Audi’s new baby SUV is set to be a hit as it’s a compact premium offering at a tempting price.
Instantly recognisable as an Audi, the five-seat Q3 sits below the Q5 in price yet manages to make the larger ‘5’ appear unnecessary. The big seller in Ireland will be the €34,650 (on the road) front-wheel drive, 140bhp, tax band ‘B’ 2-litre TDi.
More capable ‘Quattro’ all-wheel drive versions in TSFi (petrol) and diesel (TDi) form the rest of the range. The reality of residual value will push most buyers to the entry-level diesel.
Built on the same platform as the cheaper VW Tiguan Q3’s exterior is disarmingly curvy and instantly familiar as a ‘Q’ car - despite being a brand new model. Smart looking light clusters, subtle creases plus of course the very recognisable four-ring grille make the Q3 stand out from the VW as a superior offering.
Inside the cabin you find the obvious Audi DNA and switchgear but on closer examination you’ll see greater attention to detail. The interior lighting for example is very classy for a vehicle this size. Seating is ideal for four adults with plenty of headroom in the back and a surprising amount of legroom too. Two adults and three kids will comfortably fit in the cabin. Plus should you need to squirrel away things the relatively big 460 litre boot makes that easy. The driving position is good with a nice high seating position.
On a recent road test in the hills around Zurich Q3 proved to be a sporty experience. Q3 has a firm ride to appeal to enthusiastic drivers, though it could do with a faster steering rack to make twisty roads more interesting. In Ireland 17” alloys will be standard but 16s may be a better choice for drivers who spend a lot of time on poorer roads. Adaptive damping is available and this can aid the ride comfort to a great degree, depending on the selected setting.
A manual six-speed gearbox is standard with a seven-speed S-Tronic paddle shift automatic available. All four engines coming to Ireland are 2-litre four-cylinder units (140bhp TDi, 177bhp TDi, 170TFSi and 211bhp TFSi). All engines feature start/stop technology to help reduce emission and fuel consumption. The entry level 140 bhp TDi, Audi says, will average 54 mpg. It was quite eager, if a little noisy compared to the 170bhp TFSi Quattro version I also tested. For old money and low mileage drivers, petrol power is still more refined. The star Q3 sadly for now won’t be coming to Ireland in the near future and it was the very entertaining 2.5 litre TFSi. I drove a pre-production 311bhp prototype on some challenging alpine roads and grinned from ear to ear. It makes a beautiful induction roar when accelerating hard and works well with the paddle shift gearbox.
Audi’s Q3 is being built in SEAT’s factory in Martorell Spain. The VW group owned Spanish firm began production in June and is building the car alongside SEATs. There are two comprehensive specification levels for Irish cars SE and S Line with a €3,300 price walk between them. All of Audi’s latest in-car technologies we’ve seen recently like adaptive headlights, wireless in-car Internet hot spot for up to eight devices, 3-D Google live mapping and more feature on the options list.
Q3 is an excellent machine that goes to the top of the class in the relatively new compact premium SUV sector.
Michael Sheridan
