2016 Audi A3 Sportback E-Tron

[HTSS_TR]

Quote:
The A3 plug-in will produce a maximum of 203 horsepower and 248 pounds-feet of torque. Pure electric range is 30 miles on the European cycle but expected to get an EPA estimate between 20 and 25 miles before its release. In addition to the base Premium model ($37,900), Audi will offer the Premium Plus ($42,000) and Prestige ($46,800) models.


After Federal and state incentives the Premium model is few thousands more than base A3 at $30,900. For daily commute of less than 30 miles this may be a better choice than gasoline only A3, the ROI can be less than 2-3 years.

http://www.cheatsheet.com/automobiles/au...html/?a=viewall

 

[Andrew1972]

Odds of this selling well are quite low. I wish Audi best of luck. A3 is barely sold.....

 

[R2d2]

Originally Posted By: madRiver
Odds of this selling well are quite low. I wish Audi best of luck. A3 is barely sold.....


Umm wrong up 173% for the model year YTD.

 

[OneEyeJack]

The warranty will be over before you break even on the premium you pay for the "e" upgrade. Owning this car past the warranty is an unreasonable gamble.

Too bad. It's a great looking car and if it drives like the non "e" model it's a pleasure to drive.

 

[CT8]

Probably domestic of Japanese would be more reliable as compared to eurotrash.

 

[JHZR2]

About the same specs as my accord hybrid, at a good price! Especially since it is actually a plug-in version... Interesting.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
The warranty will be over before you break even on the premium you pay for the "e" upgrade. Owning this car past the warranty is an unreasonable gamble.

Too bad. It's a great looking car and if it drives like the non "e" model it's a pleasure to drive.

Originally Posted By: CT8
Probably domestic of Japanese would be more reliable as compared to eurotrash.

Audi quality improved a lot the last 10-15 years, CR reported Audi reliability better than average the last 5 or so years.

I don't know the power of the non-e model, but this E-Tron model has very high torque for the small engine, probably because of the electric motor.

It's a good looking car, I like the wagon/hatchback for utilities. My daughter only like wagon, she doesn't like CUV/SUV or sedan. I will test drive this E-Tron and the standard one to compare when it's available later this year, will report my impression later.

 

[Bandito440]

Not bad, although I'd much prefer a TDI/AWD/6MT version.

 

[hattaresguy]

Nice car, and the price isn't to bad either.

Although the A3 isn't much more than a glorified VW.

 

[E365]

With that poor of a battery range I don't see the point of getting the plug-in version. The 2016 Volt is 53 miles which is much more practical if you're interested in doing electric-only runs. Keeping it under 25 miles per day is probably difficult for most people.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
Nice car, and the price isn't to bad either.

Although the A3 isn't much more than a glorified VW.

The same can be said about some vehicles of luxury divisions of Japanese brands. Lexus ES is luxury edition of Camry, Acura TSX is European Honda Accord, Some Infiniti G37 is based on Nissan Altima(or Maxima ?) ...

I would just check the car contents, if they are good then they are good.

What I like about this E-Tron is it's a good looking normal styling wagon, not standout(ugly ?) as BMW i3.

 

[Andrew1972]

Originally Posted By: hattaresguy
Nice car, and the price isn't to bad either.

Although the A3 isn't much more than a glorified VW.


A3 = overpriced vw golf/jetta

 

[si_jeff]

Lease or Buy? Although Euro cars reliability has improved over the years, It would still be scary to own this out of warranty. By ROI, what do you mean? Is it the gas savings?

 

[HTSS_TR]

I don't lease any car, I buy and keep my cars more than 10-15 years then sold as scrap metal.

Yes, ROI is the saving for not paying high California gas price. Electricity isn't cheap at 15-20 cents kWh, but it's much cheaper than $3.70-3.80/gal regular.

My MB E430 is 15 years old 170k miles, not many problems so far, cost of maintenance and repair average less than $500 a year. I think newer Audi isn't as bad as it was 15-20 years ago.

 

[OneEyeJack]

The problem with Audi and other cars like them is that if one thing goes wrong, getting into that engine bay is really expensive. At the point of a problem the car is reduced to a transportation device and the leather and all the gadgets don't matter, anymore.

Instead of $7 to 8 hundred dollars for a simple timing belt and water pump you could be very close to $3K, instead. And the difference in cost continues to just about everything. These fancy, expensive care have become an ownership proposition that should not extend beyond the factory warranty. To own one past the warranty could get expensive. To purchase one that is past the warranty could be an expensive gamble especially with an unknown past. At least there is some relief. The price of these cars really drops so it becomes very tempting.

 

[HTSS_TR]

I agree with you. Reliability of German brands is not as good as Honda or Toyota or Mazda, and cost of repair/maintenance would be higher too.

Taking out the reliability issue and repair/maintenance cost, this Audi Sportback E-Tron is very nice at reasonable price.

What are other compact 5-dr hatchbacks or wagons with good gas mileage ?

 

[Andrew1972]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
I agree with you. Reliability of German brands is not as good as Honda or Toyota or Mazda, and cost of repair/maintenance would be higher too.

Taking out the reliability issue and repair/maintenance cost, this Audi Sportback E-Tron is very nice at reasonable price.

What are other compact 5-dr hatchbacks or wagons with good gas mileage ?


VW SportWagen TDI, Ford Cmax plug-in., Prius plug-in....

 

[E365]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR


What are other compact 5-dr hatchbacks or wagons with good gas mileage ?


I have a 2015 Focus hatchback with the 1.0 3-cylinder turbo. I'm at 40.2 MPG actual overall. I've done 3 shorter road trips (27% of my total miles) and got 47, 47 and 48 MPG actual. The remaining miles have all been within about 25 miles from home, so lots of
"City" driving. My first Ford and I love it so far.

The Fiesta 1.0 does even better.

 

[Quattro Pete]

BMW also has a 328d sports wagon that's rated at 31 mpg city / 43 mpg hwy.

Then there is the new Mercedes B-Class electric that's claiming a range of 87 miles on electric power only.