Audi Ireland has launched its new plug-in hybrid Q3 crossover for the Irish market, and it's priced from €46,305.
245hp combined power output
The Q3 45 TFSIe, as it's officially called, will be available in both the conventional Q3 bodystyle and as the more rakish-looking Sportback. Both versions use the same plug-in hybrid powertrain, which combines a 150hp 1.4-litre petrol turbo engine with a 13.0kWh battery pack, for a combined 245hp and 400Nm of torque.
The Audi Q3 45 TFSIe can accelerate from 0-100km/h in a brisk 7.3 seconds, and has a top speed of 210km/h. More importantly, the official CO2 emissions figure is just 33-38g/km, and the official fuel economy figure is 1.4-1.7 litres per 100km - that's 201mpg, but you'll have to be plugging in a lot to get anywhere near that. Audi claims that will a full battery and a full tank of petrol, the Q3 PHEV has a total driving range of 710km.
Four hours to charge the battery
The battery recharges at 3.6kW, and takes just under four hours to fully charge from flat. You can monitor and control the charging from the myAudi app, as well as remotely controlling the air conditioning. The e-tron Charging Service card, which comes with the Q3, gives drivers access to more than 155,000 public charging points across Europe, and more than 1,000 in Ireland.
The electric range on a fully charged battery is a claimed 51km, and Audi says that the maximum speed in electric mode is 140km/h. By default, the Q3 will start up in Auto-Hybrid mode, which juggles the petrol and battery power sources to best possible effect, including taking route information from the optional navigation system and the data about the near surroundings from the vehicle sensors. Take your foot of the throttle, and the Q3 TFSIe automatically coasts with the engine off. Needless to say, there's an EV mode that locks you into electric-only power (as long as there's enough charge in the battery), as well as an S for Sport mode, that gives you the maximum 330Nm torque of the electric motor for up to ten seconds.
10mm higher ride height
The brakes can recover as much as 40kW of power at the peak point of regenerative braking while the battery, which is stored under the floor, has its own dedicated cooling system which can be coupled to the car's air conditioning system for maximum output. Because of the battery's size, the Q3 TFSIe actually has a 10mm higher ride height than the standard model and you can choose alloy wheels from 18 to 20-inch sizes.
Inside, there's a 10.1-inch MMI infotainment screen and a capacitive steering wheel which can tell if you're holding it or not when the optional radar-guided cruise control is engaged. Audi's pre-crash sensing system, emergency automated braking, and lane-keeping steering all come as standard. The only major compromise is the boot space, which shrinks to 380 litres for both models. It can be expanded, by folding the back seats, to 1,375 litres in the standard Q3 and 1,250 litres in the Q3 Sportback.