battery

Audi A3 Sportback e-tron road test report and review

AS premium class back-markers in the modern race to introduce electric models – great rivals BMW and Mercedes are already switched on – Audi will start to catch up in the New Year with the addition of this peppy plug-in hybrid version to their top-selling A3 range.

It marries the brand’s existing 150 PS 1.4 turbo petrol engine to a new 102 PS electric motor, sitting alongside it under the bonnet and energised remotely from a special high-voltage, lithium-ion battery pack in the floor under the rear bench seat. Housing that, plus the car’s normal 12v battery in that area has reduced boot volume by 100 litres, while adding 125 kg to the kerb weight, without drastically affecting the handling.