Audi‘s stop-start technology is in new territory: it’s now been developed for automatics.
BusinessCar tested it on the first application, the A3 Sportback, though the system is now available on Audi automatics across most of the range.
Opting for S tronic over a standard 1.6 TDI manual raises CO2 and fuel efficiency, but not by much – the manual falls into the trusty sub-110g/km category while the auto comes in at 112g/km, and official figures for efficiency show a slight decrease from 68.9mpg to 65.7mpg.
A stop-start auto is weird to begin with, when you’re used to a clutch activating the engine restart, because there is no clutch. And if the car is in drive but stopped and you remove the footbrake, it moves forward slightly, which is surprising at first. Once you get used to these nuances, it’s a breeze to drive. For lazy drivers (like me), an auto green car wins out against a manual every time.
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