e-Tron review after 1 month of ownership

Audi A3 E-tron Forum

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audiman

Active member
Joined
Sep 11, 2013
Messages
33
Hi All, thought it would be good to have some reviews on the e-Tron forum from owners, not just journalists taking test drives :)

Sorry this will just be a quick post but I'm happy to answer any questions you guys have for me about owning an Audi A3 PHEV

So far I've driven almost 700 miles (about 22 miles each day average).
When I picked up the eTron from the dealership I filled up the fuel tank, and haven't used any of it since.

Each day I've been able to just use electric driving - sometimes I'm close to needing fuel as the range showing is only 1 mile!

Our Audi is showing us 300MPGe and my whole family loves it. It is great fun to drive around in silence.

My biggest complaint with the A3 is the Audi Connect app which has all sorts of problems - I hope Audi will be able to improve this with updates as time goes on!
 
Thanks for coming back to the e-Tron forum and sharing your experiences.

I have one on order and when it arrives I will report back as well - I think honest reviews from owners is the best way to help the EV and PHEV market grow!
 
Thanks for your initial thoughts on the e-tron. I just ordered mine yesterday. Here on the west coast of Canada we still have to wait another couple of weeks to a month. I would have preferred an all electric but living in a tower I don't have any at home access to a charging point.

I have a couple of questions...
1. As a point of reference, where in the world do you drive?
2. Sounds like you run almost exclusively on EV mode, how do you handle charging?
3. How far have you traveled on a full charge? I'm fluent in imperial and metric. :)
4. Any improvement on the Audi Connect app?
5. How does your e-tron connect to the internet, home WIFI or G3/4 cellular modem?

I'd be interested in hearing about any more thoughts on the e-tron experience.
 
The 22 miles (35 km) per day on electric only is impressive.

I'm curious about the tires on your Audi A3 e-tron. In Canada and the US they are marketing an "ultra" version with low rolling resistance tires that has 10% better range and fuel economy compared to the regular tires. Which tires (size, make) does you car have?
 
GJS001":32wz5oii said:
The 22 miles (35 km) per day on electric only is impressive.

I'm curious about the tires on your Audi A3 e-tron. In Canada and the US they are marketing an "ultra" version with low rolling resistance tires that has 10% better range and fuel economy compared to the regular tires. Which tires (size, make) does you car have?

The "ultra" version is the base/regular version of the car with 16" wheels and summer tires. The non "ultra" version is actually the upgraded 17-inch wheels and all season tires.
 
bruintoo":ojlw7cjr said:
The "ultra" version is the base/regular version of the car with 16" wheels and summer tires. The non "ultra" version is actually the upgraded 17-inch wheels and all season tires.

Exactly. I wanted to know the brand and model of the summer tires on the ultra and the all-season tires on the other models. I find it hard to believe the tires could make a 10% difference in fuel economy. A few percent, okay, 5%, maybe, but 10%?
 
GJS001":341er291 said:
bruintoo":341er291 said:
The "ultra" version is the base/regular version of the car with 16" wheels and summer tires. The non "ultra" version is actually the upgraded 17-inch wheels and all season tires.

Exactly. I wanted to know the brand and model of the summer tires on the ultra and the all-season tires on the other models. I find it hard to believe the tires could make a 10% difference in fuel economy. A few percent, okay, 5%, maybe, but 10%?

As I now have a 2016 e-tron Progressiv (Canadian model) I can report the standard tires on this and the Technik models are Continental ContiProContact 225/45R17 91H tires. I don't know what the ultra uses to achieve the phenomenally better fuel economy.
 
I have an ultra, but replaced the wheels and tires with 18" pirellis. The gas milage has not changed noticeably, but the handling is much improved. The car is awesome, but has a few things I would change.
1) Put a warning when the charging door is open (like all the dozens of other warnings like fuel door, passenger door, key in vehicle, etc) I don't want rain water blown into my high voltage charging system.
2) Allow me to set and hold the vehicle in Hybrid mode. Now, If I turn the car off and forget to reset it, it defaults to EV mode and drains my battery and fuel economy on lengthy trips.
3) integrate the controls for dynamic, auto, comfort, and Individual modes with the EV modes.
4) Allow me the turn off the radio and still use the MMI screen.
5) Integrate the rubber receptical cover with the charging door so I don't have 2 things to worry about.
6) Provide a home charger and portable charger
7) Find a place for the Jack. Rolling around the cargo floor is not a solution.
8) Find a place for the portable charger that doesn't take up the luggage space.
9) Find a place for the manual or put the MMI somewhere other than the precious little space in the glove box.
10) Offer an Opaque sunroof sunscreen
11) The option to "DELETE FRONT LICENSE PLATE" means get rid of ALL the ugly bulbous plastic bits on the grill including the euro plate shape.
12) Provide a power charging door. Its a Pain to keep having to put the rubber on, and then work the door closed.
 
2) Allow me to set and hold the vehicle in Hybrid mode. Now, If I turn the car off and forget to reset it, it defaults to EV mode and drains my battery and fuel economy on lengthy trips.

--- This can be done in MMI. You can change the default to any of the 4 modes.
 
5x112":3ir1j7u4 said:
I have an ultra, but replaced the wheels and tires with 18" pirellis. The gas milage has not changed noticeably, but the handling is much improved.
Do you have some good efficiency estimates? I really would like to know what the car does when it operates as a pure hybrid.
 
Check this extensive test. It looks like the e-trons on board computer calc of MPG is fairly accurate.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/community/index ... ads/53050/

FredT":2p0sfu8t said:
5x112":2p0sfu8t said:
I have an ultra, but replaced the wheels and tires with 18" pirellis. The gas milage has not changed noticeably, but the handling is much improved.
Do you have some good efficiency estimates? I really would like to know what the car does when it operates as a pure hybrid.
 
Dominic, you must be confusing drive modes with the hybrid modes. There is NO way to change the hybrid mode defaults in the MMI.
 
Dominic, I think you are confusing the Drive modes with Hybrid modes. There is no control in the MMI for Hybrid modes.
 
Regarding the efficiency estimates.. lots of people have different opinions. I get 16-20 miles pure electric. If my battery is charged, and I use hybrid under 80 miles an hour in mixed traffic, I get about 50. If on flat highways only, about 40. If I go over 80, I get about 36 mpg (about the same as hybrid hold). If I use Charge mode it goes to 1/2 that.
 
5x112":3tz0couq said:
Regarding the efficiency estimates.. lots of people have different opinions. I get 16-20 miles pure electric. If my battery is charged, and I use hybrid under 80 miles an hour in mixed traffic, I get about 50. If on flat highways only, about 40. If I go over 80, I get about 36 mpg (about the same as hybrid hold). If I use Charge mode it goes to 1/2 that.

I don't get quite as good on the highway, but it still beats the best I got from my Sportwagen that it replaced. Driving back and forth home for Thanksgiving (~1500 miles total), I got pretty much 35 mpg for each highway tank. That was driving 75-80, and sometimes included one full charge before getting to the destination. If I was driving all highway, and I did one charge, or didn't do a charge, it didn't seem to make an appreciable difference in that 35 mpg figure.

Driving around home, where I can commute mainly on battery, I get 70-140 mpg to the tank. However, I've noticed as it's cooled down here (into the 50's/upper 40's) the range has dropped 3-5 miles.
 
I finally experienced a situation where the temperature outside was so cold, the car was forced to start the ICE. Seems to be about 15 degrees Fahrenheit.
 
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