A Short Drive in the 2015 Audi A3 E-tron

What could possibly make that situation better? If the 2015 Audi A3 E-Tron, a plug-in hybrid that Audi showed off at the Los Angeles Auto Show, has anything to say about it, the answer is batteries. The A3 E-Tron’s electric motor handles the around-town stuff, while its turbocharged 1.4-liter gasoline engine takes care of heavy acceleration and longer distance travel.

I drove one during rush hour, so there wasn’t much opportunity to put the car through its paces. But that experience gave valuable insight into what it would be like to drive one in a crowded metropolitan area.

Sitting at red lights — of which there were many — the engine shut down and the car was quiet. Under normal acceleration, the electric motor, which is sandwiched between the engine and transmission, moved the car silently.

During those brief moments when I saw the road open up ahead and was able to put more pressure on the accelerator pedal, the electric motor twisted the wheels quickly through the low end, leaving the top end of the r.p.m. range to the high-revving turbo gasoline engine. When I floored it, the gas engine kicked in, too, and the A3 E-Tron took off pretty quickly for such a small car.

Audi says that’s because when you mash the go pedal, the car enters “boost” mode, giving the car the full power of both its 148-horsepower gasoline engine and its 55-horsepower electric motor; a combined total of 203 horsepower.

In a couple of instances, the car jerked a little when switching from electric motor to gasoline engine power or vice versa. But for the most part, the only indication that anything was happening was the light buzz the 1.4-liter engine emits at higher r.p.m.

Along with boost mode, the A3 E-Tron has other driving modes, including electric, glide — when the brakes are recovering energy for the battery pack – and hybrid hold, a selectable mode designed to preserve battery charge for later use. In all-electric mode, the E-Tron will reach a top speed of 81 miles per hour. Audi says the car’s 8.8-kilowatt-hour battery pack provides 31 miles of pure electric range and the gasoline engine more than 550 miles of additional range. The automaker claims a zero to 62-mile-per-hour time of 7.6 seconds, which is believable, and fuel economy numbers topping 150 miles per gallon. That figure bears further real world exploration.

Being that this small hybrid wagon was an Audi, it didn’t surprise me that it handled well as I wove in and out of traffic. Its looks didn’t surprise me either. Audi tends to build pretty cars, and the A3 E-Tron is no exception.

A short of training under the 2015 Audi A3 E-tron

What might improve this situation? If the 2015 Audi A3 E-Tron, a plug-in hybrid that Audi unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show, has nothing to say about it, the answer is batteries. The A3 E-Tron electric motor handles things around the city, while its 1.4-liter turbocharged gasoline engine takes care of accelerations and the long distance travel.

I rode a rush hour, so there was not much opportunity to test the car. But this experience gave a valuable insight of what it would be like driving in a crowded urban area.

Sitting at red lights - which was much - the engine off and the car was quiet. Under normal acceleration, the electric motor, which is sandwiched between the engine and the transmission, moved the car in silence.

During these brief moments when I saw the road opens to come and was able to further pressure on the accelerator pedal, the twisted electric motor wheels quickly through the bottom, leaving the top end of the range rpm for the engine turbo petrol high speed. When I floored it, motor gasoline kicks, too, and the A3 E-Tron comes off fairly quickly for such a small car.

Audi said that it is because when mash you the pedal to go, the car passes in boost mode, giving the car the power of its 148 horsepower and its electric motor's 55-horsepower gasoline engine; a total of 203 horsepower.

In some cases, the car pulled out a bit during the passage of the electric motor of power of the gasoline engine, and vice versa. But for the most part, the only indication that something was going on was the buzz of light that the 1.4 litre engine emits at higher RPM.

With the boost mode, the E-Tron A3 has other modes, including power line, glide - when the brakes are energy recovery for battery - and hybrid hold, a selectable mode designed to preserve the battery for later use. In all-electric mode, the E-Tron will reach a top speed of 130 km / hour. Audi said that 8.8 kilowatts-hours car battery provides over 550 km of additional range of 31 miles of electric range pure and motor gasoline. The automaker says a zero to 62-mile-per-hour time of 7.6 seconds, what is credible and numbers of economy topping 150 miles per gallon of fuel. This figure bears exploration more real world.

That this hybrid small car was an Audi, it doesn't surprise me that it handled while I weaved in and out of traffic. Her looks does not surprise me either. Audi has a tendency to build nice cars, and the A3 E-Tron is no exception.