Audi Q3

The Audi Q3 has a lot riding on its shoulder. It’s the one chosen to lead the brand’s rebirth story in India. With good measure, I think. Originally launched in India in 2013, the Q3 became the ‘accessible’ Audi for a whole bunch of Indians getting their first taste of luxury cars. Times are a little different now, there’s bling and flash with the Mercedes-Benz GLA and a roomier backseat with the BMW X1 LWB. A few electric options also open up in the same price space, such as the BMW iX1 LWB and the Volvo EX30. 

With the Q3, Audi has chosen to do something rather simple — get the basics right. And they’ve nailed that with such sincerity, that it becomes my recommendation if you’re looking to buy a petrol SUV in this space. I say this as someone who strongly considered buying one a couple of years ago, and having tested pretty much every version that was ever on sale in India. 

The new Q3 debuts Audi’s new design philosophy in India. It’s had its share of criticism online, but the SUV looks properly premium in person, with tight character lines that play cleverly with light and shadow. At first glance, it doesn’t look like a ‘small car’, and that’s a great starting point. Viewed  head on, the sleek daytime running lamps and large LED headlights grab attention. It’s something we’ve seen across brands, but Audi has a clever trick up its sleeve here.

Like much more expensive luxury vehicles, you can actually toggle between different daytime running lamp patterns. The DRL has 23 individual lighting elements, and you can select four unique digital light signatures on the touchscreen. 

The crazier bit is the digital matrix LED headlights, that are just 13mm wide, but house 25,600 micro-LEDs that can be individually controlled. Think of this as a very powerful projector. The first party trick is that of customised light projections when you get into the car (you can select between three options on the screen). The second is far more interesting, something Audi calls ‘Orientation Light’ and ‘Lane Light’. In super low light conditions, the vehicle can mark out the lane for you, and even ‘bend’ the light beam while turning — offering an additional layer of safety. That said, on my short drive stint with the Q3, I couldn’t get the chance to experience this in action. 

From the front, the Q3 has a young and sporty vibe to it. The pronounced lines on the bonnet, the fenders gently flaring out and the squat stance gives it a likeable persona. 

Move to the side, and the good old Audi you’ve known for clean and minimal lines shows up. You’d notice a few design details here: the mirror is mounted on the door, the fender cladding is body coloured, and the C-pillar has a gloss black element that makes the roof appear like it’s ‘floating’. A subtle touch of silver on the window trim rounds things off. 

The 18-inch alloy wheels seem to have divided opinions. While it has a sweet dual-tone finish, I am not particularly fond of the design. Do note, that the entry-spec version features a different alloy wheel design. 

The rear is rather simple in comparison. A chunky set of split LED tail lamps, dynamic turn indicators and an illuminated Audi logo add to the lighting drama here. Interestingly, the Q3 is offered with configurable rear lighting signatures and animations abroad (as a very expensive optional extra) and that’s understandably skipped for India. Fancy taking a closer look at its intricate design details? Head to our image gallery where you can check out the Q3 in different angles. 

Audi Q3 colour options include Glacier White, Tambora Grey, Sage Green, Navarra Blue and Mythos Black. Having seen all of them in person, I am partial to the grey and green, they bring out the Q3's tech and outdoorsy persona to the fore nicely. 

Design and Quality

The Q3’s cabin is a driver-focussed space layered with interesting lighting elements and material choices. A minimal dashboard is built around the twin displays, with soft touch leatherette padding up top, and textured cloth up front. The same material treatment carries over to the doors too. Fit and finish is excellent, but the plastics used in the lower half of the dashboard and central switches feel a little basic.

Audi has managed to open up space in the centre console by moving the gear stalk behind the steering wheel. In the process, they have reimagined the lighting/wiper stalks entirely. The left stalk controls the headlamps and wipers whereas the right stalk is the gear selector.

Since the stalks don’t move physically, the experience feels weird at first. But you’d get used to it in no time, indicating, engaging high beams and using the wiper whenever required easily. 

As for the new design of the steering wheel — there are a couple of things that stood out for me. The wheel itself is nice and meaty, and feels good to hold with a rich leather wrap.

The capacitive buttons, however, I’m not a fan of. They lack feedback and I’d prefer the simpler buttons from the older Audis that have a reassuring physical ‘click’. 

Front Seats

Getting in and out of the front seats is easy. It’s not a particularly tall SUV, and even elders in the family will feel comfortable. The seats themselves are upholstered in leather and are accommodating for even larger and heavier builds. As an oversized individual, there was ample support for my shoulder, lower back and underthigh.

Both front seats are powered, but the driver seat additionally gets two memory settings that also remembers the position of the exterior mirrors.

With a good adjustability range and tilt-telescopic adjustment, it’s easy to find a comfortable driving position.

All-round visibility is great, typical of an SUV. However, throughout my drive, I could not shake off the feeling of being in a low slung sedan of sorts, and ended up reminding myself I was driving an SUV because of how connected the driving position feels.The front armrest too is positioned well and can be used by even taller drivers. I like that the height can be adjusted, making it even more convenient. 

Rear Seats

With the driver’s seat set up for my 6ft tall frame, I have just about enough space such that my knees don’t graze the front seats. Any taller, and the rear will start feeling cramped both for knee and headroom. The seatback is also relatively upright, even in its most relaxed position. Footroom and underthigh support is more than adequate, but the same can’t be said for width. With a large transmission tunnel on the floor and a shorter seat squab, the middle seat is best left unoccupied, unless absolutely necessary.

I’d much rather use the central armrest and enjoy the Q3 as a comfortable four-seater. 

Storage and Practicality

In-car practicality is par for the course. All door pockets can hold 1-litre bottles, and there’s ample storage space in the centre console with a couple of cupholders and a deep cubby under the front armrest.

Rear seat occupants get their own cup holders in the armrest and nets behind the front seats to store some small items. 

Charging Options

To charge your devices, the Q3 offers a wireless charger, a 12V socket and two Type-C USB ports up front.

Rear seat occupants get a pair of Type-C USB ports too. 

Boot Space

Claimed bootspace stands at 488-litres. The boot is well shaped, with a floor that’s at the same level as the bumper lip. You can easily accommodate 3-4 cabin-sized trolley bags and have space to spare for more luggage.

For added versatility, the rear seats can be folded in a 60:40 split to carry more luggage. There’s a ski-pass through too (the central seat can be folded away partially) to store longer items. 

There’s nothing that’s mindblowing with the Q3’s features. It’s just a set of essentials done right. Following features are offered as standard on the Audi Q3:

Here’s are a few quick notes on the highlights: 

12.8-inch Touchscreen: Crisp display, easy to use UI and super snappy response times. Hugely customisable homescreen, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay cover the must haves. Android/Apple connectivity were both iffy with my test car, and the only way to get it working reliably was using the cable. 

Also, in pursuit of design purity, the AC controls are buried in the screen only. Tip: use voice commands to change temperature/fan speed, easier and quicker than fiddling with the screen. 

11.9-inch Virtual Cockpit (Digital Driver’s Display): There’s a lot of bezel and very little screen. But it’s thoughtfully executed, the screen is exactly what’s visible through the steering wheel. Like the main screen, clean graphics and snappy response makes this a joy to use. It can also display navigation (either on-board or via Google Maps), making it even more functional. I miss a classic two-dial view, though. 

420W 12-speaker Sonos Sound System: Only available in the higher variant, this sound system is well calibrated to deliver a thorough surround sound experience. Crisp highs, deep lows and satisfying mids, the Q3’s sound system is not tuned to be particularly bright — but will deliver a satisfying experience on those road trips. 

Head-up Display: Offered only on the top-spec Zenith model, this shows the speed, navigation and even warning (like door/hood ajar). Since it’s in your line of sight, you don’t need to be distracted by a screen. 

What’s missing? Well, for starters, seat ventilation is a miss. Also a 360° camera should’ve been part of the package, and not just a reverse camera. 

Standard safety features include:

• 7 airbags [9 airbags on top model]

• Hill hold assist

• Tyre pressure loss indicator

• Front emergency brake assist

• Adaptive cruise control

• Driver attention and fatigue monitor

The Audi Q3 has secured a full five star rating from Euro NCAP, and it’s safe to assume the Indian variant fares no differently. That said, a more comprehensive ADAS suite would’ve been good to have, alongside a proper highline tyre pressure monitoring system with pressure readouts. 

Engine and Performance

The Audi Q3 is offered with a single powertrain. Here’s a snapshot of the specifications: 

Fire up the engine, and it settles into a smooth, noiseless idle. Some credit has to be duly given to the insulation package of the Q3 (including the acoustic glass) that cuts out pretty much everything from the noisy outside world. It’s only when you push the Q3 that you’ll hear a throaty rasp from the engine. 

To begin with, I’m glad the Q3 isn’t front-wheel drive, or employs a token small turbo-petrol engine. Even globally, this is the biggest petrol engine there is with this model. And it’s clearly meant for those who like to get behind the wheel. Interesting fact — the brand director at Audi India shared with us that over 85% of Indian Audi Q3 buyers prefer to drive themselves. That explains why Audi chose to bring this engine to India.

City Performance

Acceleration is smooth and instant, once you get past a small lag. The dual-clutch gearbox works seamlessly in the background ensuring you’re in the right gear at all times. There’s more than enough power to drive around in the city and overtake at will. 

At no point does the Q3 feel like a handful. You can select between ‘Balanced’ or ‘Comfort’ mode for your city drives, where the throttle map is rather relaxed, better suited for a commute. If your drive to work involves bumper-to-bumper traffic, there are two things that are likely to annoy you. First, the calibration of the ‘Auto Hold’ function, the car seems to grab on to the brakes before it has come to a complete stop. Second, the fuel efficiency which will hover in single digits at best. 

You can expect anywhere from 5-10kmpl if used in heavy traffic. On a short city drive, our test car displayed ~6.5kmpl on the digital cluster. 

Highway Performance

Break away from the city, and the Q3 almost sighs with relief. It loves the open road and begs to be pushed hard. The acceleration is impressive, irrespective of what speed you’re pushing on from. The DSG downshifts in a split second as the Q3 lunges ahead with intent.

It’s very hot-hatch like in its behaviour, and I found ‘Dynamic’ mode to be the best for spirited highway pushes. If you want to tailor the car to your preferences, you can use the ‘Individual’ mode that lets you set up the drivetrain and steering to your liking. 

For highway roadtrips, the Q3 will be reasonably fuel efficient. At constant triple digit speeds, the engine is actually more efficient. You can expect upwards of 10-12kmpl for smooth flowing highways. On a short test on the NH66, my test car showed ~11kmpl.

Ride and Handling

The Q3 comes with comfort suspension, progressive steering and quattro all-wheel drive as standard. In terms of ride comfort, Audi has NAILED it for Indian roads. There’s absolutely nothing I would change in the suspension setup. It cushions out the road imperfections, does not induce unnecessary vertical or horizontal movement inside the cabin and settles back into a smooth ride post a nasty pothole practically immediately. This has surprisingly NOT come at the cost of high speed stability, where the Q3 remains rock steady at triple digit speeds. The only complaint is that of a slightly noisy wheel well.

Handling is rather fun for a SUV. The Q3 changes directions quickly and confidently, and remains composed when pushed hard into a bend. The ‘progressive’ steering is designed to reduce the amount of turns you need for a full lock, the Q3 needs just 378° of steering input instead of 470°. This not only reduces effort while taking u-turns, but also makes parking a little easier. 

The Audi Q3 is offered in two variants: Nova and Zenith

Audi Q3 Nova

• Full-LED headlights, configurable daytime running lights and 18-inch alloy wheels mean this car doesn’t look like a base variant at all. 

• The interior gets a combination of leather and art leather, matt-silver inlays and a twin-spoke steering wheel. 

• Highlight features include powered front seats (driver’s seat gets memory), seat heating, 3-zone climate control, powered tailgate and a panoramic sunroof.

• The tech kit includes the 11.9-inch virtual cockpit and the 12.8-inch touchscreen paired with a  10-speaker 260W sound system.

• Safety kit includes 7 airbags, reverse parking camera, adaptive cruise control and front emergency brake assist. 

Audi Q3 Zenith

• Exterior additions include ‘LED headlights plus’ which adds custom digital light signatures and orientation/lane lighting. Another update is dual-tone alloy wheels.

• Cabin gets wooden inlays and a sport steering wheel that’s flat at the top and bottom. 

• Additional features: head-up display, 12-speaker 420W Sonos sound system, higher charging speeds for the USB Type-C ports.

• Rear side airbags are the only addition to the safety package, taking the total up to 9. 

CarDekho Recommends

• The Nova variant is a complete package by itself and is our recommendation in the Q3 lineup. 

• Consider the Zenith only if you want the cooler lighting package and better sound system. 

The Q3 has its own little drawbacks. Interior space is adequate, not amazing. There’s no diesel, hybrid or EV option to be had. Seat ventilation, highline TPMS and 360° camera seem like silly misses at its price point. But none of these are likely to be deal breakers for you. The drive experience is by far the best in its segment, and the tech pack on offer is impressive too. 

If you want a petrol luxury SUV, something that's fun to drive while doing everything else a small luxury SUV should — the Q3 is the one to pick. 

Other Cars To Consider

BMW X1 LWB

Reasons To Consider

• Better rear seat space

• Cheaper entry level variants

Reasons To Avoid

• Not fun to drive, front-wheel drive only

Mercedes-Benz GLA

Reasons To Consider

• Classy interior design

• Diesel engine option

Reasons To Avoid

• Not as engaging to drive

• Looks small, lacks road presence