Pressing forward with its efforts to improve average fuel economy by 20 percent by 2012, Audi has announced that it will introduce a start and stop system along with a new efficiency program built into the onboard computer to some of its models this summer. Of course, other carmakers like BMW have been offering similar systems on their cars for quite some time now, but better late than never. The start and stop system promises to lower fuel consumption on Audi models by about 0.2lt per 100 km and CO2 emissions by around 5 g/km.
Audi said that the system will make its debut in the A3 1.4 TFSI with manual transmission and in the A4 and A5 with 2.0-litre engines and manual gearshift with other models scheduled to follow by the end of the year.
The start-stop system reduces consumption by shutting down the engine once the car has come to a stop, the gear lever is in neutral and the driver has released the clutch pedal. Once the driver engages the clutch, the engine starts up again.
The second new feature that Audi has developed is the on-board computer with the efficiency program, an addition to the Audi Driver Information System. Anything that has to do with consumption appears in the center display, with the computer giving the driver tips for saving fuel, depending on the driving situation and driving style.
Furthermore, there's a newly designed gearshift indicator that signals to the driver when to shift for optimal fuel economy while another display in the efficiency program identifies the extra energy consumed by comfort features like air conditioning and seat heating and indicates their share in fuel consumption.
