30 TFSI
Let's talk about the new engine first, shall we? The 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol motor has done duty under the hoods of a lot of cars in the Volkswagen-Audi family. Under the Q3's bonnet it runs the familiar 150PS/250Nm tune we've seen in the A3 and the A4.
Start the Q3 up, and you’ll realize the noise levels are a notch higher than what you were expecting. Get going and the engine’s thrummy noise continues to be audible. Look past (or hear past) the noise, and the turbo-petrol seems just about enough to carry the heft of the near two-tonne SUV. Drive around with a light foot, and the Q3 is easy to drive. The engine too feels at ease pottering around the city. You won’t really feel the turbo kick in unless you stomp on the accelerator pedal. For most overtakes, a gentle increase in throttle input is enough to get you past. Get a bit too adventurous with the throttle, and the Q3 pushes you into the back of your seat with a sudden surge of torque.Go easy on the A-pedal, and driving the Q3 1.4 is cakewalk.
It’s is reasonably efficient too - returning 10.24kmpl inside the city, and 14.56kmpl on the highway. What maximises the fuel efficiency number is the petrol Q3’s ‘Efficiency’ mode that is coupled with the auto-start-stop tech that switches the engine off when you come to a halt and restarts once you lift off the brake pedal. In this mode, the throttle response is dulled out a bit. When you accelerate, there’s a second worth of lag before power actually kicks in. If you’re on a highway cruise in this mode, you will need to plan your overtakes. On a related note, the effectiveness of the air conditioning takes a hit in this mode. We’d avoid this mode purely because it left us sweaty at the end of our fuel efficiency test.
Other driving modes on Audi’s ‘Drive Select’ include ‘Comfort’, ‘Auto’ and ‘Dynamic’. Toggling between the three alters throttle and gearbox responsiveness. That said, there isn’t a day and night difference between the modes, and ‘Auto’ mode works just fine for the daily drive. In ‘Dynamic’, the Q3 feels slightly eager to make progress — the gearbox is usually in one gear lower and lets the engine rev up all the way to the redline. This isn’t particularly useful in day to day use, and we’d recommend switching to it only for that uphill drive around the ghats where you feel the need for all the power all the time. On test, the Q3 clocked a 0-100kmph time of 12.05 seconds.
The star of the package has got to be the ’S-tronic’ gearbox. The 6-speed dual-clutch automatic is quick to respond to throttle inputs. If you slam the accelerator pedal to the floor, it downshifts a couple of gears - giving you the power you need to make a quick overtake instantly. Unlike the diesel version, the petrol variant does not get paddle shifters. But, we didn’t really miss it since the gearbox practically reads your mind.
35 TDI
With the update, the Q3 Quattro has earned a power bump of 7PS. Is the added power noticeable? Nope. But, compare it to the petrol variant, and it feels like a completely different car. The extra 130Nm of torque makes its presence felt, especially when you are on a highway drive. Put your foot down, and the diesel Q3 lunges forward with gusto. You can be assured keeping the throttle pinned will have you go past the car in front. The numbers are proof: the diesel Q3 is quicker to 100kmph by 3.38 seconds (thank you Quattro!), at 8.67 seconds, whereas in-gear acceleration from 20-80kmph is quicker by nearly two seconds (5.62 seconds vs 7.35 seconds).
Power delivery is nice and smooth, and there’s no annoying turbo lag that’d hold you back in traffic. Most of this is down to the 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox, which does a really good job of selecting the right gear. Yes, there are paddle shifters on offer, but we rarely had to use them while testing the car. Surprisingly, the diesel engine is appreciably silent inside-out during idle. Push it, and it lets out a grumbly sound which is oddly likeable. In case you do not like the sound of a diesel engine, even moderate volume on the music system will cancel it out.
The diesel Q3 doesn’t feature an efficiency mode, nor does it have the auto start-stop tech. In spite of that, and being heavier, it proved to be significantly more efficient — returning 12.84kmpl inside the city and 18.5kmpl on the highway.
Ride and Handling
Inside the city, the Q3’s ride will give you next to no reason to complain. Broken road surfaces are dismissed with a muted thud. More importantly, the cabin doesn’t get upset too easily while dealing with potholes. What’s not so good is that the tyres are slightly noisy. The sound intrudes into the cabin, which does dampen the premium experience a bit.
The suspension does have a bias for comfort, which becomes apparent once you start getting up to triple digit speeds. The cabin has a ‘floaty’ feeling, as it exhibits some vertical bobbing. This is particularly apparent in the petrol version, the diesel does fare slightly better. But the bumpiness felt amplified on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway where, in the Q3’s defence, the concrete surface isn’t in the best of shapes to begin with.
In case you’re looking for some driving pleasure, we’d recommend you look elsewhere. The steering (in typical Audi fashion) feels too light and lacklustre. It is clearly set up for convenience and not fun. What we liked is the super light-weight wheel inside the city. It takes next to no effort to manoeuvre the Q3 in traffic, and parking is a no-stress affair. We would have liked the steering to weigh up a bit more as the speeds climbed.
It’s a similar story around a set of winding roads. You have to keep guessing what the front wheels are up to. This, in effect, means you have to correct the steering input constantly to make the Q3 corner like you want it to. Being a tall SUV, there’s some body roll as well. It won’t upset the occupants if you go around corners at low speed. However, speed up a bit and the Q3 will cause passengers to reach for the grab handles to stay seated where they are.
For the twisties, it’s the Quattro-equipped diesel that we’d pick. It feels more planted, holds its line and the all-wheel drive gives you enough grip to throttle out a lot faster from the corner.
%performanceComparision-Petrol%
Performance Comparison (Diesel)
| Volkswagen Tiguan 2017-2020 |
| Power |
141bhp@4000rpm |
| Torque (Nm) |
340Nm@1750-2750rpm |
| Engine Displacement (cc) |
1968 cc |
| Transmission |
Automatic |
| Top Speed (kmph) |
| 0-100 Acceleration (sec) |
| Kerb Weight (kg) |
1720kg |
| Fuel Efficiency (ARAI) |
16.65kmpl |
| Power Weight Ratio |
81.97bhp/ton |
