2016 Audi A3 e-tron
- Enjoy yourselves!
The salesman at MøllerBil Vest wished us well on our way after giving a quick instruction. The wife had ordered a test drive of an Audi A3 e-tron. Instruction was not really necessary. When you get used to an Audi, most things are quite obvious - if you drive an Audi on a daily basis. The same applies to models from Volkswagen, Skoda and Seat.
Easy to drive
Driving the A3 e-tron is a breeze, like a normal car with an automatic transmission. You don't have to think about which of the two engines is driving. Strictly speaking, it's not that easy to catch, either. Each trip begins on pure electric operation. Then the TFSI engine intervenes. You can neither hear nor feel it, - at least not on this first test ride. It was only when we hit the gas to slip past an old camper that we heard the petrol engine for a couple of seconds. The acceleration happened almost imperceptibly. A look at the speedometer was necessary to see how we were doing in terms of speed.
Cargo
The A3 e-tron is free of gimmicks about engine combinations and regenerative energy. The underlying systems ensure that the power is used as best as possible, regardless of whether it is outgoing or incoming. If you charge the car 4 hours before departure, you can in practice drive around 40-45 km on pure electric power, enough for most people to get back and forth from work. On long journeys, various recuperation functions ensure that the batteries are recharged. An interesting function makes it possible to charge the batteries from the petrol engine while driving so that you can drive on electricity later.
Charging time with normal contact is stated to be 4 hours, and 2 hours on Type2 cable.
Even power
I tried to create an impression of the power potential in the car. Since it was charging when we picked it up, I assume the batteries were fully charged. When the 54 HP electric motor works together with the 1.4 liter 150 HP petrol engine, 204 HP is available. Did we really have 204 HP at our disposal? On paper, it should be enough to give the 1615 kg heavy car a solid surplus of power. The A3 did not disappoint. The power was there as soon as I started, and the power was delivered without 'lag', 'boost', and almost without engine noise. As mentioned, I had to check the speedometer to see how we were doing.
Like other cars from the Volkswagen group
The A3 e-tron not only has a low interior noise level, but also a very pleasant noise level. My subjective impression is that the A3 e-tron has a more pleasant soundstage than the e-Golf, - less monotonous rumble from the road. The little that could be heard from the drivetrain was experienced as positive - enough to break the monotony.
On the road, I occasionally got the feeling of driving an e-Golf. The car seemed precise and direct on the steering wheel. The suspension seems similarly firm and swayed a little on quick turns with the steering, but still took the speed bumps relatively comfortably.
Ideal wife's car
At Bjerke Travbane, the wife took over the wheel. After all, she was the one who had booked the test ride. I sat next to it and photographed. I noted how easily she settled in. The car jerked slightly when she corrected with the steering wheel after being a little inattentive a couple of times, which I noted as a consequence of the tight steering. The wife actually settled so well behind the wheel that I had to settle for being a passenger for the rest of the trip.
If you order a new A3 today, you'll get the facelifted 2017 model that hasn't yet arrived in dealerships. It is about a facelift similar to the one that the A4 received last year. New headlights, a sharper profiled grille and the Audi Virtual Cockpit where the entire instrument panel can be transformed into a navigation map. A couple of new colors have also been introduced. I promise to give a fuller test report of the facelifted model in a few weeks.
Only my wife lets me get behind the wheel...
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