Even though Audi’s A3 Sportback e-tron was looking might fine at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show, it’s still operating in a segment where people don’t have to look too far to find a fuel efficient car.
The premium compact segment isn’t all that diverse. You have your everyday contenders from Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Volvo and so on, and regardless of what model/version you go for, you know that you’ll be well taken care of as far as fuel consumption is concerned.
At the moment, you can buy into the Audi A3 Sportback range and go for an ultra-economical 1.6 TDI version, good for 110 PS and 250 Nm of torque. Sure, it’s slower than the A3 e-tron but you’d save a hell of a lot of money, and you’ll certainly not complain to anybody about how thirsty the turbo-diesel engine is.
On the flip side, with the A3 e-tron Plug-In Hybrid, you can average as little as 1.6 liters per 100 km (147 mpg US/176 mpg UK), which is mind-blowing for sure. But the 1.6 TDI model can also average around 3.8 liters/100 km (61 mpg US/74 mpg UK) and while the difference looks big on paper, in real life, people who buy into the compact premium segment don’t usually like to end up spending as much as they would on a premium mid-size saloon or a premium compact SUV.
With that in mind, let’s consider the fact that Audi has sold its fair share of A3 e-tron models this year, with only the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, BMW i3 and VW Golf GTE having better sales numbers in the Plug-In Hybrid sector.
As for the A3 e-tron Audi brought to Frankfurt, it was arguably one of the best looking we’ve seen, thanks to the white body – matte black wheels combo.
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