Audi A3 plug-in hybrid

Good for those who have a large construction kit and can use them. As do the individual brands of the VW Group, for example. After the Golf GTE at VW, the Leon e-Hybrid at Seat and the Octavia at Skoda with a duo of petrol engine and e-drive, the luxury group brand Audi is now also reaching into the treasure chest and electrifying it from 38.440 euros available A3 Sportback the finest sheet of the Kompkat quartet.

Lots of power under the hood

The Ingolstadt-based's two-engine technology is well known: a 1,4-liter petrol engine with 110 kW / 150 PS and an 80 kW / 109 PS electric motor form a powerful alliance that together produces 150 kW / 204 PS comes. So a lot of power for a 4,34-meter five-door, the weakest version of which has to make do with a modest one-liter three-cylinder and 81 kW / 110 PS. The A3 family was completely renewed in the spring, but the plug-in hybrid is only now being reissued, even if it is no longer allowed to have the nickname "E-Tron" on the nameplate. This honorary title is now reserved for pure electric cars.

Thanks to government support, cars that can travel at least 50 kilometers in a purely electric manner are currently in vogue. So if you order your A3 with a double heart, you can look forward to a rain of money of 6.750 euros net (7.177,50 euros gross), of which 4.500 euros are from the taxpayer. The real price is “only” around 31.000 euros. And an E-label also identifies the owner as "environmentally friendly". And if you always recharge in a disciplined manner, you can at least cover most of the everyday routes in a purely electric way.

You can't get far electrically

The Audi also has various settings. It always starts purely electrically, the combustion engine has a break. According to the standard, the A3 can travel over 60 kilometers. But since we're not on the test bench, but rather on country roads and autobahns in real life, we're looking forward to almost 50 kilometers of clean gliding. But that requires a sensitive foot on the accelerator, renouncing intermediate sprints and romping around in the left lane of the motorway. This is the case with all cars of this type, and the Audi is no exception.
In everyday life, “hybrid mode” is the most important choice if you don't know beforehand that you will only be 20 kilometers to get to work. With this setting, the on-board computer decides how the power of the two engines is used. That means a consumption of around five liters during normal driving because of the constant automatic switching back and forth between the engines. Good for a gasoline engine, but far from being “green”. And a brisk ride between two exits on the autobahn quickly wipes out even this balance.

The A3 user can experience the whole thing in the usual elegant atmosphere. In other words, a premium car with exquisite materials, a large central monitor with Google Earth display, large and freely selectable displays, clear operation and, for an extra charge, many subtleties from the price list. No problem to make the A3 even more valuable by 20.000 euros. This is no different with the many other versions with petrol or diesel. Like all compact Audi, the plug-in also delights with perfect handling, great brakes and comfort of the finest kind.

Sporty only without electricity

The special thing about the TFSI with the letter “e” behind it remains the electric. And the owner can only counter the violent criticism of the two-motor technology if he deliberately lets himself into the gentle driving in his gem. However, this also requires a new modesty and the renunciation of the usual fun with gas foot. And also be patient. Because the A3 cannot dock at a fast charging station. It therefore takes four hours for an empty battery to be fully charged again. If you live on the outskirts and cover a manageable distance to work every day, you have to earn your eco-label by plugging your car into the socket every evening so that you can drive a pure Stromer again in the morning.