No word yet about NZ introduction timing.

THE SMALLEST offer in Audi’s sports utility portfolio has joined the plug-in hybrid club.

There’s no word from Audi New Zealand about when the Q3 TFSIe will become available here, but it goes on sale in Europe in March.

The new edition uses a 1.4 TSI turbo petrol engine aided by an 85kW electric motor.

Power for the electric half of the drivetrain comes from a 13kWh battery, which when fully-charged gives the Q3 TFSIe an electric-only range of 51km on the WLTP cycle. Combined power is 182kW, with 400Nm of torque, and Audi claims a 0-100km/h time of 7.3 seconds.

The plug-in hybrid tech is available in both the standard Q3 and in the Q3 Sportback and is badged as a '45 TFSIe' in current Audi badging-speak.

Audi claims both return figures of 32 to 39g/km of CO2 and fuel economy of 1.4 litres per 100km.

The Q3 plug-in’s commitment to eco-minded motoring is quite pronounced. It will always start-up in electric mode unless it's in very cold conditions and, when running in 'Auto Hybrid' mode, an engine-off coasting feature will often enact, which helps to save a little extra fuel. The computers that decide how best to juggle electric and petrol power can also take info from the sat-nav to predict how best to deploy that power.

There is, of course, the option to charge the battery while driving, and there's an S setting for the gearbox which allows brief bursts of maximum torque, gauged to be 330Nm, released from the electric motor for hard acceleration.

Audi suggests the brake energy recuperation system can recover 40kW of power during braking. Charging from a home socket with 3.6kW output, the Q3's battery can be recharged in just under four hours, and you can use the MyAudi smartphone app to monitor and schedule that charging.

The battery pack does impact on boot space – Audi cites it at 380 litres – but the cabin and exterior styling are essentially unchanged, aside from the addition of an extra cover for the charging point.