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Audi A3 Sportback e-tron 1.4 TFSI S tronic (150 PS) review: the new breed of low-tax business cars

Audi A3 Sportback2
Audi A3 Sportback e-tron

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30 December 2014

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The Green Mile – Audi joins the premium green race

Audi A3 Sportback e-tron review

What is it?

IT’S Audi’s A3 Sportback, with a hybrid. Or put another way, Audi’s first electric e-tron model for the road.

What is a plug-in hybrid?

The Audi A3 e-tron features a plug-in hybrid drivetrain. It’s a combination of a petrol engine and a battery – hence the hybrid term. The battery can be recharged via the mains – hence the term plug-in – if you use the car in pure EV mode.

Read the definitive guide to plug-in hybrids here: Plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV)

Audi already offers a big and broad family of A3s but this e-tron model is something else. Not a pure electric car, as its e-tron name may suggest, but a 1.4-litre plug In hybrid offering a combination of EV and ‘normal’ (petrol) running modes and, crucially, with no range anxiety to worry about.

With a BIK company car tax band of just 5% and CO2 emissions of 37-39 g/km (translating into company car tax of just £29.08 per month for a 20% tax payer), the A3 e-tron is a car of obvious interest to the UK business car community.

There’s zero VED and no London congestion charge to pay, either. The A3 e-tron also qualifies for 100% capital write down allowance for those small businesses that prefer to buy their company cars. Economy is set officially at 166-176 mpg: you won’t get near that on the road but still it’s an expression of how frugal this new gen A3 e-tron can be.

Starting with the 5-door A3 Sportback shell, this A3 e-tron is then built up around a modified version of Audi’s 1.4-litre TFSI petrol engine, matched to a 75 kw electric motor. Drive goes to the front wheels via a unique 6-speed S tronic box. A Li-on battery pack lies under the rear floor.

On pure electric power, the A3 e-tron had a claimed driving range of up to 31 miles, at speeds up to 80 mph. A full recharge of the battery either takes 2 hours 15 mins or around 4 hours, depending on the method, and on the move, you have a choice of three hybrid modes or pure EV.

With combined 250 PS system power and quoted 7.6 secs time for 0-62 mph, the A3 e-tron has pace as well as power. Still, despite all the impressive numbers (including a P11D value of £34,895), is this e-tron the company car A3 to have?

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