Audi Q3 price, long term review, first report – Introduction

Greater is best is an idea embedded within the minds of conventional Indian automobile consumers who’ve universally equated dimension with worth. So the larger the automobile, the extra they’re completely satisfied to pay for it and, conversely, if it’s smaller, the prospect of sticker shock is all the time larger, particularly with a luxurious automobile. However it’s a mindset that’s slowly altering because of a fast-maturing client who, after coping with chaotic visitors and parking hassles, sees the worth in slipping into one thing that’s good and compact, however isn’t brief on luxurious. And it’s automobiles just like the Audi Q3 that may catalyse that change in mindset. 

Small dimension is welcome in our ever-crowded Autocar car parking zone.

After driving the Q3 for a month, it’s proved to be the right city SUV for a number of causes. Let’s begin with the Q3’s compact dimension and strong construct, which provides you the boldness to tangle with cabs, bikers and aggressive bus drivers. The Q3 is slim sufficient so that you can squeeze previous gaps you’ll suppose twice about in a much bigger automobile, and sitting good and excessive, you’ll be able to spot these gaps simply. And one such hole I attempt to wiggle by way of virtually each day on the drive house is on the Mahalaxmi station sign in Mumbai, the place the free left flip is perpetually obstructed by a slew of automobiles making an attempt to wedge their approach into an additional lane to be able to flip proper and beat the fleeting inexperienced mild. However every so often, you get a niche so slender that solely a compact automobile can nimbly manoeuvre by way of. Sitting excessive up within the Q3’s elevated seat, I can higher decide the perimeters of the automobile while the frenzied beeps of  proximity sensors inform me how harrowingly shut I’m to different automobiles and bikes. 

Excellent trip high quality smoothens out Mumbai roads.

Then there’s the soft trip, now an Audi signature that the Ingolstadt model has seized from Mercedes. On Mumbai roads, it’s truthful to say Audis have the very best trip and the Q3 isn’t any exception. It’s a mix of well-judged damping, which is barely on the softer facet and the comparatively excessive profile 235/55 R18 tyres, that are your greatest defence in opposition to atrociously paved roads. And being an SUV, there’s adequate floor clearance to not fear in regards to the new rash of pace breakers sure areas of Mumbai are infested with.

The two.0-litre TFSI engine within the Q3’s ‘40’ spec produces 190hp and 320Nm of torque, which is modest for a 2-litre and efficiency feels simply that. There’s no sturdy rush of acceleration however for day-to-day driving, this engine is completely calibrated to provide a clean step-off and even the 7-speed DSG  transmission is among the smoothest twin-clutch models round. The extra you drive the Q3, the extra you realise its health for function, which is to supply a really relaxed driving expertise.  

Decrease down plastics really feel arduous and lack a luxurious really feel.

Our new workplace’s parking space is sort of tight, and when there are extra automobiles than obtainable areas, now we have to do a little bit of jostling to suit all of them in. That’s while you respect the compact footprint of the Q3. It doesn’t stick out neither is it vast, which lets you squeeze one other automobile in the identical spot.

I haven’t sat within the Q3’s again seat but and for now am having fun with the well-contoured and beneficiant driver’s seat, which doesn’t provide the impression that it is a compact SUV. Nevertheless, what betrays the Q3’s place in Audi’s Q-range pecking order are bits of arduous plastic across the seat base and on the decrease sprint. It doesn’t look low cost, however should you put it within the context of the Skoda Kodiaq, which feels extra plush within the cabin, you might have larger expectations from an Audi, nevertheless small it’s. 

Entrance seats very comfy with beneficiant cushioning.

The opposite concern with the Q3 is the quite dated digital screens, which lack the crisp and vibrant graphics you discover within the competitors. The as soon as much-vaunted ‘digital cockpit’ falls brief on content material and wow issue, and clearly, the Audi infotainment system is a era behind, however that’s not all the time a nasty factor. In contrast to fashionable dashboards the place there may be not a button in sight, the Q3 has loads of them for crucial features just like the aircon, which you might be all the time twiddling with. The steering-mounted buttons, too, are bodily and that feels satisfying to make use of not like the capacitive contact controls in fashionable Mercs.

Sure, the Q3 feels a bit old-school from the within, nevertheless it additionally has a reassuring familiarity and ease of use, which makes you are feeling at house each time you drive it.

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