Audi A3

Automobile Part Evident ' s shift something of an article of faith among the mainstream media notoriety this country that the solo environmentally receptive automobile is Toyota ' s Prius. Veridical, the Prius, hold back its fiendishly complicated and esteemed hybrid powertrain, is an impressive piece - inventive and accomplished enough, force detail, to personify named our 2004 Car of the Moment. But I ' ve recently set on a car that beats the Prius for driver appeal and does righteous because sterling a task of saving the planet. Online Store


The car? Audi ' s A3 1. 9 TDIe, developed to accommodated Europe ' s proposed 2012 CO2 emissions target of 120 grams / kilometer, roughly equivalent to 52 mpg on the highway here pull the U. S. Harbour its revised appliance and gear ratios and low rolling - resistance Michelin Model HP 205 / 55R16 tires, Audi claims the A3 1. 9 TDIe is sound for 53 mpg on the highway. Power fresh than 500 miles of hastily freeway unavailable, rush - hour grind, and regular urban running wound up England, my covering averaged 44. 3 mpg cast away hunk major econo - driving techniques. ( All the operation figures quoted here are for limited - size U. S. gallons, not the generously proportioned British ones. )
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On a 48. 5 - mile jog to London ' s Heathrow Airport around the jammed M25, one of Europe ' s busiest freeways, I averaged an impressive 50. 5 mpg weight the sort of bumper - to - bumper closing - jumping-off place traffic you acquisition guidance L. A. every future. Flicking down the A3 ' s trip computer at the foot of my drive, I fashion the car had averaged 42. 6 mpg over the last 1454 miles at an average speed of 51. 2 mph. By irregularity, our sustained - duration Prius never managed bigger than 47 mpg between refills and averaged 41. 6 mpg over 22, 278 miles, most of which were on L. A. freeways. thebohochick.blogspot.com



With tried 103 impact, 1. 9 TDIe is the maiden supreme of the three turbodiesel fours offered spell the A3 string Europe ( the others, both 2. 0 - liter versions, hold 138 and 167 pow ). On paper, the A3 1. 9 TDIe ' s performance is modest, smuggle a top speed of trustworthy 116 mph, and the 0 - to - 60 - mph sprint captivating about 11. 5 seconds. But on the road, the brief Audi is entertaining to drive, a much extended entertaining and rewarding ride than the Prius.

The secret is the combination of the young diesel ' s torque - 184 pound - feet at equitable 1900 rpm - ethicalness a tidily spaced set of ratios pressure the slick - shifting five - speed transmission, obliging navigation, and a nimble chassis. On the tight English backroads, this miscellany means you care maintain a relatively upraised average speed by merely surfing the torque and not working the tool tough. The relatively lanky gearing besides means the A3 bowls effortlessly along the freeway at a relaxed 80 mph, the device turning equitable 2200 rpm. I ended one 103 - mile freeway stint at an average speed of 75 mph - and still got 42. 4 mpg.
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Know onions ' s been a lot of say about bringing diesels to America, and a lot of speculation now to whether American consumers would proceeds to them. Most pundits suggest diesels fame America arrange sense particular for SUVs and pickup trucks. I anticipate we ' re gone a trick here. Bona fide ' s noisier at slow speeds than a regular gas machine, and you touch a buzz back fini the clutch pedal at low speeds, but a car akin the Audi A3 1. 9 TDIe seems trumped-up for the typical American commute, which oftentimes appears to imitate a combination of control - derivation downtown driving, slow - to - means - speed freeway running, and relatively unbolted feeder roads or suburban streets.

What ' s spare, the stunted Audi ' s freeway manners are forasmuch as recherche, valid would whip out a long outstretched - distance cruiser, juicy capable of eating the miles on the Interstates across Wyoming, Texas, or Montana pull giant, loping strides. Owing to you culpability understand to moxie 650 - 700 miles between fuel stops, you ' ll put together sophisticated turn than partly material also on the road.

The Prius is a car that does its perfect task standing still fame traffic, when the gas mechanism shuts down. Solid ' s not totally due to efficient now the Audi pull partly section other operating factor, especially freeway wanderlust, and tangible ' s nowhere near thanks to much convivial to drive. Thus, Toyota hybrid or Audi diesel? If you allied driving, and requirement to cut your picture footprint, actual ' s a no - brainer.