Used 2016 Audi A3 Sportback e-tron Consumer Reviews
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Perfect Fit
Jim C., 09/29/2016
updated 10/13/2023
2016 Audi A3 Sportback e-tron 1.4 TFSI PHEV Premium Plus 4dr Hatchback (1.4L 4cyl Turbo gas/electric hybrid 6AM)
94 of 94 people found this review helpful
We bought this car for my wife. She's wanted a plug-in electric as she has driven hybrids since 2007. We looked at the e-tron and the Volt. She was impressed with the Volt but after driving the e-tron, she said there was no comparison. She has never stated that a car was fun to drive. She did after driving the Audi. To her a car is an appliance. There is compromises with the e-tron particularly wit the range. In our case my wife has a 5 mile commute to work. The 16 miles of electric is sufficient. So far, she has ranged from a low of 16 miles, (90+ degrees out, AC running non-stop) to 23 miles (70 out, minimal AC). On a trip from our home in Hershey Pa to Charlottesville, VA we ran it on hybrid mode and got 42 mpg. Other than that road trip, she's not needed gas. It's been 4 weeks since we last filled it, driven 400 miles and it's still on Full. If the etron fits your needs - buy it! If you need more range, then the Volt is an excellent car too. In our case, with a short daily commute, the Audi is a perfect fit. With discounts, credits etc. we are in for $37k on the Audi versus $35k for the Volt. But we got power seats & moon roof for that difference in price. Update - We took a road trip from Hershey PA to Hackettstown, NJ. Approx. 100 mi. each way. We averaged 45 mpg running in Hybrid mode. We've now learned all the nuances of the selectable driving modes. For road trips, we put it in Hybrid mode to optimize the gas/electric mileage. For the daily commute, she leaves it in the default EV (electric only) and runs without the gas engine. Update 8 months of ownership - First off the gas engine's turbo blew at 3500 mi. Not a good sign. We've had it back awhile but since my wife uses it mostly on electric it hasn't been truly tested. As for the electric - it's great. She goes 600-800 miles between gas fill ups due to her short work commutes. She's averaging 89.0 mpg! Great little car. Now let's see. Great car that fits our needs perfectly! Update 18 months of ownership - the car has been perfect since the turbo issue. It's extremely reliable gets great mileage. My wife is up to 110 mpg since she can commute to work and back on electric. The interior is still perfect. The handling rock solid. My wife loves this car like none before it. She loves to drive it. She has said she'll get a new one when she's ready. Great car that fits our needs. Update after 2+ years - the car has not had an issue since the turbo issue. We are at 15,000 miles. Average mpg is 110. with the short work commute and most days it's electric only. Great little car, versatile with the sportback and a blast to drive. Update @ 5 years, 35k - perfect car. Not a single problem since the initial one. Had a recall on the battery housing. Upon inspection, Audi decided to put a new battery in! It had a tiny hole in a seal. It’s like new! What I have to question is why Audi does not bring the new version to the US. It’s been out in .Europe for 2 years. We’d buy one in a heartbeat. Update 6 years - the car is still in perfect condition with 54k miles. Runs great. There was a recall due to seals on the battery casing developing holes. They found a microscopic hole on ours and gave us a new battery free! That’s an $8000 battery! It’s like getting a new car! Why oh why does Audi not bring the updated version in from Europe?
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Fantastic technology
Jenci bergen, 04/25/2016
2016 Audi A3 Sportback e-tron 1.4 TFSI PHEV Prestige 4dr Hatchback (1.4L 4cyl Turbo gas/electric hybrid 6AM)
36 of 37 people found this review helpful
I sold my VW Jetta sportwagon TDI (which I loved) to take advantage of newer technology and safety features. It took me a couple tanks of gas to figure out how to use the computer system...but now that I understand, the results have been very impressive. I'm in sales and spend a lot of time on the highway...which is not the best place for a hybrid, but my fuel economy is still 40% better than my diesel. If I'm taking a short trip, I leave the computer in the default EV mode. Otherwise, I immediately put the system in the hybrid mode and the computer does a very effective job of balancing the battery and engine use. With about 5,000 miles on my car, I've been averaging 58 miles per gallon (with a lot of highway driving)....about 20 mpg better than my diesel. If you only drive highway miles, a hybrid might not be the best choice...but if you're like most people, a hybrid does an amazing job. This week I've done mostly local driving and I'm averaging around 74 mpg.
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2016 Audi A3 Sportback e-tron for sale near you
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- 1.4 TFSI PHEV Premium Plug-In Hybrid 4dr HatchbackMSRP: $16,999102 mi away
- 1.4 TFSI PHEV Premium Plus Plug-In Hybrid 4dr HatchbackMSRP: $12,411103 mi away
- 1.4 TFSI PHEV Premium Plug-In Hybrid 4dr HatchbackMSRP: $9,995299 mi away
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A3 e-Tron Prestige Review - Nice Car!
FozCat, 01/18/2017
updated 07/23/2018
2016 Audi A3 Sportback e-tron 1.4 TFSI PHEV Prestige 4dr Hatchback (1.4L 4cyl Turbo gas/electric hybrid 6AM)
26 of 28 people found this review helpful
Update Jul 2018 Just completed 25000 mile service, there was a battery software update performed at no charge during visit. The tires are wearing quicker than I would have expected (Contiental EcoPro?) but other than that no issues. Charging cable issue went away, and dealer can't duplicate the minor cold squeaking issue yet, but there are 20K miles of warranty left. Fuel economy was the same, just over 50mpg combined with 49% battery and 51% gas, we did several long 11 hour drives. Looking at the resale value, it has dipped quite a bit for the 3rd year, which what Edmunds predicted, my guess it would increase (less depreciation) as the price of gas goes up and people get rid of SUV's. Overall we are still satisfied with the car. Update January 2018 Have owned the car 13 Months and it now has 17000 miles. The car is charged nightly and averages a little over 52 MPG overall with the the MMI indicating a little over 51% gas motor/49% electric motor. The car has two issues that need too be addressed in a service appointment next week. First the front end creaks and squeaks over bumps, especially noticeable when slow. Second, there is an issue with either the charging cable or the charging system as intermittently the car will only partially charge after being plugged in, to about 1/2 charge. Overall, we still like the car and find it a good value, and cancelled out Tesla M3 reservation. Update July 2017 Have owned the car for 7 months and driven it 5500 miles. The car has been trouble free and the only warranty issue was the side assist computer was inoperative when I bought the car, and the dealer it fixed with no issue. With mixed driving and plugging in at home nightly and we are averaging over 60 mpg. On battery charge alone we average 18-20 miles. I would not recommend purchasing a level 2 charger for you home as the Audi supplied charger completely recharges in 8 hours. We found a very nice aluminum wall mount that fits the Audi Charger perfectly for $100 on Etsy. We really like the car, especially the adaptive cruise control and lane assist warning. It's very quiet and comfortable. The audio system is first rate. (B&O). The navigation interface (MMI) takes some getting used to. The car had a 6 month trial for the Audi Connect, and I let it expire. The car never loaded the destinations properly from the phone app, and I can't see paying $10 plus a month for google maps. Hopefully with the next version of the software the app and interface will get better. We have a reservation for a Tesla Model 3, and this was to be the bridge car. Welike the Audi enough to consider not getting the Tesla. Original Review Purchased a used A3 e-Tron lease turn in a little over a month ago with 3300 miles. This is my first Audi. It is a very nice car, and so far a good value, especially since the used price reflects the first owners receiving federal and state tax credits. The car is very quiet, comfortable, handles well and efficient. I only have limited access to plug in charging, so I charge it about 3 times per week. With a full charge I normally get 13-17 miles on pure EV mode and in hybrid mode average about 41MPG. The last tank combining 4 plug in charges and a full tank, it averaged just over 51 mpg with mixed hwy (75%)/city (25%) driving. Its not the EPA advertised 83mpgE, but is what I expected based on the reviews I read. I agree as other reviewers have said, if your daily commute is over the pure EV range, just put it in hybrid mode to maximize your plug in charges. The ability to select charge mode at the end a long trip to use EV mode for city commuting, a feature that I heard was discontinued on the 2017 model is also a plus. I also like the clean simpleness of the interior layout and minimizing of buttons, especially the placement of the radio on/off/volume/track select button on the lower console. This car has the adaptive cruise control and pre collision braking, both which are awesome and worth the extra price! The items which I am not so impressed with are the B&O sound system and Audi Connect. The sound system is adequate, but lacks the bass response that my other vehicles have (Bose). The e-tron does not offer memory seats/mirrors which was disappointing since it was the highest Prestige trim level. I still cannot get the Audi Connect App to fully work after talking with the courteous and helpful Audi phone people twice. It wont push directions to the NAV and wont display all the Audi Connect features, nor remotely turn on the A/C. The Nav screen is adequate, but frustrating at times to use the wheel interface to input destinations. Since this car is new tech for VW/Audi, I would recommend purchasing the extended warranty and prepaid maintenance plans. Overall, I am satisfied with the car.
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Best of both worlds!
Mike McKillip, 04/18/2016
updated 04/23/2018
2016 Audi A3 Sportback e-tron 1.4 TFSI PHEV Premium 4dr Hatchback (1.4L 4cyl Turbo gas/electric hybrid 6AM)
11 of 12 people found this review helpful
My last two cars were a 2002 Lexus IS300 sport sedan and a 2008 Prius, and the Audi A3 Etron blends and exceeds the best of both those vehicles. Handling, acceleration, and comfort are excellent, and I have averaged 82 mpg over the first two years of ownership. I appreciate the car's simple, understated (non-dorky) appearance, which is something that seems hard to come by in the plug-in segment. The A3 Etron wasn't cheap to buy, but has been relatively cheap to operate. I buy a tank of gas every 4-6 weeks, and otherwise run around town on electric most of the time. The $4,500 tax credit was very nice, also. Overall, it's a great car, and one I will be happy to own and drive while I wait for the Tesla Model 3.
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Perfect? No. Good Balance? Yep.
Mark Cusac, 03/01/2016
updated 09/06/2019
2016 Audi A3 Sportback e-tron 1.4 TFSI PHEV Premium 4dr Hatchback (1.4L 4cyl Turbo gas/electric hybrid 6AM)
35 of 43 people found this review helpful
Update for 2019. We still have the Audi, but while the car itself hasn't changed, the automotive landscape around it has shifted considerably. This is my first Audi and first plugin. While there are some things that aren't perfect (I'm looking at you radio/climate system), overall this is a very pleasing car. Who buys this thing? Gas is cheap at the time of this review, so you don't buy an Audi plugin to save money, exactly. Who buys it then is someone who likes the handling and style of the Audi and is willing to pay a bit more for it, but still wants to do the environment a good turn. I doubt they'll sell a lot of these. Still, for me, this car fit the bill. And I'm overall quite pleased. I've had it 2 months and still have over half the original tank of gas in it. I'm averaging around 270 MPG. I do that by managing how I drive and making sure to arrange things to drive on electric as much as I can. This clearly is not something everyone will want to do. For shorter trips and my daily commute, I run all EV. For longer trips, I put it into hybrid mode from the start and let the car decide when to use the battery. Performance: hate to disappoint performance enthusiasts, but I've never floored the car. I bought it for a reason and I stick to that. I have hit it harder in EV mode when I pulled out and misjudged the distance of the car coming. It went to around 60% and I was frankly shocked at the acceleration. This is because when you're driving it 'normally,' it seems to be tuned so that it feels weak. But noooooo, noooo, it's not weak. Cornering-wise, this thing is beyond awesome, but that's coming from a guy who has driven non-Audis before. Hey, it helps my MPG to go around corners without braking, right? I have two main complaints, mainly with the controls. Why can't I switch radio stations without taking my eyes off the road? Seriously, there are like 18 radio controls and they all require me to look at one of two LCD displays. Sorry, but I miss being able to hit button #3 and know that I'll get a certain station. They un-invented that. Second, there seems to be no way to just let clean air vent into the car in the winter. For a plugin, this does make a difference. Using the heater costs me miles. When it's not THAT cold out, I'd rather just vent rather than have a choice between a) fogged windows and b) use my battery to get the vent temp up. If you're looking for a racecar, why are you even reading this? if you're looking for the best plugin hybrid, you should probably go see a Volt. But if you are looking for a way to do a good turn for the environment, to do it in style, and to have some pep when you want to let it loose, this car is worth a look. Is it a good value? Depends. Mine cost around $35K after the Fed rebate. This puts in territory of normal small luxury cars and normal plugin hybrids. I'm not sure I'm 'saving' money exactly with this car, but I am pleased I bought it. Update after a year and a half of ownership: I don't have anything major to change and still think it's a 4 star car. I found that by pulling some tricks and putting in some effort I can boost the mileage I get on electric. But that begs the question: why do I have to work harder to get the most out of my Audi? The reason, as far as I can tell, is that Audi sits in a performance mindset, and for them the electric motor is a way to boost performance, with mileage an afterthought. I mean, car has a sports mode that is easily accessible, but no eco mode at all. That's the main gripe, but overall it's a very versatile and economical car. 2019. Now that I can direct compare this to a Model 3 AWD, I can't see any reason why, for the same price range, one would get this Audi today. It was a good car for its time, 3 years ago. But if you want to go green? Tesla wins. If you want acceleration? Ha. If you want luggage space? Close one, the Tesla wins with seats up, though there may be some large objects that fit better in the hatch with the seats down in the Audi. Handling? I've pushed both cars as far as I feel comfortable and while they both are great, the Tesla wins without a doubt. The only benefit to the Audi is that it can do road trips a little bit quicker if you really limit breaks. I am fond of it, but the world has moved on without this car.
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