Audi unveils refreshed A3 e-tron, U
Refreshed two thousand seventeen Audi A3 e-tron Plug-In Hybrid Starts at $39,850
Like the run-of-the-mill Audi A3 sedan and cabriolet, the Audi A3 Sportback e-tron comes in the two thousand seventeen model year with a host of switches both inwards and out. Unluckily, however, Audi failed to update our fattest gripes with the plug-in hybrid hatchback: its high cost of entry and its middling gasoline-electric powertrain.
With a commencing price of $39,850 for the base Premium trim, the two thousand seventeen Audi A3 e-tron sees its base price leap by $1025 compared with its two thousand sixteen counterpart. Those extra bills do, however, bring fresh features: Audi’s digital gauge cluster (dubbed Virtual Cockpit), Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, a panoramic sunroof, a rearview camera, and Audi’s Pre Sense front-collision warning system that can also apply the brakes on its own if necessary.
A refresh wouldn’t be accomplish without exterior revisions, however, and the e-tron sports revised front and rear fascias, including head- and taillights, that evolve the hatchback’s attractive looks. A $1350 Sport package adds 18-inch, 15-spoke wheels and a roof spoiler, as well as sport seats and a three-spoke flat-bottom steering wheel with spanking paddle shifters.
As before, the two thousand seventeen A3 e-tron proceeds to use a turbocharged 1.4-liter engine and an electrical motor to send two hundred four horsepower and two hundred fifty eight lb-ft of torque to the front wheels via a six-speed automatic transmission. Albeit we were able to coax a two thousand sixteen A3 e-tron from zero to sixty mph in a respectable 6.Five seconds, we were ultimately unimpressed with the plug-in powertrain’s EPA-rated EV range of just sixteen miles as well as its EPA combined rating of eighty three MPGe. Albeit the EPA has yet to release figures for the two thousand seventeen Audi A3 e-tron, we expect little switch, if any.
Along with the base Premium model, the two thousand seventeen A3 e-tron is also available in Premium Plus and Prestige trims, which commence at $42,950 and $48,500, respectively.
Audi also released pricing information for the updated A3 sedan and cabriolet and the S3 sedan. As expected, many of the revisions made to the Europe-market two thousand seventeen Audi A3/S3 come to the U.S.-spec model. Powertrains remain a bit of a mystery, as the company only exposed pricing information for the A3 Two.0T Quattro and the S3 sedan.
Just as on the e-tron, the A3 Two.0T Quattro sedan and cabriolet are available in three trims: Premium, Premium Plus, and Prestige. Sedans embark at $35,150 for the base Premium, $38,400 for the midline Premium Plus, and $43,900 for the top-of-the-line Prestige—add $6100 for the cabriolet. Meantime, the 292-hp S3 sedan is available in Premium Plus and Prestige trims, for $43,850 and $49,350.
