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andymccrory

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 7, 2015
Messages
81
After exactly 5 months wait, my new A3 e-tron was delivered today - black with grey leather.

Seems a bit more complicated than my Chevy Volt which went back to the leasing company also today after 3 years, but I probably just need some time to play with the settings and get familiar with it.

With the Chevy it was easy to spot a rare Ampera or even rarer Volt on my daily commute from Reading to Basingstoke (UK) and I usually had time for a wave or a flash. However the A3s are indistinguishable on the road unless you get close enough to read the badge.

Mine's the fourth at my company so we will hopefully increase the charger units from the current two.

I'll add some comments once I've done a few miles.
 
OK, almost one week with the car and 500 miles driven.

It is a good solid car with a big car feel, very sure footed and responsive. Although it is not very roomy in the rear passenger area or the boot, the driver and passenger area is big enough.
Gadget plusses are the auto wipers and auto main beam. I also use the remote AC activation using the smartphone app.
The in-car driver info is very rich but it is also sprayed around on the various screens, a bit confusing at first but I'm getting used to it.

I've driven in all modes.
I get the predicted 24 miles EV range, which from my last 3 years experience with a Chevy Volt is not bad in this weather, I will expect 30+ in the summer.
Charge mode is obviously inefficient but useful when approaching a city, I have used that and the additional engine strain is unnoticeable. Hold mode works for the same purpose when I already have enough charge.
EV Hybrid mode takes the thought away from longer runs and appears to be clever enough to use ICE on the motorway and EV in traffic.
I use cruise control often and I find that resuming from only 5mph below the set speed causes the auto gearbox to drop one or even two gears to get there, somewhat unnecessary and a bit unnerving, maybe I need to play with the drive dynamics settings to stop that happening.

Whilst I did fill the boot yesterday I have not yet needed rear seats down. I may need that for golf clubs.

I'll post any other observations as the miles clock up.
 
Thanks for the reviews, good to know you are getting good mileage on EV. But it is also weird that it got rated by the EPA at 17 miles of EV range.
 
Strange indeed @andymccrory. I queried the EPA 17 miles some time back, having achieved between 18 and 32 miles on a full charge (averaging 21) over the course of the last 12 months. I think you will find that things loosen up a bit after the first 1500 or so miles.
 
The UK sales brochure states a 31mile electric range. Clearly that will be in ideal conditions though.

From my experience with the Chevy Volt, once you throw low temperatures, rain and a few 70mph motorway miles at it, the current 20mile range is what I would expect.
 
Yes, the 31 mile range would be in ideal conditions. Last winter I made sure I pre-conditioned before taking off in the cold. The electric heating does use up quite a bit of the battery capacity. This winter hasn't been that cold yet so I have still been getting a reasonable range.
 
Congrats! And thanks for sharing your experiences on the forum... I am looking forward to driving an e-Tron soon, now that they've finally been approved for sale in the USA!
 
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