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It's slow speed ahead on the launch of Audi's most fuel-efficient car yet,
the hybrid-rivalling A3 Sportback 1.9 TDI e. By JEZ SPINKS.
AudiA3Sportback1.9TDIe
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Call the Guinness Book of World Records because Audi may have just set a new benchmark for the slowest car launch ever.
Over a 366km route that included more freeways and flowing open country roads than city traffic, our car recorded an average speed of just 60km/h.
Such uncharacteristically tardy progress was only inevitable after Audi Australia challenged motoring journalists to produce the best fuel economy figure from its new A3 Sportback 1.9 TDI e.
Of course the A3 Sportback isn’t a new model to Australia, and while the five-door hatchback (or any other Audi) hasn’t previously been available here with the 1.9-litre turbo diesel, it’s the lower-case ‘e’ that’s significant here.
The e stands for efficiency, and on this A3 it marks the arrival of Audi’s most fuel-efficient vehicle yet.
With official figures of 4.5L/100km for fuel consumption and 119g/km for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, the A3 1.9 TDI e is hot on the hybrid-powered heels of the world’s most famous ‘green’ car, the petrol-electric Toyota Prius (4.4L/100km and 104g/km).
Every two-driver team using economical driving techniques achieved figures well below the A3 1.9 TDI e’s official 4.5L/100km. The hilly test route between Adelaide airport and Southern Ocean Lodge on the far side of Kangaroo Island certainly didn’t help to improve economy.
Our A3 e recorded 3.9L/100km, although even this was a comparatively lead-footed effort after the winning car sipped just 3.7 litres of diesel per 100 kilometres.
The A3 1.9 TDI e recorded an even better result of 3.3L/100km last October in the Panasonic Solar Challenge, but the flatter, straighter and longer route between Darwin and Adelaide was more conducive to lower economy figures.
It's unlikely, though, that the Prius would have been able to match any of the fuel figures over such varied terrain.
Hybrids are effective at saving fuel in the city – where they can run on their electric motor only when stationary or moving slowly – but rely on their combustion engines on the open road.
With the A3 1.9 TDI e’s five-speed manual being ushered into its highest gear at the earliest opportunity, the throttle pedal being barely tickled, you’ll have to wait for a full road test for a more definitive verdict on a car that was rarely pushed beyond 2000rpm in the name of optimised fuel efficiency.
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