Sounds to me like another Audi nightmare. But then Japanese engineers/repairpersons are the world's finest and they will find a way to make this thing work until it is discontinued for lack of sales/high repair/operating costs.

Japan leads us (US) in their generation of electrical power using nuclear, a HUGE plus. So at least this little German toy will not be adding to the atmospheric pollution as it would here with our stinking coal-fired plants.

That the average auto trip in Japan is just short of 5km helps too. But then there are also many miles of magnifi-cent highways. One has to time one's trips in exquisite detail to avoid being caught when the nation's roads become vast parking lots.

Noz, not sure what Audi nightmare you are referring to. They have been on a roll, (sales and design wise) and I expect this car to give the Mini some serious competition. Every fossil fuel burning car adds to air pollution so the fact it has a plug in capability does not mean much. It will still pollute, even in perfect Japan.

Audi has climbed steadily up the inital quality charts in the last years while Mercedes has sunk to the bottom. Perhaps traffic in Japan will improve as more mechanics will be unemployed due to Audi's superior reliability.

Funny you mention it, I've been having a recurring Audi nightmare: I wake up screaming in a cold sweat at the mere thought that I may ever have to drive a non-Audi product ever again.