Audi: the new plug-in hybrid also recharges on the march. How it works

Middle ground between purely electric mobility and that based on combustion engines, thePlug-in hybridi.e. with rechargeable battery from an external source (unlike the so -called Full Hybrid, which provides only the recharging with the recovery of energy during braking), constitutes a valid solution to bring down consumption and emissions, but to a condition: connection to the network to restore The level of energy in the accumulator must be done with constancy and regularity. Otherwise, a Download batteryconsumption increases compared to those of a similar car equipped with the combustion engine only, due to the greater weight of the vehicle generated by the presence of a robust electric component (engine, management electronics, good capacity battery and charging system). In the reality of the facts, as many managers of company fleets have also found, The average user of plug-in hybrids is not very inclined to devote himself to chargingwhich requires time, perseverance and expense; If you do not have a home socket or a business system, you have to search for the columns on public land and leave the car connected for a prolonged time (especially if it is systems With maximum power of 22 kWas often happens in the city) and repeat the operation frequently. To remedy this inconvenience, Audi has adopted an advanced operation of the most recent generation of its plug-in hybrid system, which deserves an in-depth analysis.

the choice to you

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In the current Audi price list there are plug-in hybrid models in seven product lines, from3 Sportback to the large SUV Q8. The technical scheme of the range is common and first of all provides for the adoption of A turbo petrol engine from the TFSI seriesdeclined in various power levels from 150 to 340 hp and modified to adopt the Miller cycle instead of the traditional eight (ensuring more efficiency thanks to a shorter compression phase than expansion). This is coupled to A permanent magnet electric motor from 80 to 100 kW of power, mounted downstream of the thermal one and integrated in the gearbox (S Tronic or Tiptronic at 6, 7 or 8 reports). A mising clutch allows the gear with the electric traction only. The system is completed by a Lithium ion battery of generous capacity (beyond 25 kWhcomparable to that of a utilitarian only electric such as Dacia Spring), capable of storing more energy than the past thanks to the use of prismatic cells based on a new chemistry. The accumulator can be recharged by an external source using the 11 kW on -board charger In about two and a half hours, but also through the energy recovery in the slowdown phases or, again, through one choice Offer to the driver.

It recharges itself

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The main mode of use of the Audi Phev is, in fact, the defined one “Hybrid car“, in which the electric and thermal motor divide the work on the basis of their” skills “, with the TFSI engaged more at higher speeds, the electric to the lower ones and the collaboration of both in the acceleration phases and a high request for power. In these situations, the electric engine also allows you to fill the slight delay of response that characterizes the engines with turbocharger. The management of the system plan the best operating strategy Based on the characteristics of the route, traffic and driving style. Those who hold the steering wheel, however, have the opportunity to select, through the MMI multimedia system, two operating options, called Battery Hold and Battery Charge. The first in fact excludes the use of the energy accumulated in the battery, preserving it for subsequent uses, for example when, after a trip to the highway, you enter the city and you want to move in electricity only (with an autonomy from 60 to 80 km, depending on the models); the second, unpublished, provides for the charge of the battery on marchto forfeit energy to be used later. The difference compared to other systems is given by its operating logic, which allows you to choose through an infotainment screen to set the level of energy you want to obtain, starting from scratch and reaching up to 75% of the battery chargethanks to the contribution of the TFSI thermal engine that behaves, in the low load phases, as a sort of generator. This allows you to restore the battery energy level without having to resort to a column. Obviously, the petrol consumption increases, but not to involve a higher cost than that of a public charging point, especially if you use a high -power HPC column, where, unless you have a subscription, you can easily spend 0.80 euros per kWh (therefore, a “full” actual “full”. an expense of at least 16 euros). Of course, from an environmental point of view it is not an ideal strategy, because the greater use of petrol involves higher carbon dioxide emissions, but the “damage” goes is perhaps compensated by the possibility of moving in only electric mode just where the problem of pollution is more serious, that is, in urban areas. And, in any case, the Audi system allows you to avoid that, due to laziness or objective difficulties, the battery of a plug-in never or almost never recharged, with operating costs and release of higher emissions in all circumstances.