family hatchback has far greater concerns. Can its electrically powered motor really take the car 31 miles before the battery needs recharging? Does it genuinely accept less than iv hours to return the battery to fully charged? How much does the electricity needed to do that cost? And let's accept the official fuel economy figure of 166mpg with a pinch of common salt: what's the true long-term fuel consumption of the car?
That's not all. Is it a hassle to have leads trailing all over the place? How good is the national recharging infrastructure? How impressive, or unimpressive, is Audi'south smartphone app? Is the A3 e-tron a practical family motorcar and good to drive? Or would a diesel or petrol car be a ameliorate bet?
Time to hit the road and find out.
- Vehicle 2016 Audi A3 Sportback e-tron
- Run past James Mills
- Delivery date May 2016
- Odometer reading at showtime 183 miles
- Toll £33,190 (after government grant)
- Price every bit tested £38,325 (including options, later on government grant)
- Options fitted 18in 15-spoke Turbine pattern alloy wheels, £995; Cosmos Blue metallic paint, £550; black Milano leather trim, auto-dimming rear-view mirror, £245; storage and luggage packet, £145; interior lighting packet, £170; panoramic glass sunroof, £950; heated front seats, £295; electric lumbar back up, £195; Audi parking system plus, front and rear, with selective display, £250; prowl control, £225.
Read more: Philip Glenister fires upward the e-tron
March 30, 2017: Final report on living with an Audi A3 e-tron
After nine months, 8643 miles and 320 hours of driving an Audi Ae Sportback e-tron, information technology's time to climb out of the commuter's seat and take a break. That'south non some sort of Guinness World Record for the longest continual spell at the cycle; it's how long Driving'south extended examination of the popular plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV) has lasted.
The objective was to observe out what it was similar to live with a plug-in hybrid. And the findings were mostly very positive.
Start things first, let's cut to the chase and talk about the fuel economy. The average over our time with the automobile was 69mpg. Audi claimed 166mpg for this, pre-facelifted A3. That's a big difference.
However, compare it with a similarly powerful A3 two.0 TFSI (190) S Line S Tronic; that is said to render 49mpg on the combined cycle, but information technology's unlikely to get over 40mpg. Meanwhile, a 2.0 TDI (184) quattro South Line South Tronic is said to manage 57mpg, but the reality would near likely be somewhere in the mid 40s.
Farther more, to requite the A3 e-tron credit, toward the end of its time with our test team it carried out a higher proportion of long-altitude drives. These had a knock-on outcome on the average fuel economy, dragging it down from an impressive 77mpg to 69mpg by the end of our test.
In our experience, buyers of this type of car volition demand to have 24/7 admission to an electric plug socket at home or at work, or install a fast-charging wall box, to get the best from its petrol and electrical powertrain. Without charging it, the fuel economy would tumble to around 40mpg, in function because this is quite a heavy motorcar. (At 1540kg, information technology's 115kg heavier even than the iv-wheel drive ii.0 TDI A3 Sportback.)
The battery charge would last for around 22 miles in favourable weather condition conditions, and about 16 miles in the winter. Regardless of the weather condition, it remained an eternal bugbear that the cover for the charging point lacked whatsoever warning on the dashboard for when you lot left it open up – something that happened all as well often, when the distractions of everyday family life got the better of yous.
It took approximately iii hours to recharge the viii.8kW lithium-ion battery from a household socket. Given that a Blazon 2 wallbox would take reduced the charging time past just 45 minutes, and its installation would accept required my house to be ripped apart, information technology seemed a pointless upgrade.
No two public charging points seem to have the same provider
Out and about, I never made utilise of public charging points for electric cars. That's partly considering the car has a i.4-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine to call on when the battery charge is exhausted, and besides because no two charging points seem to have the same provider, and handing over personal and financial details to countless companies didn't sit well with me.
The integration of the electrical motor and petrol engine together with the half-dozen-speed dual clutch automatic gearbox was one of the ameliorate ones, as far as PHEVs go. Outright performance was impressive,with zippy flat-out acceleration and skilful overtaking abilities when required, and during everyday driving the automobile was much more refined than a diesel.
However the A3's road property was noticeably compromised by the machine'due south actress weight. It felt something like a male parent inbound a school piggyback race with their child on their back; the agility and control of the regular A3 was missing. More concerning, on besides many occasions in winter weather the weight of the battery (which is stored nether the kicking flooring) got the better of the car'due south residual and pitched the car's tail into a slide – such every bit when y'all misjudged the severity of a tightening corner. Both the driver and the ESP organisation earned their keep in gathering upwards such potentially unsafe situations.
As a family auto, the A3 Sportback coped well with everything that a family of v could throw at it. Zippo fell apart, there'due south a reasonable amount of legroom in the back and we were able to fit 1 kid seat and two older kids across the back seat. The 280-litre boot wasn't quite as impractical as its capacity effigy suggests, because it had flat sides with no intrusions, only information technology was shallow and a packing in a folded pushchair was a seriously tight squeeze.
However, on more than than one occasion I wished for the BMW 225xe PHEV that my colleague, Will Dron, was testing at the same time. It boasts 400-litres of luggage space and three private back seats, which is a more family unit-friendly fix-up. And that car returned 79mpg during its time on extended test.
I also wished for the BMW's smartphone app, which seemed more than reliable than the Audi version and provided the commuter a footling more insight into their fuel-sipping driving techniques. The ability to program the battery charge for your morning offset was appreciated, but the app rarely communicated in real time with the car and by and large felt in demand of farther development and more than features.
The question that remains is would I buy ane with my own hard-earned money? No. But there'south a good reason for that: PHEVs typically make the most financial sense for visitor car drivers. Anyone paying their own coin for a fuel efficient family motorcar would be improve off spending less on, say, a 1.4-litre TFSI A3 Sportback and whatever money they save – more than £10,000 – would more than than cover the difference in fuel bills.
Yet, if you need a car for maximum tax efficiency, the A3 due east-tron has to be on your shortlist. It'south a classy package and proved faultless during its time on extended test. For such new technology, that'southward impressive in itself.
February 13, 2017: Winter weather condition hits the fuel economy
It's often said, past both the engineers who designed them and the people that buy and live with them, that cold, winter weather depletes the battery functioning of a plug-in hybrid or electrical automobile. And after experiencing sub-zero temperatures while putting Driving's Audi A3 Sportback e-tron through its paces, I'd have to agree.
For the first 7,000 or so miles, the auto'south fuel economy has been steadily increasing. That'south because information technology'due south been gliding along like a stealthy, diesel fuel-slaying assassin, operating nether battery and electric motor propulsion. As the number of local trips fabricated in EV (electric vehicle) driving manner increased, steadily making up for the occasional long altitude run using the 1.iv-litre, iv-cylinder petrol engine, the average fuel economic system worked its fashion up to 77mpg.
However, in one case the morning start involved defrosting the windscreen, the operating range of the bombardment began to dwindle like the legendary lettuce shortage of 2017.
Last summertime, it was managing just over twenty miles on battery power lonely. Only this wintertime that has fallen to around fourteen miles. That's being driven through village areas, with a 30mph speed limit, and B roads with a national speed limit. And I purposely drive it gingerly; wouldn't you, if it was your money being poured into the fuel tank and topping up the battery?
Because of the cold temperatures, I've been using the auto in its Hybrid Automobile setting more frequently. This is where the onboard reckoner decides on the best mix between electric and petrol power, switching between the two or running both together as information technology sees fit for the driving weather condition. It means the average fuel economic system to date now stands at 69.2mpg. That's a fall over merely over 10 per cent.
The operating range of the bombardment began to dwindle like the legendary lettuce shortage of 2017
Over a full year, an average of over 70mpg should be achievable. You'd be Britain's most frugal driver if you were to get anything approaching that from a diesel-powered A3 Sportback.
And so again, if all you care about is how much money you're spending, a bones diesel fuel A3 could be bought for considerably less – prices for the Sportback 1.6 TDI SE start from £22,075. Pick the more than potent 2.0 TDI SE and add an automated gearbox and you'll pay from £24,975. The e-tron model costs from £35,930.
Meanwhile, after just over 8,000 miles since rolling off the production line, the Audi's service indicator has sprung to life. It'south warning that an oil change service will be needed at 9,000 miles, which volition toll £196.42 – co-ordinate to my local Audi franchise, in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. However, Driving'south A3 e-tron is unlikely to get to that point earlier information technology has to exist returned to Audi UK.
As information technology is, the petrol engine's oil level remains barely macerated, and the performance of both the engine and electric motor working in tandem is impressive on the rare occasions that yous give this machine 'the full beans'.
And they are few and far betwixt. Because let'due south face information technology, climbing behind the wheel of any plug-in hybrid car automatically results in a halo hovering over the driver's caput, as they try to reach a new 'Lead' fuel economic system effigy. Well, it does for me.
January 15, 2017: Make clean me
Winter has taken its price on the A3. Its Scuba Blue paintwork looks less like the sort of crystal clear torquoise waters that its name is meant to invoke, and closer to the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Sludge clings to within of the wheelarches. The distinctive front grille, unique to the eastward-tron, is caked in road salt. And the rear registration plate is deadline illegal, its numbers and letter barely legible below a motion picture of filth.
This is just the kind of challenge Marigold gloves were made for. Well, those and a Draper pressure washer, some Autoglym car shampoo, two buckets and wash mitts the bright invention that is the Absorber, a synthetic chamois that seems capable of holding more water than a bath.
Professional person car valeters – or detailers, as they seem to be known these days – say a pressure washer is an essential bit of kit for cleaning a auto. Its powerful jet of h2o dislodges all the tiny particles of grit and droppings that cling to the surface of a muddied car'due south pigment – and you can read Driving's review of pressure level washers here.
Seeing the amount of grime made me experience as aback every bit a parent who forgot to modify their child's nappy for an afternoon
The Draper unit is rather unsteady and the hose remains forever coiled, like a snake poised to strike, but the adjustable nozzle on the lance means information technology'south like shooting fish in a barrel to blast nether the wheel arches, then kickoff from the roof and piece of work your way down the auto'southward torso.
Surprisingly, a splash of Autoglym alloy wheel cleaner, short soak and another nail from the pressure washer put the sparkle back into the optional 18 inch, 'Turbine' wheels. They look good, simply the ride comfort with the low profile, 225/40 section Continental tyres takes a bit of a hammering and any A3 due east-tron buyers volition take to pay £995 for them, which seems like money not terribly well spent.
Seeing the corporeality of grime that came abroad with every stroke of the wash hand made me feel as ashamed as a parent who forgot to change their child'south nappy for an afternoon. It was filthy. By the terminate of the procedure, it came upwards gleaming, and equally adept as new.
However, I'd all the same choose a different colour. Silver or gray would get my vote, but unless you like brown – does anyone really like a dark-brown automobile? – the option of colours isn't terribly inspiring unless drivers shell out an extra £2,025 for an 'Audi exclusive' shade of pigment.
This got me thinking about other options I'd recommend to anyone ordering an A3 e-tron. It's comprehensively equipped in the beginning place, but top of my list would be an upgraded audio organisation. Audi offers a 10 speaker, 180 Watts option for £225, which would be a footstep in the right direction. Merely for those with an eye, and ear, for detail, the Bang & Olufsen audio arrangement has to be worth exploring, as it ramps things up to xiv speakers and 705 Watts – at a cost. Yours for £750.
At a practical level, the reversible boot mat, for £65, would be useful. It's velour on one side and rubber on the other, which would be ideal for dingy wellie boots and all-terrain pushchairs.
A reversing camera and automatic parking organisation are also an selection, only in a car of this size, which is easy to come across out of and features effective aural parking sensors, I'd say neither is worth having and would save on the respective £275 and £490.
Our extended test car came with prowl control, a £225 option, and I'd go one step farther and upgrade this to adaptive cruise control, and it is just an additional £150 and gives extra peace of listen when using the system. At that place's a side assistance system available, but every bit with the parking options, I've never in one case felt it was something worth having.
And finally, if this is a auto bought with your own coin, and yous're going to keep it for more than iii years, then extending the warranty to 5 years (or 90,000 miles) costs £545. In a machine with an unusually complicated, plug-in petrol-electrical hybrid arrangement, I'd say that's a wise investment.
November 10, 2016: The truthful fuel economy of an Audi A3 e-tron PHEV
What'south the true fuel economy of an Audi A3 e-tron plug-in hybrid? Could it be 166mpg, as Audi claims? In a word, no. I've been living with an A3 e-tron for nigh six months, and have covered 4,659 miles. It has returned an boilerplate of 77mpg.
There are two ways of looking at this result. Information technology's nowhere near the figure quoted in the oozingly glossy brochures. So the real CO2 emissions must be more than than twice the 38g/km promised.
Alternatively, you could view the A3 east-tron every bit one of the most fuel-efficient family hatchbacks you can purchase. In my experience of testing cars, a 18-carat average fuel economy of 77mpg is remarkable. And it'southward getting better all the time.
The data available from the car's MMI (multimedia) system is limited. The display tells me, for instance, that as the car has piled on the miles, it has spent 62% of its fourth dimension running "emission gratis". If my electricity supply came entirely from sustainable sources, such a description wouldn't heighten eyebrows.
The motorcar is mainly used for local journeys, including the school run and shopping trips to the nearest town. I spend virtually of my time driving it as if it's about to run out of fuel, on B-roads that have plenty of hills, and the car'south true range on electric power alone is 20 miles at best, now that the conditions has turned cold.
Using features such as the heated door mirrors saps energy, and during the morning school run my daughter and I take almost come up to blows over her fondness for the heated rider seat.
Of form, drivers don't suffer the dreaded effects of range anxiety in a plug-in hybrid car. But somehow you lot do approach things with a different mentality, and focus on eking out as many mile per gallon as possible.
It's probably a practiced job that I do drive it like a milk float. If you lot call upon the twin ability reserves of the electric motor and the engine, the A3 e-tron actually can go a move on: 0-62mph takes just vii.6 seconds. But there'due south then much battery weight to exist lugged around, much of it over the rear axle, that the car feels uncomfortable when the driver asks it to bustle up.
On more one occasion I've found myself in a trouser-trembling moment. The nose of the automobile pushes wide in corners, so you lot lift off the accelerator to ease it back on form; this unsettles the back axle, and the weight of the bombardment can send the tail pivoting outwards. Let'due south just say the electronic stability control and driver have given each other a virtual high 5 in one case or twice for stopping things getting seriously out of mitt.
In one case I'm abode, the A3 due east-tron is plugged in and takes around 3 hours to recharge the 8.8kW lithium-ion battery. I investigated having a dedicated wall box charging point installed — the type ii version — just given that it would accept reduced the charging time by merely 45 minutes, to 2¼ hours, and the whole of my house would have had to be ripped apart to allow a loftier-ability cable to be laid, it seemed a pointless do.
Every now and so the A3 e-tron ventures out into the large wide world and tackles the nation's congested motorways. At which point I switch the operating manner from EV (electric vehicle) to Hybrid Auto and leave the motorcar to determine the most efficient utilise of electric motor and i.4-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine.
That'southward what hammers the fuel consumption. At best I'll run across 45mpg on a long run. So, if you drive mainly long distances, a diesel-powered A3 might amend meet your needs — though that doesn't take into business relationship the company-motorcar tax benefits that come from running an e-tron.
September 22, 2016: Information technology'due south the little things that count when living with a motorcar
When living with a car, it'south the little things that can delight or annoy a driver and passengers.
The Audi A3 Sportback e-tron has plenty of pleasing touches. From its understated nevertheless elegant styling, to the simplicity of the loftier quality dashboard and smooth operation of the eastward-tron'south petrol and electric motor hybrid system, it feels a polished product.
Nonetheless there are some small oversights that only get apparent when you live with the motorcar over a meaningful menstruum of time.
For case, film the scene: it'south the school run, you should accept left home v minutes agone but the kids haven't still finished their breakfast, let alone brushed their teeth and pulled on their shoes. In the mad dash that ensues, it's all too piece of cake to unplug the charging cable from the nose of the A3 e-tron, put it away in the garage, so turn effectually and jump into the driver'southward seat.
It's only when you make it home that you realise what anybody has been staring at, as the A3 e-tron cruised away from the schoolhouse gates, in the stealthy silence of its 'EV' electric driving manner; the protective cap and hinged comprehend for the car's charging point are respectively dangling and wide open.
Irritatingly, there is no fashion for the car to tell you that you lot've made such a error. It will tell anybody to fasten their seat belts, or close a door, shut the bonnet or boot properly, or even warn when the petrol or oil are running low. Merely it can't tell the driver when they've left the charging connector open and driven away, oblivious to as much.
This is not at all good news. Especially if it'south raining. The vehicle handbook states that "The encompass and the electric components behind it tin be damaged if you bulldoze with the charging unit open." Precious electrical components and water and dirt not a adept mix? Who'd have idea it? Not Audi'south engineers, conspicuously.
Another thing that never fails to annoy is the driver's seat chugalug. Information technology doesn't have a small clasp to preclude the buckle from sliding to the base of the belt when non in employ. So each time y'all leap it, you have to fumble in the tight space betwixt the seat and B-colonnade to fish it out.
And finally, the standard Audi MMI sound organization seems to struggle to play compress MP3 files, via an Apple iPhone, with annihilation like the clarity and dial of other cars. In fact, it's so bad, you tend to stick to the digital radio, rather than wince at the poor sound quality of your own music. And earlier you ask, non, it's not down to my poor taste in music…
September 2, 2016: How convenient is it to live with a plug-in hybrid car?
When people find out that I drive a plug-in hybrid car, the 2d question they ask – after, "How far will it keep a accuse?" – is whether information technology's a scrap of a palava to take to plug in leads whenever you lot want to recharge the car's battery.
Until recently, my answer had e'er been, yes, it's a pain. At home, we didn't have a garage and our outdoor ability bespeak wasn't within attain of our driveway. The first time I wanted to accuse the A3 e-tron, I stood around, scratching my caput like Stan Laurel, wondering whether the simply way to recharge the machine's bombardment would exist to fill the petrol tank and utilize the engine similar a some sort of incredibly expensive generator.
This seemed to somewhat defeat the object of plug-in hybrid car; namely, to be convenient and practical plenty to make it a viable proposition for all drivers, rather than merely a select group of green-minded geeks.
My solution was to resort to the tried and trusted approach of bodging it. I would spend 10 minutes fetching and unwinding a heavy duty extension cable, plugging information technology into the Audi'due south charging unit, inbound a Pivot code to unlock the charging unit of measurement, then wonder why it wasn't working and call back that I needed to flick a switch within the house to make the outdoor socket live. Later on which, inevitably, information technology would start to rain, and I'd cobble together a water-tight housing for the whole lot, which consisted of, er, 1 of those plastic recycling boxes provided by local councils.
Needless to say, all of this was frowned upon past Audi. Like all manufacturers of plug-in hybrid or electrical cars, it says extension leads are strictly verboten. There's a risk of damaging your domestic electrical circuit or, worse still, causing an electrical fire. So, I'd only e'er charge the A3 east-tron at home during waking hours, when I was on paw to keep an heart on proceedings.
Happily, there was never a trouble. However, equally time went on wrestling with leads and wires it became such a faff that I decided to move house. Admittedly, having three children and not plenty bedrooms was besides a consideration.
The new Mills residence has a garage. Which ways I can leave the Audi'south charge unit plugged into the wall, indoors, all of the time. As soon equally I arrive dwelling, I open the garage door, push the connector into the Audi's nose and leave it to do its affair. A total charge takes around three hours, using a conventional household socket.
It has made a huge departure to the style I feel near the car. I moment it felt flawed, the next it works perfectly well. If you're considering buying a plug-in hybrid, or electric car, it would be wise to have such seemingly mundane practical concerns at the front end of your mind. Otherwise, you could be left cursing your auto every time you apply information technology.
The next step for any car maker looking to take the lead in the race to sell more electric or plug-in hybrid cars would be a bespoke car port, with solar panels on the roof and conductive, wireless charging in the ground. Heck, I'd motion business firm for that kind of convenience.
August 12, 2016: Family favourite?
What is it like to live with an Audi A3 Sportback e-tron? Particularly in terms of practicality and cabin space, if you have a young family unit that treats it like an indoor play zone while fired upwardly on a diet of biscuits, sweets and fruit juice?
The e-tron Sportback is a five-door hatchback a similar size to a VW Golf or the Mini Clubman pictured above. So, many drivers will be choosing between, say, a diesel-powered Clubman and a plug-in hybrid, like the A3 e-tron.
First things first: the A3's cabin has a feelgood vibe that I thought couldn't be bettered by whatever similarly sized family car. But and then I slid downwards into the driver's seat of the Clubman Cooper SD All4 automatic, gazed in awe at the dashboard's assuming design, caressed the chrome-upshot trim around the giant dials and marvelled at the caput-up display.
The Audi is robust and has a fashionable restraint that elevates information technology above, say, a Golf. Merely the Mini Clubman has the wow gene all sewn upwards. The moment Mrs Mills had set eyes on it, she could non unsee it, and suggested that possibly, in the interests of a long-term comparison exam, she should alive with the Clubman while I stuck to the A3 Sportback due east-tron.
The Mini Clubman should feel special, though. Once you have added essential options to match the Audi'south generous spec, in that location's not much in information technology in terms of toll, the Mini working out to be just a couple of thousand pounds less.
As for clarity and ease of operation, the A3 wins hands downwards. The dashboard is a ataxia-free environment, and the controls for Audi's multimedia interface (MMI) are straightforward enough not to accept the driver lowering their eyes to see what'due south going on.
By contrast, the Mini has been designed to look proficient, and practical concerns seem to come up second. They both have a expert driving position and comfortable seats for long-altitude trips, but the Clubman driver tin can sit lower to the flooring and the view out ahead is somehow more sporty, framed by the narrow windscreen surround — it's like peering out of a postbox.
The big news, especially for those with kids in tow, is that the Audi'southward back seats aren't as spacious as the Mini Clubman's. There's more legroom in the Mini, admittedly just 30mm, co-ordinate to my tape measure.
Information technology'south a small but surprising win for the Clubman. Moreover, the Mini's upright rear pillar means that passengers feel less claustrophobic. Mind you, the children haven't complained about sitting in the back of the Audi.
Rarely a day goes by when I don't detect myself grumbling about the e-tron's small boot. It is very shallow, because the bombardment sits beneath the floor where the spare wheel would take gone.
It has merely 280 litres of luggage capacity, which is decidedly "acquit-on" rather than "check-in", and the bag for the charging lead eats into that farther. The Clubman has 360 litres, which is a significant advantage when y'all accept to cart a pushchair around.
If you lot go out a pushchair in the kick, there won't be much room for shopping or luggage. When they are designing the next A3 and whatsoever due east-tron version, I'd hope that Audi's engineers observe a fashion effectually this flaw.
For at present, though, at that place is one solution: order your A3 Sportback car with roof rail (a £250 selection) and purchase a roof box. Meliorate even so, tell the Audi dealer to throw them in for free, or you'll head for the nearest Mini exhibit.
July eight, 2016: What'll she practice, mister?
The obvious question to ask whatsoever commuter of a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) like our Audi A3 Sportback e-tron is, "What'll she do, mister?"
After all, those that are asking are probably driving around in a sensible, diesel-powered hatchback and take been mulling things over in their head since reading about the deadly particulates that are spewing from its exhaust pipe like radiation from Nippon's Fukushima nuclear reactor seeping into the sea.
Perhaps, they ponder, a plug-in hybrid with a petrol engine and electric motor would be amend for the planet, non to mention healthier for their wallet, too.
The claimed combined fuel economy of an A3 Sportback eastward-tron is 166mpg – when information technology's fitted with the 18in, xv-spoke Turbine blend wheels of our car. There are times when it'south easy to exceed this. If you can charge the car whenever it's not being used, and drive it exclusively on battery power (EV operating mode), the trip computer will brandish its maximum value of 300mpg.
View the Audi A3 eastward-trons for sale on driving.co.uk
The machine's battery is meant to give a range of 31 miles, but even when treading the throttle with the most delicate of touches, I can't eek out more than 22 miles of range. Even and so, that's more than enough for local trips in the sticks, or further round trips into our nearest large boondocks, Tunbridge Wells, in Kent.
I suppose what I'chiliad getting at is that the car fits really well into our family unit's day to 24-hour interval routine. Especially as information technology takes no more iii.5 hours to fully recharge the depleted battery from a domestic plug socket.
Nevertheless, have it on a long journeying and the auto's fuel economic system will tumble similar the Eiffel Belfry with a leg removed. On a recent run from Kent to Cirencester and back, it managed 46mpg. It'south bang-up, given that it'southward lugging effectually an extra 170kg compared with a 2-litre TDI A3 Sportback with the automatic gearbox, only about likely would be about 10mpg less than the diesel fuel.
To date, I've covered 1703 miles, and 52% of that time has been spent driving 'emission gratis'. That's not quite true, is information technology? After all, my domestic electricity supply is not from sustainable supplies.
All the same, that averages out at a fuel economy effigy of 67.1mpg, which is impressive when you consider how many long trips I've been making recently. And it will improve substantially in the immediate future, as the car will be making more than local trips on battery power alone.
For my next update, I'll investigate the cost implications of a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, similar this, versus a petrol-powered 1.4 TFSI model, which would be substantially cheaper to purchase, but comes without the appeal of low company car revenue enhancement.
June 27, 2016: Appy days? Not a hazard
The outset thing any possessor of a plug-in hybrid electric machine is bound to practice is download the smartphone app and see whether it will let them drive their car from the function machine park to the front door, performing a handbrake plow along the mode, like a gamer on Grand Theft Automobile.
Information technology was certainly the beginning thing I did, after taking charge of Driving'southward Audi A3 Sportback east-tron, which is on extended test.
Unfortunately, neither the app nor the car are clever enough to allow for such shenanigans. Merely information technology'south only a affair of fourth dimension until they are, isn't it…?
Or is information technology? Because judging past the features and performance of the A3 e-tron connect app, even a visitor that never tires of talking Vorsprung durch Technik can't make an app that's a patch on the smash hits that are knocked out past school leavers in their bedrooms.
The app is free to users with an iOS or Android operating system. Interestingly, y'all need to exist four years old to use information technology, so does that mean A3 e-tron drivers start young?
Initially, I couldn't set it upwards later downloading the app, because information technology won't let yous tick the terms and weather box using an iPhone or iPad. I got around that by having a 3rd become at it with an iMac.
Then the car's odometer reading didn't tally with whatever figure the motorcar was reporting to the app. And without that, I couldn't use the app. By now, I was getting annoyed – and I don't have a monthly PCP bill being deducted from my bank account. Heaven knows what paying customers must feel. Audi UK had to step in and set the mileage discrepancy.
If it won't let you drive your car from your garage to your front door on a rainy morning, what is the well-nigh exciting thing the A3 e-tron app tin manage?
In theory, it should be able to schedule a charge of the battery, working backward from the time you wish to depart. The trouble is, the app never works. Similar the colleague at work who unfailingly misses meetings and never hits deadlines yet blows the budget, the app drags its feet and always seems one step behind, with outdated information.
I accept never been able to schedule the automated charge using the app. I have successfully set it using the car'due south onboard trip computer, but the app? Not a chance.
Even the simplest thing a driver is nearly probable to practice with an electric motorcar – checking if the auto'south battery is fully charged, to its maximum 31 mile range – rarely works.
The app's icon will spin away, every bit information technology says it's updating the effigy, before terminal that the status update is complete. But plainly it isn't, because it says there'south an empty battery. Yet after leaving information technology on charge for three hours, you went back out to the car to cheque for yourself and could see it is, indeed, fully charged.
Some other grumble is how the German developers have chosen to brandish the energy consumption. You lot can review individual trips or expect at the longer term utilise, but it'due south meaningless to most of us who aren't electric car evangelists, because we think in terms of mpg, not the number of miles travelled per kilowatt hour (kWh).
The BMW 225xe Active Tourer, run by Volition Dron on extended test, has a far ameliorate app which talks our language (mpg) and seems better able to communicate with the machine.
Because the Audi's lags, it will tell you that the automobile isn't parked where yous parked it. The first time you see that, information technology causes the heart charge per unit to ascension, I can tell you lot. It likewise thinks that the charging connector isn't plugged in, when information technology is.
And while we're on the field of study of gripes, it won't allow you brand the most of the remote air-conditioning programme, then y'all have to prepare it from the auto. Which, once more, rather defeats the purpose of having an app with remote command features.
Sometimes, the app won't even let you log in. And you know what? There are times when I think, "Fine. I'll just delete information technology, like the million and i other useless apps I've never used more than in one case."
But in the interests of this extended exam, I shall continue to have it try my patience. Volition Audi listen to owners' grumbles and make improvements?
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Audi A3 E-tron Audi A3 E-tron Review 2017
Posted by: dennisdregat.blogspot.com
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