TREAD softly and carry a big bat is something Audi has learnt as the best way to introduce its new automotive tricks.

It argues that technology that can creep up quietly and not alarm consumers will reach a broader audience. Which is exactly what it plans with the plug-in hybrid A3 Sportback e-tron.

It’s the first of two plug-in hybrids Audi plans for the next 12 months. The Q7 version arrives in the first half of next year.

Both can go the distance with emission-free motoring and are so similar – except the purchase price – as their more conventional sister variants that nobody needs to know the difference.

That high initial cost means calculator exercises will show it may not make much financial sense.

But the e-tron reaches into the hearts of environmentally and technologically enriched motorists, finding a home where price has no value against doing the right thing by the planet.

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