Audi A3 E-tron Forum and Electric Vehicle News

So glad to have found this forum. I wish I had a couple days ago when the A3 came up on our radar.

I hope it's not a dirty word, but I'd been holding out for Tesla's upcoming Model Y cSUV. But after last week's news that it won't be starting production until 2020, I realized that my 2004 Forester probably wasn't going to last. As it is, the car is at 350,000km and things have started to fail, to the tune of over $12,000 in maintenance costs over the last 5 years. Plus I've spent about $15,000 in gas in that same time.

So I started looking around for an interim EV/Hybrid to Lease until I can see what the Model Y is gonna be.

My wife had mentioned the A3 early last year when they'd just come out and we couldn't find one to drive!

I think I've done a decent amount of research and we went for a test drive today, though remarkably the car had no charge so I'm going back tomorrow to test in in EV mode. I was worried about the range at first, but after doing some map research I think pretty much all my daily local driving will come in under the about 30km average range that I've heard I can expect from pure EV driving.

Looking at a 4 Year lease on the Technik Trim and using the Ontario incentive as an $8,000 down payment. This gets the monthly with tax down to $677. I'm a business owner so I can claim back the HST quarterly, bring the monthly down to just over $600. They've got a sale going on, so I think I'm going to try and hit them up for a couple extras before signing. Since we're moving down size-wise from the Forester, I'm gonna try and get the carrier bars and the ski/luggage box thrown in ($1500 value).

A couple of questions for existing owners:

1. The Technology package on top is tempting, but since neither me or my wife spend any great deal of time in stop and go traffic, is it's utility worth it?

2. I could save about $2,700 by just tagging the Nav and package (for Apple CarPlay) to the Progressiv Trim instead of going up to Technik. Honestly I could take or leave much of what's in there- but the virtual cockpit looks so cool. Plus I guess the full LED lights will be a big benefit.

3. I think I'm going to need to get a hitch for the rear bike carrier, both of which aren't available options in Canada, it seems. Anyone done this aftermarket?

Does everyone love their car? Looking for some positive encouragement- this will be my first Audi and first new car since 2003.

Thanks!

I suppose I was lucky to find some dealerships in the GTA that had e-trons available for test drives.
First off - the e-tron is a fabulous car. I've had mine over 14 months now and I still love driving it.
My overall fuel consumption is around 3L/100 km (I have over 34,000 km on the odo).
I can't answer your questions (1 to 3), at least not from personal experience. I have spoken to other e-tron owners one who had a bike rack on the back of her car.
I would suggest visiting www.speakev.com and pose your questions on that site. It's a European site and they've had the e-trons a lot longer with many more owners who might be able to provide you with answers.
This was my 1st new Audi and I've had no major issues with it. I have experienced a gremlin with the B&O system. But it's been rare and hasn't reoccurred in a long time.
If you are going with a PHEV or even BEV (if that's a possibility), make sure you can get a 240v plug somewhere accessible for charging at home.

Wow that's great on the fuel consumption. I'm very much hoping that the EV range can do pretty much all our local driving, which probably accounts for 2/3rd of the km each month. Might not quite make a couple of the longer runs in the middle of winter, but hey...

My only concern with the virtual cockpit is whether it's something to go wrong vs the traditional gauges on the lower Trim option. But honestly coupling it with the LED lights has probably won me over.

Only other minor quibble is the obviously overall vehicle size difference vs my Forester. I think I can supplement it with the Rooftop ski box or the bags.

Also probably need to keep the 2/3rd side seat down for my sheepdog, as the back might be a bit too cramped for her.

Ditto what @hangtime10 said about getting a 220v charger. It takes about 8 hours to fully charge from empty on 110v. On 240v? Two hours to 2:15. Exactly what mileage you get will totally depend on your driving style and the distance between charges. If all of your drives are under 20-25 km, you might not need any gas except for long trips.

There is no Audi hitch available for North American 16 and 17 e-trons - anything you see will be aftermarket. See this thread viewtopic.php?f=12&t=194 for more information.

The e-tron is front wheel drive only so your winter driving experience will not be what you are used to with the Forester.

You might want to spend some time sitting in an Audi at the dealer. Audi's design principles for human machine interaction are unique and take some time getting accustomed to. While this isn't a showstopper for many people, their design philosophy seems to be focused on good looks instead of ease of use. Of course, YMMV.

Thanks strong. A 220v charger is definitely on my radar. My local drives range between 5km round trip to my son's school, 20km to the gym, and the longest is my parents , which is 12km one way- so all seemingly comfortably within the pure EV range. We're usually up at my inlaws about once every 6-8 weeks, which is 200km away, so that will be a hybrid drive for sure.

The hitch thing is problematic. I do have an existing 3rd party solution with soft contacts and straps that i've used on my forester and can be configured for hatchbacks. I'll keep a close eye on that thread.

Winter tires will definitely be in the offering to improve winter driving. They work great on my wife's golf, though I can't say I wish the A3 wasn't quattro!

I've gone for two test drives with about half an hour in the drivers seat playing with the controls. Compared to my Forester, it's exceedingly technical.

There's a local sale on, so I'm getting quoted just under $600 before tax (I get the tax back for work) for a 4yr lease @20,000 K. That's a Technik Trim with BOTH the Sports package and the Tech package with all the advanced cruise control and off-hwy braking. Plus I get $1300 in service free.

They've got white and the darker grey. The only other colour my wife an I like is the blue, which we haven't seen in person.

Might pull the trigger tomorrow if I want to get the extra % off on the lease.

In all honesty, having driven an Impreza for almost 300,000 km prior to the e-tron, if you have a good set of winters you'll be fine.
Yes, you can't drive as aggressively and the 4WD is fabulous in Subies but the solidness of the Audi is much higher. The feeling of being planted is much different in the Audi.
I haven't seen a blue e-tron yet. I have a Daytona Grey, and in my work parking lot there are 2 other e-trons - silver and white. All are 2016 MY.
Did you pull the trigger over the weekend?

That's great to hear.

I did indeed take the plunge on Saturday. Much to my own surprise we went with the white. With as much black as in on the car I liked the contrast of the black and white. The only other color was the lighter silver, and I've just spent 15 years with a Silver Subaru, so I wasn't going there again.

Got them to throw in the roof crossbars. They're getting her ready for me to pick up on Friday- just in time for us to drive up on the Holliday weekend.

Reading thru some long threads on this forum about maximizing electric efficiency. A LOT to digest.

Excited/terrified.

Congrats!! I'm very excited for you as well.
I found that my driving habits changed when I got the e-tron. I was more relaxed, enjoying the quietness of the ride.
The car is fun when you want (put it in manual or sport modes), change to dynamic and you'll see a difference in the cars' response.
Many folks on here seem to go for max AER, I do too, and you'll find, in time, your method of getting the best for your commute.
I strongly suggest getting a 240v plug setup someplace where you can get the charger to plug in. The items needed cost me under $125 last year (compare Lowes, Rona and HD - prices will vary) for everything. Then it's just a matter of getting an electrician to do the connection. When you have that installed, you'll be able to charge up in 2hr 15 mins (on avg) which will likely make those weekend errands ICE free.
Or you can take advantage of the Ontario EV Rebate for home charging systems.
I would also suggest looking into getting a Chargepoint card and installing the various EVCS apps (Flo, Sun Country, PlugShare)

I think the ultimate advantage of the etron, and why I went with it over say the upcoming eGolf or the Kia Sould EV, is that with those pure electrics with the range they offer, the range stops on longer trips will be more noticeable- taking distinct time out during the trip, with no backup if for instance a Level 3 charger is broken.

With the A3, I can maximize the EV driving in town when there will be a lot of back and forth from the house, meaning a lot of unobtrusive opportunities to charge between all my daily trips. Especially once I get the 240 plug set up.

Then for the occasional longer trips, we're covered, with no need for charging stops. Good Hybrid mileage, and the ability to do short EV driving at the destination.

To be sure I think this is a intermediary step to full EV. I still plan to reserve and look seriously at the Model Y when it comes out in a few years- it won't have the range issues, and I'd be surprised if Supercharging isn't to 5-10 minutes for 80% charge at that point.

But this car will serve great for now.

Can you shed any light on the deal you got? e.g. what did you pay for it without considering the crossbars being included, and did you get a special finance/lease rate? I'm hoping to get the Audi "loyalty" 1.9% finance rate because I'm trading in/selling back to VAG my delinquent TDI Volkswagen