The Top Gear car review:Audi A3 E-Tron

Name: Audi A3 E-Tron
Item: A3 Sportback (2013)
Rating: 7
Author: Top Gear

£22,500 – £39,380

Full screen

1/3

7/10

Overall verdict

Not the perfect solution to all your motoring needs, but a great first effort at a useable everyday hybrid.

For:

Future-proof tech available on a familiar, high quality and able Audi compact

Against:

It isn’t quite the star in practice its headlines claim

Overview

What is it?

Audi’s first road-going plug-in hybrid, and a shot across the bows of every family hatch in existence. Audi is adamant the fully-electric car tech isn’t at the races yet (take that, Nissan Leaf), and pure internal combustion is not long for this world (look out, everyone else).

Plug-in hybrids with electric city range and out-of-town engine performance are supposedly the ideal marriage of car tech right now, and Audi’s crammed it into the accomplished five-door A3. Its e-tron tech (which is also available on the Q7) will filter into the A4 and A6 over the next couple of years, so this is a real glimpse of things to come from Audi.

Title	0–62	CO2	MPG	BHP	Price
The fastest S3 TFSI Quattro Black Edition 5dr S Tronic	4.6s	150g/km	43.5	310	£37,095
The cheapest 30 TFSI 116 SE Technik 5dr	9.9s	114g/km	56.5	116	£22,500
The greenest 30 TDI 116 SE Technik 5dr S Tronic	10.4s	103g/km	72.4	116	£26,300