Like the run-of-the-mill Audi A3 sedan and cabriolet, the Audi A3 Sportback e-tron enters the 2017 model year with a host of changes both inside and out. Unfortunately, though, Audi failed to update our biggest gripes with the plug-in hybrid hatchback: its high cost of entry and its middling gasoline-electric powertrain.
With a starting price of $39,850 for the base Premium trim, the 2017 Audi A3 e-tron sees its base price jump by $1025 compared with its 2016 counterpart. Those extra bills do, however, bring new features: Audi’s digital gauge cluster (dubbed Virtual Cockpit), Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, a panoramic sunroof, a rearview camera, and Audi’s Pre Sense front-collision warning system that can also apply the brakes on its own if necessary.
A refresh wouldn’t be complete without exterior revisions, though, and the e-tron sports revised front and rear fascias, including head- and taillights, that evolve the hatchback’s attractive looks. A $1350 Sport package adds 18-inch, 15-spoke wheels and a roof spoiler, as well as sport seats and a three-spoke flat-bottom steering wheel with paddle shifters.
As before, the 2017 A3 e-tron continues to use a turbocharged 1.4-liter engine and an electric motor to send 204 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque to the front wheels via a six-speed automatic transmission. Although we were able to coax a 2016 A3 e-tron from zero to 60 mph in a respectable 6.5 seconds, we were ultimately un...