First 5000km Performance 2018 Audi A3 Sportback e-tron

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Deepbank

Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2017
Messages
20
I thought that fellow Audi A3 Sportback e-tron owners would be interested in my 2018 Technik model performance for the first 5,000km of use. The car was purchased in early December 2017. Over the next 4.5 months, 5000km of mostly city driving was carried out. Winter and early Spring weather in London, ON had temperatures ranging from -20C to +20C. I used seat and steering wheel heating a lot and cabin heating as required (but must confess, possibly kept cooler than normal). During the colder days and weeks my AER was in the 15km to 25km range. As the weather has warmed up my AER range has improved considerably to 28 to 34km. I am hoping that that this range continues to increase. Most of my driving consists of short trips (2 to 25km) around the city. I charge the car mainly at night (lowest time-of-use rates at ~6.5 cents/kwh) using 240V. Typical consumption for charging from “empty” was ~7kwh. I would charge up sometimes in the mid-rate time period (9.5 cents/kwh). Based on the Audi MMI data kwh consumed over 5000km was 977kwh or ~19.5kwh/100km. Assuming an average 8 cents/kwh, the total electric cost was $78. Premium gas used was 86.7 litres and average price was $1.24/litre for a total gas cost of $108. The total cost (electric + gas) for 5000km was $186 or 3.7 cents/km. For comparison purposes, I previously owned a Golf Sportwagen TDI that over a six year period had an average cost of 8 cents/km.

The car has performed flawlessly and is certainly a lot of fun to drive in electric mode only, hybrid mode and occasionally in Sport mode!!
 
Thanks for sharing! My 2018 eTron should be here within the next 3 weeks, and gas prices here have surpassed $1.50/L. Can’t wait for that luxe electric ride! ⚡
 
Hi All,

I now have 13,000 kms on my 2018 Audi Sportback e-tron. The car continues to perform flawlessly and in fact the last 4500 kms have been on a cross Canada trip from London, ON to Vancouver, BC. The trip took 9 days and I was only able to recharge the battery on three occasions. My highway speed was typically between 90 and 125 km/hr depending on road conditions and traffic. Gas consumption ranged from a low of 5.0 l/100km to a high of 6.2 l/100km with typical fill ups in the 32 to 37 litres for a driving range of 525 to 690 km. When using cruise control, the car will automatically use recuperative braking for slowing down on steep down hills and the ICE shuts off also. It was fun to watch the power meter kick up to 100% boost at times when we climbed very steep hills. The car appears to keep sufficient battery reserve power for such times and then it regenerates power as required in the background. I ran mainly in Battery Hold mode and sometimes in Auto Hybrid mode. I am not sure that there was any difference between these two modes. The car never missed a beat and has been a really comfortable and fun car to drive on this long distance trip. If you feel like recharging the battery, you can do that in sport mode. It appeared to recharge to up to around 50%, but of course there is a considerable penalty in gas usage. Awesome car for sure!!!!
 
Hi All,

I now have 18000kms on my 2018 Audi A3 Sportback e-tron. As mentioned in the post above I drove across part of Canada and now have returned home driving through the north west and central states (Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan). Fantastic trip through smoke haze and then one day of incredible heavy rains in South Dakota. The rain was so heavy at one point that the car warned me that the side assist could not function. About 10 minutes later the rain let up and the side assist was functional again!! I was able to charge (110 volt outlets) the battery at all the motels we stayed at. I “hid” the large charger in the engine compartment (after the gas engine had cooled down) and with the hood down and the car locked, the charger was safe and secure. I used a 20 ft extension cord most times. The interstate highways have speed limits from 60 to 80 mph and the car was a joy to drive at all speeds. My average gas consumption for the entire cross Canada and return trip through the USA was ~5.5 l/100kms, 42.8 US mpg or 51.4 British mpg. The A3 is certainly a very economical long distance hybrid vehicle and of course a great city car using electric only.
 
Thanks for a well written and thoughtful post. I’m picking up one of the last A3’s to arrive in Canada on Monday (just in time for an Ottawa winter). After driving 6 other hybrids and PHEVs over the past 10 years, I’m curious to see what a “Premium” PHEV will be capable of. I’ll be posting my impressions over the coming months.
 
Congratulations on getting your new car just in time for the Ont rebate!!! I believe I was one of the first to take delivery of the 2018 model back in Dec 2017. I look forward to hearing about your impressions of the A3 e-tron, especially from the viewpoint of your prior experiences with electric vehicles.
 
A3ghost":t5b5z79j said:
Thanks for a well written and thoughtful post. I’m picking up one of the last A3’s to arrive in Canada on Monday (just in time for an Ottawa winter). After driving 6 other hybrids and PHEVs over the past 10 years, I’m curious to see what a “Premium” PHEV will be capable of. I’ll be posting my impressions over the coming months.

Congrats! The car is great. I've driven over 60k thus far and have been very happy with the quaility and reliability of the car. You will notice that cold weather range isn't all too good. But that's for most, if not all, PHEV's. I believe I avg about 14 kms AER, pre-heating helps.
Would love to hear your thoughts on the car after you've driven it for a bit.
 
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