Road Test: The Audi A3 e-tron hits the right combination

The €40,000 price tag on the Audi A3 e-tron is an inauspicious starting point for anyone considering a new car, even if it comes with a plug and petrol engine. That seems like much too expensive for a family hatchback, even if it carries the premium four rings on its front nose.

Already the ardent eco-motoring buyer is on the back foot, justifying the purchase in the face of bemused smirks and raised eyebrows. Certainly any time I had to introduce the car to friends and neighbours it was the price tag that turned inquisitive interest in the technology into cynical dismissal.

Yet, for its high price tag, the A3 e-tron offers a practical answer to premium suburban commuters who want to benefit from the latest tech. Plug-in hybrid powertrains may double up the engineering, increase the complexity and therefore the costs, but they do offer the best solution to range limitations of current electric cars.

Forget about an electric revolution: there will be major advances in the coming years but any time spent studying automotive buying patterns shows the public are a conservative lot when it comes to cars. They are not prepared to make sacrifices unless that equates to significant cost savings. The idea of paying a premium price for a car that fails to match the range or refuelling convenience of cheaper alternative rivals is simply not going to lure many buyers. Sales of electric cars so far will back this up.

Hybrids on the other hand offer the convenience and practicality for urban motoring, but don’t really give the benefits of full electric driving modes at proper speeds.

That’s where the handful of plug-in electric hybrids offer the best solution out there at present to balance the desire for lower-priced electric motoring with the practicality of a petrol-engine back-up.

Fit and finish

In terms of the car itself, there is not much difference in looks between the e-tron and a regular A3. Under the floor of the boot is the battery pack but aside from that there is no major change. That’s because the platform – VW Group’s award-winning MQB platform – was designed with electric variants in mind.

This particular A3 has all the premium fit and finish one would expect of a well-equipped A3, and Audi has not slouched when it comes to equipping the e-tron version, particularly as it is meant to lure buyers from larger premium models who are prepared to downsize for the sake of adopting the new technology but are not prepared to make sacrifices in comfort and refinement.

So what of the powertrain? In a week’s driving I plugged it in most nights and it quickly became part of the routine when I pulled up. In all it takes about 45 seconds to plug in at home each time. And the boon about the hybrid system is that I always knew if it was a wet and miserable night then I could give it a miss and resort to regular combustion power if needs be.

The claim is that you can achieve figures of 50km of electric power from a full charge. According to the instructions, a full recharge can be completed in 180 minutes with the car-charging points or three hours 45 minutes on a regular three-pin socket.

Range anxiety

Despite charging it overnight, I never managed to achieve more than 36km on the clock. That said, with the additional range of the petrol engine, Audi claims a total potential combined distance of more than 900km, which means range anxiety should never be an issue with this car.

There are four settings for the drive mode, ranging from full electric – if you have the charge – to hybrid mode where the emphasis is on recharging the battery. The idea behind this is in some cities electric cars will benefit from access and better parking. Hybrids such as the e-tron will be able to avail of these but only when they are operating on electric-only power. Therefore owners of plug-in hybrids with ranges close to 50km will want to maintain that charge for when they hit the city limits.

Opting for hybrid mode means you can preserve all that precious energy for those eco-environments.

So what are the cost savings? Well, if you charge overnight at the lower tariffs the ESB estimates the rate could be as low as €1 to charge the 8.8 kw/h battery from flat. Given that a single charge will get you in and out of town several times, that makes the bus fare seem like a pretty extravagant luxury.

As for a comparison with a regular A3 1.6-litre TDi or 1.4-litre petrol, 35km would cost €1.73 or €2.45 respectively. That may not seem much in one go but it’s at least a 50 per cent saving on fuel costs for a cash-conscious commuter. Even if you take the average commute as 11km, then running on electric could save you a sizeable sum.

Despite initial scepticism about adding yet more options to the hybrid format, I’ve become a plug-in convert. It’s not really going to save the planet until we can aggressively cut the greenhouse gases from our electricity supply system. But it’s the lesser of two evils in that regard and it’s good for the pocket as well as the planet.

Kick

In terms of performance there is no questioning its kick. In electric mode it is limited to just over 120km/h, but in hybrid mode it has the acceleration of a much more powerful car than you’d expect from the relatively small powertrain. That’s not surprising when you consider the combined output of 204bhp, which several years ago would have made this a fully-fledged hot hatch.

Of course it gets thirsty when you drive it hard and there were times when we watched the fuel consumption hit 13.4 litres per 100km (21mpg). Admittedly, that was during heavy acceleration and in a mode that’s meant to recharge the battery as well. In general I was getting figures like 6.4 litres per 100km (44 mpg) from the petrol engine when it was running on the engine and set in the mode aimed at retaining the battery charge.

Audi’s take on the plug-in hybrid format is the most advanced and polished I’ve encountered aside from BMW’s i8.

Based on the same underpinnings that powers the Golf GTE, the plug-in hybrid format is also making its way to an upcoming version of the new Passat. It’s not much of a stretch to expect this powertrain format in the next A4 range also.

Of course, it could be cheaper, but that point could be made about every premium car.

This is the most practical, premium family car out there at present and plug-in hybrid offers the best answer to the needs of suburban motorists who reckon the 35km range could see them to and from their daily commutes with the reassurance of a hybrid powertrain when they need to do longer treks. List price aside – and the fact it’s still a family hatchback at the end of the day – this is one of the most interesting cars I’ve driven so far this year.

The lowdown: Audi A3 e-tron
Engine: 1.4-litre TFSI petrol engine and an electric motor with 8.8kw/h battery pack, providing a combined output of 204bhp
Emissions: 37g/km (official)
L/100km: official figure is 1.5 l/100km (188 mpg)
0 -100km/h (in hybrid mode): 7.6 seconds
Price: from €39,950