Not available in the USA, this would give the Prius Prime a run for the money: Understand that sometimes EU specs don't translate well when meeting EPA standards. However, I've admired the Golfs running around the streets in Huntsville. It really is a practical, sized car. Bob Wilson
Thanks! It kinda highlights the difference between EU and EPA specs: metric 2017 A3 e-tron 2017 Prius Prime 1 MPGe 83 113 2 kWh/100 mi 41 25 3 MPG 34 54 4 EV range 16 mi 25 mi 5 Total range 380 mi 640 mi 6 Gas premium regular 7 Volume 102 ft{3} 111 ft{3} The Audi A3 e-tron looks like the Lexus versions of a Prius, bloated, overweight, and over priced. Bob Wilson
"The Audi A3 e-tron looks like the Lexus versions of a Prius, bloated, overweight, and over priced." Couldn't that be said of all Audi, Lexus, and other luxury versions of mainstream models. The VW/Audi is a faster car than the prime; it is a power hybrid. VW might have done a better job of packaging the battery, but we don't get the ICE A3 hatch to compare its volume.
I checked the Audi sales trend: Dashboard summary May 2017 | PriusChat 400 - 02/17 414 - 03/17 301 - 04/17 294 - 05/17 Not a good trend for Audi but not an efficient plug-in either. The Prius Prime is selling better. I've posted comments to some of the EU sites asking how they see the Golf GTE vs Audi A3-etron. One site suggested the Audi was more efficient but they may have been comparing to an earlier Golf GTE. One thing in the Golf GTE video, the '30 mile EV range' tends to be common with metrics we see in the EPA data. So the 16 miles for the Audi A3-etron suggests it is especially lame. Bob Wilson
The 30 miles range for the Golf comes from the NEDC figure of 50km. On the EPA it will do worse. It is 135 pounds lighter than the Audi, might have more efficient tires as OEM, and came out later, so it could have some performance tweaks, but none of that is going to result in substantially better EV range than the Audi on the EPA. Just The Facts: Volkswagen Golf GTE It's a drive train similar to Hyundai's. The motor output goes through the transmission. So there is shifting in EV mode. Seems EV Auto, the blended mode is the best for economy, but some won't like the 40mph electric limit. Volkswagen Golf GTE Review (2017) | Autocar Audi A3 Sportback e-tron Review (2017) | Autocar They cover MPG, but never measured pure EV range, perhaps it truly isn't as important to the EU car buyer.
About the only thing that VAG got right with that car's hybrid system is the packaging - with a similar fuel tank size, same battery size, and almost identical rear suspension design, in a significantly smaller car, they have a more usable cargo area than the Prime. (The Prime's cargo area really is a joke.) Otherwise, the efficiency is just dreadful. Performance is apparently decent, but it's still slower than the diesel, and significantly slower than the straight gasoline model. This means that performance driving enthusiasts won't see it as a car where the hybrid system makes it better, they'll see it as a car where it's tolerable despite the hybrid system. (Similarly, the VW diesels were seen as the less boring way - not non-boring, just less boring - to get more MPG by that crowd.)
I've posted requests to the 'usual suspects' to do a head-to-head comparison of the Prius Prime and Golf GTE. The reason is both the Prime and GTE have similar sized, kWh batteries and reported EV range. I'm expecting the ICE drivetrain to be less efficient but the acceleration better. Noise is another metric I'd like to see compared since I drove our Prime this morning and it is quiet. I suspect it is only a matter of time, 2-3 months, before someone figures out these two need to be head-to-head compared ... or a little longer to see if VW brings the GTE to the USA. Bob Wilson
Yeah, the reported EV range is on different test cycles, one of which is notoriously easy. To compare apples to apples, the GTE's 50 km NEDC range (which has always been 50 km, as has the A3 e-tron, which is the same thing) should be compared to the Prius Plug-In Hybrid's 63 km NEDC range. And, then, of course, the Prius Plug-In Hybrid has different modes than the Prime, likely reducing the NEDC range, because the EV and EV City modes on the Plug-In Hybrid are both closer in concept to the Prime's EV Auto mode.
A little light on all the technical details, I found a Prime vs Kia vs GTE review: Also: LATE, written report: Toyota Prius PHV vs Kia Optima PHEV vs Volkswagen Golf GTE | Auto Express NOTE: replaced all COMMA (,) with INVERTED-COMMA (') to workaround the table tags that use COMMA as a separator. Volkswagen Golf GTE Advance Toyota Prius PHV Business Edition Plus Kia Optima PHEV 1 On the road price/total as tested £29'635/£31'525 £29'195/£31'240 £33'995/£34'540 2 Residual value (after 3yrs/36'000) £14'339/48.4% £12'204/41.8% £13'190/38.8% 3 Depreciation £15'287 £16'991 £20'805 4 Annual tax liability std/higher rate £577/£1'155 £569/£1'139 £611/£1'222 5 Annual fuel cost (12k/20k miles) £1'346/£2'243 £1'067/£1'779 £1'248/£2'080 6 Ins. group/quote/road tax 26/£544/£140 21/£621/£140 25/£939/£140 7 Cost of 1st/2nd/3rd service £288 (2yrs) £185/£335/£185 £429 (3yrs/30'000) 8 9 Length/wheelbase 4'276/2'630mm 4'645/2'700mm 4'855/2'805mm 10 Height/width 1'484/1'799mm 1'470/1'760mm 1'465/1'860mm 11 Engine 4cyl in-line/1'395cc 4cyl in-line/1'798cc 4cyl in-line/1'999cc 12 Electric motor power/battery 75kW/Li-ion 68kW/Li-ion 68kW/Li-ion 13 Peak power/revs 201/5'000 bhp/rpm 121/N/A bhp/rpm 202/6'000 bhp/rpm 14 Peak torque/revs 350/1'600 Nm/rpm 142/3'600 Nm/rpm 375/2'300 Nm/rpm 15 Transmission 6-spd twin-clutch/fwd CVT/fwd 6-spd auto/fwd 16 Fuel tank capacity/spare wheel 40 litres/foam 43 litres/foam 55 litres/foam 17 Boot capacity (seats up/down) 272/1'162 litres 191/1'204 litres 307 litres/N/A 18 Kerbweight/payload/towing weight 1'615/500/1'500kg 1'530/325kg/N/A 1'780/420kg/N/A 19 Turning circle/drag coefficient 10.9 metres/N/A 10.2 metres/0.25Cd N/A/0.25Cd 20 Basic warranty (miles)/recovery 3yrs (60'000)/1yr 5yrs (100'000)/1yr 7yrs (100'000)/1yr 21 Service intervals/UK dealers Variable/223 10'000 miles (1yr)/208 10'000 miles (1yr)/187 22 Driver Power manufacturer/dealer pos. 24th/28th 16th/4th 14th/9th 23 NCAP: Adult/child/ped./assist/stars 94/89/65/71/5 (2012) 92/82/77/85/5 (2016) 89/86/67/71/5 (2015) 24 25 0-60/30-70mph 6.8/5.8 secs 10.7/10.6 secs 8.1/7.4 secs 26 30-50mph in 3rd/4th 2.9/4.1 secs 4.2 secs* 3.4/4.5 secs 27 50-70mph in 5th/6th 5.8/7.3 secs 6.4 secs* 6.9/9.8 secs 28 Top speed/rpm at 70mph 138mph/2'250rpm 101mph/N/A 119mph/N/A 29 Braking 70-0/60-0/30-0mph 44.9/29.1/8.5m 48.4/38.0/10.7m 51.2/37.0/10.6m 30 Noise outside/idle/30/70mph 62/38/65/71dB 57/46/64/70dB 71/53/63/71dB 31 Auto Express econ (mpg/mpl)/range 47.3/10.4/416 miles 57.2/12.6/541 miles 48.9/10.8/592 miles 32 Govt economy combined/weighted 53.4/156.9mpg 82.0/282.0mpg 57.6/176.6mpg 33 Govt economy combined/weighted 11.7/34.5mpl 18.0/62.0mpl 12.7/38.8mpl 34 Actual/claimed CO2/tax bracket 160/40g/km/9% 114/22g/km/9% 133/37g/km/9% 35 36 Airbags/Isofix/park sensors/camera Seven/yes/yes/£265 Seven/yes/£250/yes Six/yes/yes/yes 37 Auto box/stability/adap. cruise/AEB Yes/yes/yes/yes Yes/yes/yes/yes Yes/yes/no/no 38 Climate control/leather/heated seats Yes/£1'750/yes Yes/no/yes Yes/no/yes 39 Metallic paint/LED lights/keyless go £570/yes/£365 £545/yes/yes £545/yes/yes 40 Sat-nav/USB/DAB radio/Bluetooth Yes/yes/yes/yes Yes/yes/yes/yes Yes/yes/yes/yes Their ranking was: #1 - Golf GTE #2 - Prius Prime #3 - Kia Optima Bob Wilson
