JRomulus

Last week I had an opportunity to test drive an e-tron in downtown Chicago.
Was really very impressed. Yes, I put it in "Electric only" mode and peeled rubber on Michigan Ave. from a dead stop, lol. Even small electric motors have incredible torque. I didn't seem to notice the effect of battery weight in the mid-rear of the vehicle that some reviewers have mentioned, but then I did not have this on a track or open road.
Like anything else, there are upsides and downsides to this car.
I think they were definitely trying to hit a price and performance point that says "Audi" when it comes to the smaller hybrid class. Yes, the Volt gets more mileage per charge, as do many other electric hybrids.
But if you look at the performance (200+ HP) and the usual Audi features we've grown accustomed too, I think it will do fairly well in the U.S.

Will be very interesting to see the lease vs. buy comparison for this vehicle. For potential buyers, the Federal rebate is only around $4k due to the smaller battery. I don't know if Audi will pocket that on leases or pass (some of ) it along with leasing.

Still a guessing game as to when these will be at dealers, but the bet was November from the people I talked to at the event.

arU4ic

Cool review thanks.

I'm signed up here in San Francisco, I look forward to trying it out. If it had the 2.0 gas motor in it, it would have been a real contender when making the decision for the S3.

gamegenie

It's going to be a hybrid / electric car war next year between the


Chevy Volt
Nissan Leaf
Audi A3 E-tron
Cadillac ELR
Tesla Model 3

desmillicious

I own one, it's great! If anyone has any questions hit me up

desmillicious

This is me plugged into a Solar array charging unit:





Free local government charge point on carpark roof in Sydney Australia (we have lots of sun... but only a couple of these kinds of places!)

JRomulus

How long has the e-tron been at dealers in Australia ?

desmillicious

I bought mine at the end of July and they had them in stock from the month before at least

jakesterpdx

Hi Des!

I've put down a deposit on an e-tron myself - very excited! I wonder if you have an iPhone and, if so, how well it works with the e-tron. For example, can you activate Siri from the steering wheel? I'd love to hear any feedback on what you like or don't like with regards to iPhone integration.

desmillicious

Hi jakester unfortunately Siri does not natively work with the steering wheel button - you have to use a "trick" that I stumbled upon and posted here: https://www.audiworld.com/forums/aud...olved-2891293/

The general gist is that we should be pushing for software upgrades to integrate Carplay for compatible MMI hardware because the MMI user interface and voice recognition is significantly inferior to both iOs and Android.

The car, however, is great! I love driving in pure electric mode it's so quiet and satisfying. I love it!

jakesterpdx

Thanks, Des-

Yeah, I guess I can live with that. A few other questions:
1. Via Bluetooth, does it show the album artwork when streaming audio?
2. Have you tried the hardwired connection? If so, when it's connected that way, can you press the home button on the iPhone to engage Siri and, if so, can she "hear" you?