A3 e-tron. Review. Autoexpress

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Audi A3 e-tron Sportback 2014 review Autoexpress




The Audi A3 e-tron Sportback is a glimpse into Audi's future models, and it's an excellent all-rounder


Verdict


Adding a spritely yet real-world frugal drivetrain to the beautifully built Audi A3 Sportback has resulted in a simply excellent all-round family car. At around £30,000 it’s not cheap, though that’s slightly offset by the potentially low running costs, government plug-in grant and exemption from road tax and congestion charges. What’s more, with Audi plotting a range-wide expansion of ‘e-tron’ plug-in hybrid technology, the A3 e-tron is an exciting glimpse of what’s to come.
Audi CEO Rupert Stadler confirmed to Auto Express recently that he sees plug-in hybrids as Audi’s future, and this Audi A3 e-tron is the firm’s first production car to use the tech. In 2015, there’ll be an A6 e-tron followed by a Q7 e-tron and many more after that, so how is Audi’s plug-in future shaping up?


Slotted into the A3 Sportback’s body – tweaked for e-tron duty with a slim-sparred chrome grille, S-line bumpers and bespoke 17-inch alloys – is a 1.4-litre turbocharged engine. It develops an unremarkable 148bhp, and a disappointingly strained engine note given this car costs about as much as an S3. The clever bit, though, is the addition of a 101bhp electric motor integrated into the car’s six-speed dual-clutch gearbox. Altogether, the system generates 350Nm of torque – the same as a standard VW Golf GTI.


That’s enough to haul the front-drive A3 e-tron to 62mph in a respectable 7.6sec, and 138mph flat out. At first glance, the unavoidable 125kg penalty of the mid-mounted, low-set battery pack looks like a fun-killer, but it actually gives the A3 e-tron more even weight distribution than a typical diesel version. Plus, the new A3’s MQB platform saves up to 90kg of weight versus the previous model, so the e-tron’s 1540kg kerbweight, while porky for an A3, is far from shameful.


No A3 model (S3 hot hatch aside) is a true entertainer, majoring on grip, refinement and safety understeer before driver engagement, so the A3 e-tron’s extra mass isn’t a deal-breaker on challenging roads, given the familiarly light and accurate but numb steering, and sure-footed chassis. That said, the low-set driving position is spot on and the gratifying torque hit up to 80mph does make the A3 e-tron one of the more entertaining A3s.




The real play value comes in maximising fuel-range, however. A button on the A3’s centre console allows selection of pure EV or hybrid-running modes, plus a ‘charge save’ setting which leaves the battery alone in anticipation of urban running later in your journey. A fourth mode uses extra regen-braking to recharge the battery, and utlises the 1.4 engine as a battery-charging altenator. It sounds complex, but the beauty of the A3 e-tron for many will be its simplicity: just hop in, treat it like a normal automatic as Audi intended, and enjoy uncanny silence and superb fuel economy.


By assisting the petrol engine under hard acceleration, killing petrol power at urban speeds and relaxing both sources at a medium-speed cruise, the A3 e-tron makes wonderfully serene, effortless progress. The eco-figures are predictably staggering: 176mpg and 37g/km are a commuter’s dream, as is a 31-mile electric-only range with a top EV speed of 80mph. Forget the blue-sky thinking though and the A3 e-tron remains impressive in the real world. In a challenging mix of urban crawling, A-roads and everything inbetween, our test car indicated 64.2mpg. A full compliment of charge and fuel offered a calculated range of 526 miles.




The best-of-both-worlds numbers might worry A3 TDI fans that their choice is outmoded, but the e-tron’s Achilles heel is the high price of early technology adoption. Against its frugal diesel sisters, the A3’s UK price of £29,950 (after the plug-in £5000 grant is deducted) is steep, but for a car which crams so much intuitive yet sophisticated kit into an immaculately finished product, the e-tron justifies the outlay, even before running costs are considered. And if this is what e-tron can do for an A3, we can’t wait to see it on Audi’s more exciting models. A TT e-tron, anyone?


Key specs
Price: £34,950 (before grant)
Engine: 1.4-litre 4cyl turbo and electric motor
Total power: 201 bhp (total average system power)
Total torque: 258lb ft (total average system power)
Transmission: Six-speed e-S tronic, front-wheel drive
0-62/top spd: 7.6 secs/137mph
Econ/CO2: 176.6mpg/37g/km
On sale: July 2014




Read more: Audi A3 e-tron Sportback 2014 review | Auto Express
 
I like it and the Golf GTE too.

Shame that discounts will be few and far between once it (they) go on sale. DtD told me they would have no GTE allocation for at least 6 months after they go on sale and I guess that probably applies to the A3 as well.
 
It sounds superb and I may well have bought one of the instead of my TFSI if it was available at the time.

But how did they manage to make it 300kg heavier than my car?
 
Was thinking about of one these for my next company car (3 years away yet) but I have to pay 17p a mole regardless of how much fuel I have used. In light if that utterly pointless other than low taxation due to low emissions.
 
leosayer1 said:
It sounds superb and I may well have bought one of the instead of my TFSI if it was available at the time.

But how did they manage to make it 300kg heavier than my car?
Click to expand...

Two engines plus batteries
 
It's the future stuff like this.

The Germans I feel have been a bit behind on this hybrid business but give it a few years I think they will be way a head of Japanese / USA companies.

I could see that the next gen A3 / S3 will have this technology as standard in 6 years time. Just think how much technology has moved on in the last 6 years......exciting stuff I suppose.
 
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leosayer1 said:
But how did they manage to make it 300kg heavier than my car?
Click to expand...

... all that extra weight and it is apparently a better balanced car!

I'm waiting to see what all the variables are regards running costs. How often do the batteries need replaced? How much electric does it use? What is the depreciation likely to be?
 
Daz Auto said:
... all that extra weight and it is apparently a better balanced car!

I'm waiting to see what all the variables are regards running costs. How often do the batteries need replaced? How much electric does it use? What is the depreciation likely to be?
Click to expand...

Better balanced for the same reason a Tesla Model S is - the weight of the battery packs is low down in the centre of the vehicle, giving a better centre of mass than a heavy diesel engine over the front axle.
 
I have just read this item on the BBC News website....

It could now cost more to run an electric car than one using fuel owing to the end of UK government subsidies.
The Department for Transport's support for the installation and maintenance of chargers ended in April.
Local councils, left to cover costs, tendered contracts out to private companies - and prices have gone up.
Until very recently it was free to charge your car at all public power points. Now Charge Master, one of the biggest providers, asks for £7.50 for a half-hour rapid charge.

Andrew Fenwick-Green, marketing secretary of the Electric Vehicle Drivers Association, drives a Nissan Leaf. He said: "A gallon of diesel for most eco-diesels will cost you £6.30 and get you around 60 miles.

"A 30-minute rapid charge in my Nissan Leaf would give you a range of 64 miles. So we're paying an extra £1.20 more to get the same mileage. It's madness... if the rapid chargers go up to £7.50 we're going to kill the market at a stroke".

The Charge Your Car company asks for £5 for a rapid charge, and Transport for London awarded its contract to the French company Bollore, which will introduce an annual fee of £10 for unlimited charging from September.
 
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Ecotricity chargers are free at the moment (though they won't be forever). Tesla superchargers are free for Tesla cars for life. Plus the normal charging would happen at home for 99% of people anyway so that hasn't gone up in price, still as cheap as ever to charge.
 
I'd seriously consider one of these regardless of the charge costs out and about away from home.

Steep price but sounds like it would be a great thing to live with. Wonder who will be the first on here to get one?
 
cemerson said:
Ecotricity chargers are free at the moment (though they won't be forever). Tesla superchargers are free for Tesla cars for life. Plus the normal charging would happen at home for 99% of people anyway so that hasn't gone up in price, still as cheap as ever to charge.
Click to expand...

But what happens when you go on holiday with the car?

For my planned holiday to Germany in October I will be doing a minimum of 1500 miles. How many of those could I do using electric power and how many would I have to do with a 140ps petrol engine carrying around a load of heavy batteries.
 
Then you pay for that trip on chargers, and it's still cheaper than ICE fuel overall. What's the problem?
 
cemerson said:
Then you pay for that trip on chargers, and it's still cheaper than ICE fuel overall. What's the problem?
Click to expand...

But I would be able to do so few miles using electric power that I would have to buy petrol for the 1.4 engine which is more expensive in Europe than diesel. The electric power would not even get me to the Channel Tunnel let alone all the way across France and Germany.

Electric cars and hybrids are fine for 'city' driving but I don't do any of that these days. I think I will stick with a 184ps diesel and 400+ miles between 'charges'.
 
And like any new car (especially with such technology) I would give it a couple of years to let other people find out the problems before I jumped in. It's bad enough buying a new model at launch with existing technology that I hate to think of the "teething" problems with this tech.
 
Oil prices are only going to go up as it gets rarer, and electricity costs down as renewables become more widespread and cheaper. Plus there's the ecological arguments which I think are more important than cost arguments anyway.
 
cemerson said:
Oil prices are only going to go up as it gets rarer, and electricity costs down as renewables become more widespread and cheaper. Plus there's the ecological arguments which I think are more important than cost arguments anyway.
Click to expand...

If you think electricity costs will come down because of renewable energy then personally I think you are mistaken. If anything the costs will go up to pay for the cost of more and more wind and solar farms and the like.

In the case of the e-tron anything other than short 'city' journeys will need to use petrol so where is the saving in either costs or oil usage. I have not yet seen any miles per gallon figures for the 1.4 engine in the e-tron when no electric power is available. I would assume it would be less than the current 1.4 because of the extra weight of the batteries. Audi quote excellent figures for the car when it is being used in combination with the electric power but what about when is on petrol power only. The same applies to output - quite respectable when running on both electric and petrol but only 148ps when on petrol alone.

With regard to the ecological arguments the UK can only just generate enough electricity at the moment which is why we a building new nuclear power station. Renewables only account for a very small portion of the overall input to the grid. Countries like Holland which have invested heavily in wind power have now decided that it is far too expensive and inefficient that they are not going to build any more. Even German which seems to have a wind farm on every hill, thoroughly ruining the landscape, is having second thoughts.

It will be interesting to see what Audi offer as a residual price on a PCP contract for the e-tron. They have not yet given any indication of the life of the batteries or the cost of renewal. Will the public buy a second hand e-tron knowing that at some stage they will need to replace the batteries?

My personal view is that we have a long way to go before a car powered by anything other than a petrol or diesel engine will be a completely viable alternative except for a few 'eco warriors'. I very much doubt if that will be in my lifetime.

I volunteer part-time for the RSPB and they have several electric vehicles which carry slogans such as 'zero emissions' etc but what they don't mention is the emissions from the power station that generated the electricity in the first place. They are also about to install a wind turbine at their headquarters site which they say will generate 50% of the electricity they use. But only when the wind is blowing!! When it is not they will have to use electricity generated by less environmentally friendly methods or send everyone home.
 
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h5djr said:
If you think electricity costs will come down because of renewable energy then personally I think you are mistaken. If anything the costs will go up to pay for the cost of more and more wind and solar farms and the like.

In the case of the e-tron anything other than short 'city' journeys will need to use petrol so where is the saving in either costs or oil usage. I have not yet seen any miles per gallon figures for the 1.4 engine in the e-tron when no electric power is available. I would assume it would be less than the current 1.4 because of the extra weight of the batteries. Audi quote excellent figures for the car when it is being used in combination with the electric power but what about when is on petrol power only. The same applies to output - quite respectable when running on both electric and petrol but only 148ps when on petrol alone.

With regard to the ecological arguments the UK can only just generate enough electricity at the moment which is why we a building new nuclear power station. Renewables only account for a very small portion of the overall input to the grid. Countries like Holland which have invested heavily in wind power have now decided that it is far too expensive and inefficient that they are not going to build any more. Even German which seems to have a wind farm on every hill, thoroughly ruining the landscape, is having second thoughts.

It will be interesting to see what Audi offer as a residual price on a PCP contract for the e-tron. They have not yet given any indication of the life of the batteries or the cost of renewal. Will the public buy a second hand e-tron knowing that at some stage they will need to replace the batteries?

My personal view is that we have a long way to go before a car powered by anything other than a petrol or diesel engine will be a completely viable alternative except for a few 'eco warriors'. I very much doubt if that will be in my lifetime.

I volunteer part-time for the RSPB and they have several electric vehicles which carry slogans such as 'zero emissions' etc but what they don't mention is the emissions from the power station that generated the electricity in the first place. They are also about to install a wind turbine at their headquarters site which they say will generate 50% of the electricity they use. But only when the wind is blowing!! When it is not they will have to use electricity generated by less environmentally friendly methods or send everyone home.
Click to expand...

You're right about e-tron, but a Tesla is a real alternative to a petrol car, with 265 miles of range and free charging for life. Average commute in the UK is about 15-30 miles, so you could use it all week without charging.

Personally, I believe it's best to either go petrol/diesel or full EV. A hybrid is a compromise.
 
Some good discussion and points here......

The e-tron I can not see actually making Audi much profit per unit. But (like most of the German manufactures) they are late to the game and they need to get a product established I guess.

I do seriously believe that this technology will be probably forced on us in the next decade - I also personally feel the next generation A3 (still a good 6-7 years off yet) will have battery and electric motor installed in some shape or form.

I get the whole brake regen and range extending etc as that genuinely would give the best of both worlds with a petrol engine. I know petrol engine technology could be improved further to get higher MPG - so a combination of both technologies in time I think would be a good compromise.

Another interesting thing I read about the other day is Audi developing thermal energy capture technology from suspension to charge a battery.......
 
Stephen C said:
You're right about e-tron, but a Tesla is a real alternative to a petrol car, with 265 miles of range and free charging for life. Average commute in the UK is about 15-30 miles, so you could use it all week without charging.

Personally, I believe it's best to either go petrol/diesel or full EV. A hybrid is a compromise.
Click to expand...

But that means I would need a second petrol or diesel car to go on holiday. To get to my holiday destination in Germany is 590 miles from home which I will drive in the day using the Channel Tunnel. With a Telsa and 265 miles per full charge I would have to stop and recharge at least three times and according to their website a public charging point would give 29 miles per hour of charge. Therefore to replace the full charge would take around 9 hours and I would need to do this 3 times. An e-tron would be better than this because, being a hybrid, I could still carry on with the petrol engine when 'recharging' with petrol would only take 5 minutes.

As I've said electric cars may be OK for short commuting journeys but that's about all until there is some major change to the battery technology. Perhaps the greater use of trams for example in large towns and cities would be a better option. A modern tram has been found to be the only system that will get people out of their cars! When I go to Germany I would never take my car into a city but use a Park and Ride and catch the tram. Fast and efficient and electric powered :)
 
Renault are doing a scheme where you can borrow a diesel car for longer trips when you buy one of their EVs for every day use. I completely disagree with you about this - EVs are here, they work, they are practical and becoming more and more practical every day, and are the future (and a future that is not that long away). Noone has mentioned the Tesla battery swap-out stations for example, which are faster than refuelling an ICE car.

It's funny how it's people with little/no experience with EVs that are the ones saying they don't work... yet the people who have them are saying all the time that they work, they do long journeys in them etc, yet noone listens! Renewable energy will become cheaper and cheaper as the technology improves (it already is - that's why the subsidy and feed in tariff are going down) - there's no evidence to support your assertion that it'll get more expensive - unless you know anything? Neither is there any evidence that I can find that Germany are changing their mind about renewables either, in fact I think it's doing rather well for them! Same with Norway which is almost 100% renewables powered and the Model S has become the best selling model of all time, they have a very high proportion of EVs there.
 
cemerson said:
Renault are doing a scheme where you can borrow a diesel car for longer trips when you buy one of their EVs for every day use. I completely disagree with you about this - EVs are here, they work, they are practical and becoming more and more practical every day, and are the future (and a future that is not that long away). Noone has mentioned the Tesla battery swap-out stations for example, which are faster than refuelling an ICE car.

It's funny how it's people with little/no experience with EVs that are the ones saying they don't work... yet the people who have them are saying all the time that they work, they do long journeys in them etc, yet noone listens! Renewable energy will become cheaper and cheaper as the technology improves (it already is - that's why the subsidy and feed in tariff are going down) - there's no evidence to support your assertion that it'll get more expensive - unless you know anything? Neither is there any evidence that I can find that Germany are changing their mind about renewables either, in fact I think it's doing rather well for them! Same with Norway which is almost 100% renewables powered and the Model S has become the best selling model of all time, they have a very high proportion of EVs there.
Click to expand...

Used Model S's in Norway are often more expensive than new ones because they sell so well and the new ones get a very generous government subsidy!
 
People do long journeys and that's not going to change. The current breed of electric cars in general can't manage these distances, but are fine for some peoples travel requirements over shorter distances, though the lack of charging stations and time to charge remain issues.

Hybrid cars are still developing, but I think the current hybrid model will be replaced by cars where the wheels are only ever driven by an electric motor/motors and the electrical power will come from a small 500-750 cc engine tied only to a generator and rev tuned for constant load and speed for optimum electricity generation, economy & emissions.

Yes you'd have the weight of the small engine but a saving on battery weight as the battery capacity would be smaller, and no need for a gearbox either.

All the tech for regeneration under braking would also already be there too.
 
I used to have to refuel my petrol car just to make it up to Scotland with a trailer... the Model S has more range than that in its top spec!
The future is self-driven EVs that can be called up on demand, and people not owning cars. When 96% of a car's time is spent parked and stationary, it just doesn't make that much sense to operate them the way we do now.

Oil is a very finite resource, it's going to run out, and nothing we can do is going to change that. Oil prices will go up and up as supplies run out, and we need to be thinking about the next phase of motoring. The internal combustion engine has got us where we are today and has no doubt been a very important phase in transport, but it's time for it to die off pretty soon. If you want to stick to outdated dinosaur tech that is only going to get more and more expensive to operate then fine, but I'll look to the future I think! If they ditch the engine in the e-tron and add more battery capacity to replace it & make it a pure EV, it'll likely end up being a future car of mine. The price of EVs is coming down all the time and is goings to continue to do so!
 
cemerson said:
I used to have to refuel my petrol car just to make it up to Scotland with a trailer... the Model S has more range than that in its top spec!
Click to expand...

Scotland is a 'long' place. From my house it is 257 miles to the border and 616 miles to John o' Groates. So from home to John o' Groates would need just one 5 minute stop for fuel. The same for my 690 miles to Northern Germany. Until an electric car or hybrid can match those distances I will not be considering one. I will be long gone by the time the oil runs out and may be by then someone will have come up with a viable alternative solution. Personally electric and hybrid cars are not that solution.
 
h5djr said:
But I would be able to do so few miles using electric power that I would have to buy petrol for the 1.4 engine which is more expensive in Europe than diesel. The electric power would not even get me to the Channel Tunnel let alone all the way across France and Germany.

Electric cars and hybrids are fine for 'city' driving but I don't do any of that these days. I think I will stick with a 184ps diesel and 400+ miles between 'charges'.
Click to expand...

I have been on an Audi driving day today at Ragley Hall where i got to drive an A3 e-tron. There were eight e-trons where we followed a set route in convoy behind an instructor in an Audi A3 TDI. You did one run as the driver and one as a passenger, luckily though there was just the wife and i in the car so i got to do two runs.

When the electric power runs out it can be charged by the petrol engine or you can run the car on electric power alone, a combination of petrol and electric or it can be set to petrol only.

The range on electric is 31 miles, my route to work is 15.2 miles so theoretically i can get to and from work every day on electric power alone.
 
Last edited:
As I've said before the A3 e-tron would be good for the commute to work but of no great advantage on longer journeys. If fact it would be a disadvantage because you have only a 1.4 engine and a lot more weight from the batteries. I think that one of the most interesting figures that Audi are not giving us yet will be the mpg figure for running on just the petrol engine. I would think it will be worse than the current 1.4 because of the extra weight.

Fortunately I no longer have any commute to work :)
 
I think you are confusing "An EV won't work for me" with "EVs can't possibly ever work for most people"
 
audi upgrades
cemerson said:
I think you are confusing "An EV won't work for me" with "EVs can't possibly ever work for most people"
Click to expand...

No I don't think so. If someone only does a short trip to work every day and can just use the electric power then something like an e-tron may be a good, albeit expensive, option. But as soon as you are the sort of driver who does quite frequent longer journeys then I think a normal diesel powered A3 will still be a better bet. Certainly as things are at the moment I would never consider an EV or hybrid because such a car cannot meet my requirements especially as for a similar price I can have a 184ps quattro!! As long as Audi (and the Government) continue to give us the choice of what type of car we purchase then I'm happy.

I wonder how popular hybrids will have to become before the Government decides it can no longer afford to use £5000 of tax payers money to subsidise each one. It will then be down to the individual to decide if they think the extra cost is worth it for whatever reason the choose.
 
It'll get cheaper... and oil will get more and more expensive... there's going to be a huge shift at some point when that happens, and it'll be for the better.
 
cemerson said:
It'll get cheaper... and oil will get more and more expensive... there's going to be a huge shift at some point when that happens, and it'll be for the better.
Click to expand...

In your opinion maybe, but not in mine. We were told many years ago that electricity would get a lot cheaper when the first nuclear power stations came on stream. Did it happen? No of course it did'nt.

Oil has already got considerably more expensive in my life time but that has not changed things that much, only with the manufacturers getting more and more out of every gallon. What fuel will long distance lorries be using in this 'new world'
 
One thing I've forgot to mention so far....

I already own an electric vehicle. It's my mobility scooter. It's great, slow and with limited range but it works. Charges from a normal 13-amp socket in the shed and will take apart easily to fit in the back of my A3 when I go any distance. Very simple to drive. No complex cruise control or similar, no gears to worry about. With a max speed of 4 miles/hour and a range of approx. 12 miles it may take some time to get to Germany and back for my holiday, but at least it's environmentally friendly.
 
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