Two days of ownership. Frustrated

Audi A3 E-tron Forum

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SFkjeld

Active member
Joined
Dec 26, 2016
Messages
43
Pretty frustrating. Very hard to understand the best mode to drive in, under which conditions. I finally called Audi to get some direction. Pretty useless. The advertising refers to 20mi range in EV mode. This has not been the case for our driving in town. EV mode is gone much sooner. Once gone which happens quickly, I am left with a 1400cc 3800lb car. Passing is not comfortable and just wondering about the load on the comparatively small motor. I expected more advantage from the electric motor, given the cost and complexity added to the car.

I decided to drive in hybrid mode and in 'dynamic' driving mode. Recharging as soon as we are off the throttle. I dunno. Frustrated.
 
Don't worry. I was frustrated too until I figured out all the nuances of the car.
Put the transmission in sport (S) and the drive MODE=dynamic when you want to drive it hard - Let the engine warm up first - Sport causes the drive SELECT=hold battery and the engine will start.
Use drive SELECT=EV when your trip is limited to 15 miles or so. If it is going to be longer, start the trip in Drive SELECT=Hybrid and don't forget to reset it back to SELECT=Hybrid if you stop the car and restart (this is really annoying, as Audi decreed they would NOT hold drive SELECT settings if you shut off the car, but WILL hold all your other settings).
Don't be afraid to floor the car to use the electric boost. You have about 25% of the drive batteries left (2.2kw) even when they show empty.
If you keep it in Drive SELECT=hybrid or hold battery, you will always have plenty of battery for electric boost and over 200hp with tons of torque. Have fun with it. (and lower it if you want better handling).
oh... and don't forget to use the regenerative braking (transmission moved to manual) and glide features effectively. You will save your brakes and maximize battery re-charging.
 
Holy cow! This is the most useful piece of information I have received from either the dealer or Audi Select. Thank you!

Is there a downside to using drive mode: dynamic? Seems to charge more often and works as a brake in the city. Also, I didn't follow the use of the transmission's manual mode. What advantage does it offer?

Finally, under which circumstances would you use 'battery hold', since it doesn't really hold anyway? Seems just a more conservative use of the electric motor. After a highway trip, you'll wind up with an empty battery either way.

Thanks again.
 
I suggest looking through this site as there are many observations about which mode to drive in, and when. Also, how and where you drive, and outside temperatures seems to widely affect the EV range. If you are always driving more than say, 30 miles, you will use different settings than if you kept your drives to less than 10 miles. The thing I really really like about the settings is that I can experiment. But even if you would rather just mostly "set it and forget it," you can do that.
 
There seems to be a huge misconception with these cars. If you're in regular drive mode and you apply the brakes its using the regenerative braking to slow you down. Only when you apply the brakes very firmly will it use the disc brakes to stop. You dont need to put it into sport mode to get rengen braking.
 
Is there a downside to being in Sport mode? The deceleration when off the throttle pedal from the regenerative charging is great. Slows the car at a nice pace and seems to put a good amount of charge at the same time. I drove around town today in sport mode and it seems like the battery kept its charge longer than yesterday. I dunno. I should just throw it hybrid and stop worrying about it.
 
Glad it helped!. You really have to own and love one of these cars to understand it. It's not like other cars.
There is no "downside" regarding the modes (between comfort/dynamic). It just changes the way the steering (and in certain models suspension) works.
The manual mode of the transmission eliminates glide mode. shifting to manual (NOT SPORT (S)) lets you control which gear you are in. I pop it into manual when I want to slow the car down using MILD regenerative braking. I could gingerly use the brake pedal for the same thing, but it's easier and more consistent to just move the lever.
IF you put the transmission in sport (S), all it does is shift the transmission sooner, eliminates the glide mode, uses STRONGER regenerative braking when you take your foot off the gas, and puts the drive select=Battery Hold.

Btw. Battery hold really does hold the battery. It won't decharge. It was designed to retain the battery for power when shifting to Sport (S), OR hold the battery for use in European zones restricted for electric cars. My car (2016) allows me to charge the battery with the engine and then hold the charge until I get to where I want all electric driving.

There is no downside to keeping the transmission in Sport (S) other than gas mileage. The car uses STRONGER regenerative braking and no glide mode, which means less efficient driving (gas mileage wise). You may actually see your battery recharge when using (S) if you don't burn it out using it for boost.
 
bikerboyriley":1mp8xedj said:
There seems to be a huge misconception with these cars. If you're in regular drive mode and you apply the brakes its using the regenerative braking to slow you down. Only when you apply the brakes very firmly will it use the disc brakes to stop. You dont need to put it into sport mode to get rengen braking.

Question:
If you don't see the green stripes going into the front wheels on the car display, are you still getting regen braking? Sometimes you see it, and sometimes you don't... and I definitely see it more often in sport mode just by taking foot off gas. Also do you get any regen when driving in EV mode...it seems only when using the brake pedal? It seems engine braking in sport creates most regen but at the expense of using the ICE so what is the point of that?
 
SFkjeld":1wmwzu10 said:
Is there a downside to being in Sport mode? The deceleration when off the throttle pedal from the regenerative charging is great. Slows the car at a nice pace and seems to put a good amount of charge at the same time. I drove around town today in sport mode and it seems like the battery kept its charge longer than yesterday. I dunno. I should just throw it hybrid and stop worrying about it.
The downside is the use of the ICE and low mpg. Its not cost effective or environmentally friendly. It can be fun to feel the power of the etron for sure!
 
Maybe the 2017's are different, but for mine, Dynamic mode does nothing except tighten up the steering. Sport mode is where the fun driving is, but you lose the energy efficiency.

In the US, the battery range is listed at 16 miles (17 if you got the base model with 16" wheels). I get at least that in my driving, except if it's cold, when it drops to ~14-15 miles.
 
To answer the question about regeneration, NO, if you do not see it on the display it is not happening. Also - NO, EV mode does not allow regeneration unless braking (It is in glide mode during EV). I get around this by popping the shift lever over to manual when I want to de-cellerate, which triggers regeneration.
 
Sport mode does give a noticeable regen feel, but when in EV mode you can use the paddles on the steering wheel which will also allow for regen. I do this often to reduce my use of the brakes.
 
Paddles are not standard on all models. Flipping a paddle is the same as popping the gearshift into manual and downshifting. Both take it out of glide mode and use regeneration, even in EV. Popping the gearshift into manual without downshifting gives mild EV regeneration and de-celleration and does not initiate sport mode (which starts the engine, puts the car in Hold Battery, increases regeneration, and delays upshifting).
 
There's a real misconception or misinformation about the "EV" range of the Audi A3 Etron. If you take off with a full charge on a say a very, very slight uphill grade on which you must continuously keep foot on the go pedal at say 45 MPH, you'll run out of electric juice in maybe 15 or less miles under optimal environmental conditions, and you'll be on gasoline thereafter in those continuing conditions.

If, however, you're slogging along in stop-and-go (as we say in the US) traffic, never getting above about 35 MPH in relatively flat terrain that doesn't vary much, and, importantly, don't come to full stops all that often, then you can go quite far "emission free," aka, without using the ICE.

I recently went 46% of 77.2 miles, or, 35.5 miles "emission free." That means that the ICE wasn't running for over 35 miles miles out of my total 77 mile trip. This of course included electric-powered travel, coasting, and regenerative braking distances. According to the car's trip meter, I averaged 33 MPH for those 77.2 miles (sigh), at 56.1 MPG.

This is the real beauty of our cars. The integrated ICE, battery, and regenerative braking systems combine to create an efficient vehicle when operated under the conditions for which it is designed. Don't expect it to run far and wide in EV mode without the collaborative modes that extend the car's gasoline-free opportunities.
 
5x112":27mhbe26 said:
To answer the question about regeneration, NO, if you do not see it on the display it is not happening. Also - NO, EV mode does not allow regeneration unless braking (It is in glide mode during EV).

Mine does. In EV it regenerates on any downhill without the brakes no matter what drive mode.
 
gonkulator":2ijjhcx7 said:
5x112":2ijjhcx7 said:
To answer the question about regeneration, NO, if you do not see it on the display it is not happening. Also - NO, EV mode does not allow regeneration unless braking (It is in glide mode during EV).

Mine does. In EV it regenerates on any downhill without the brakes no matter what drive mode.

Um... No. Selecting EV does not initiate regeneration down hill unless you put the transmission into manual or hit the paddle shifter. Turn on your energy flow diagram and watch it when you go down a hill in EV and glide mode. I live in florida, but I doubt reacts differently coming down a mountain.
 
5x112":2za9z1g6 said:
gonkulator":2za9z1g6 said:
5x112":2za9z1g6 said:
To answer the question about regeneration, NO, if you do not see it on the display it is not happening. Also - NO, EV mode does not allow regeneration unless braking (It is in glide mode during EV).

Mine does. In EV it regenerates on any downhill without the brakes no matter what drive mode.

Um... No. Selecting EV does not initiate regeneration down hill unless you put the transmission into manual or hit the paddle shifter. Turn on your energy flow diagram and watch it when you go down a hill in EV and glide mode. I live in florida, but I doubt reacts differently coming down a mountain.

I'm with Gonkulator on this one. I live just over halfway up a 1500 foot mountain. When I leave the house and head downhill in EV mode, the car will charge when the grade of the hill is steep enough (first 1.5 miles headed downhill). The car accelerates, but there is a mild regeneration effect that keeps the acceleration reduced compared to a normal car. If you switch to manual, obviously the regen effect goes up a lot. The best way to go down the hill seems to be by putting on the cruise control - it adjusts the regen to keep the speed constant.
 
Depending on the downhill grade, there will be some regeneration regardless of which electric mode is selected, EV, Hybrid, Hold or Charge and regardless of which transmission mode is selected, D, M, or S, or driving dynamics.
 
Interesting. Well we have no mountains in florida or the south east to test it, so I'll take your word. I cannot get regen in EV mode in my driving, even on hills.
 
This is all fascinating to read, 5 days before I pick up my car. While the Audi guy I delt with was fairly knowledgeable, he very much downplayed the regenerative breaking aspects beyond the specific "Regen" mode which charges off the gass engine, which he said most people tend to ignore for the serious MPG hit.

Someone should really do a video about all this for YouTube. I think if I can ever get a good handle on it I might do just that.

But mostly what I'm hearing is that light touch on the brake is regen, and that downhill (especially in manual) activates regen.

I will say that after test driving a Kia Soul and a Model X, that the lack of an option for active regen braking is probably a mistake considering the impact it could have made on the relatively small battery. I also wouldn't have minded DC Fast Charging option. Probably could have filled that battery in 5-7 minutes. But perhaps the infrastructure to make it work is out of line with the size of the battery.
 
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