Audi Q3 review – polished BMW X1 rival available with Golf GTI power
The Q3 confounded some of our middling expectations for it. This is a pleasant, neat-driving small SUV, albeit with a few flaws and catches
Audi’s third-generation Q3 is here to rival BMW’s X1 and Mercedes-Benz’s GLA. It brings the popular small SUV in line with the latest range in terms of platform, styling, interior and technology, with a range of petrol, diesel and plug-in hybrid powertrains to choose from.
We don’t normally approach humdrum SUVs with much in the way of optimism that they will deliver any thrills – we certainly didn’t when walking up to the slightly dorky-looking Q3. But it confounded expectations. While we’re not saying the Q3 is a new R8 supercar in drag, it pleasantly surprised us in many ways, with a strong motor and competent, quality, broad-spectrum damping and a pleasant enough cabin too. It won’t have your neck hair standing on end but it does feel what it is – premium and expensive. At £58,900 (with some options), the top-end 261bhp ‘Edition 1’ model we had was certainly that.
Engine, gearbox and technical highlights
- Diesel, petrol and hybrid powertrains
- 261bhp 2-litre heads the range
- Two-valve adaptive dampers
The new Audi Q3 rides on the latest version of the Volkswagen Group MQB-evo platform. That means it can take combustion and plug-in hybrid powertrains that broadly mirror the lineups of Cupra’s Formentor, minus, curiously, the five-cylinder that used to power the RS Q3.
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The petrol engines in the range span from the 1.5-litre TFSI mild hybrid four-cylinder engine with 148bhp and 184lb ft, through two 2-litre TFSI engines – a 201bhp 236lb ft middle-ranger and a 261bhp, 295lb ft flagship. The latter is in effect the same engine you get in Volkswagen’s Golf GTI, albeit with a hair more torque. The 1.5 also features in the PHEV, which is augmented by an electric motor to 268bhp. There’s also a 1.5-litre diesel with 148bhp and 265lb ft and the ability to return 50mpg, on paper.
Weighing 1675kg the 261bhp 2-litre TFSI is the closest to an ideal choice for us, lacking the extra 150kg the PHEV’s 26kWh battery lumbers it with. Mind you, that battery does allow it a WLTP-certified 72 miles of zero-emission driving – horses for courses.
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The 261bhp engine puts power to all four wheels via quattro all-wheel drive (standard on all Q3s bar the 1.5) and the dual-clutch transmission, allowing 0-62mph in 5.7sec, on the way to a 149mph top speed. The next quickest is the hybrid, taking 6.8sec, then the 201bhp 2-litre, taking 7.1sec. The base 1.5 petrol and 2.0 diesel are lumberers, taking 9.1sec and 9.2sec to make the dash respectively.
Worthy of note are the new dual-valve dampers, even if they’re only available on the Edition 1. They broaden the Q3’s damping skillset when fitted, for greater control when driving dynamically without, in theory, sacrificing comfort.
Performance, ride and handling
- 261bhp 2-litre feels strong
- Body control is good for a small SUV
- Can be noisy inside
The unassuming Q3 caught me slightly off guard when first getting behind the wheel. The looks don’t bowl you over, even in S-Line trim and the high-tech LED projector lights aren’t out of the ordinary for Audi, or suggestive in any way there’s dynamism to be enjoyed. Then I got going. Pull from the 2-litre engine is disarmingly impressive, at least before you realise exactly what numbers it’s sporting and that it’s effectively shared with the Golf GTI – hands up, I checked the spec sheet of the test car after the engine caught me off guard.
That wasn’t all, though. At speed, over crests and through dips, the Q3 displays an inordinate feeling of composure and control for such a car, rarely taking more than a recoil-and-a-half to settle down. The usual sense of unruliness – a top-heavy wallowing sensation – that one usually associates with crossovers and SUVs is near-muted. I’ll be curious to see how much worse this would be in Q3’s without the dampers, or indeed the 150kg-heavier PHEV.
This is because of the new two-valve dampers this top-spec Q3 features, which have a much broader ability to control the Q3’s vertical movements, without giving it a rock-hard ride. To be clear, the ride isn’t perfect. At lower speeds on rougher roads, it can get a little busy. Even at high speeds, sudden jolts like motorway expansion joints thunk through a bit too dramatically. Nonetheless, a worthy trade-off for how strangely good it gets at pace, under more serious load.
Other points to note? The brakes are progressive, reasonably strong and with a consistent feel – again, not a given if you opt for the PHEV. It’s a fine car to manoeuvre at low speed, if not the best for the compact SUV class. Steering is fine – devoid of feel but well-judged in terms of weight and ratio.
Interior and tech
- ‘Steering wheel control unit’ replaces gear selector and indicators
- … and it feels pretty good and works well
- Rest of the cabin has average highs and real lows for quality
Jump in the Audi Q3 and the first thing you’ll notice is a great katana of black plastic stretching across the top of the steering column. This effectively replaces the stalks you once used to control your wipers, washers, indicators, lights and the knob you once selected drive or reverse with. This will sound revolting if you’re of the ‘if it ain’t broke’ school of thought, which I usually am.
Once I used it, though? It actually makes sense. The indicator is still an up for right, down for left motion and the quality of the action is good – it’s not tinny as I feared it would be. There are an awful lot of controls stuffed into the left-hand side of the control unit, so getting to grips with exactly what does what takes a moment, but it’s not the work of an age. Before you know it, everything’s intuitive and you just get on with driving, as you’d hope – rare that an ‘innovation’ doesn’t offend these days.
The Q3’s cockpit beyond is familiar in the round. The digital stage containing your 11.9-inch driver’s display and 12.8-inch infotainment display is almost unchanged compared to the Q5 and A5 – perhaps less canted toward the driver compared to the latter. There’s new software for the Q3 that trades white fonts on dark backgrounds for black fonts on lighter backgrounds, with almost Apple-like widgets and shapes in the software. You can now have the map more prominent in front of you too.
Some stuff remains familiar – climate controls at the bottom of the MMI (with a shelf below to rest your hand on), nav, media, car set-up and more on the right-hand side. The only glitch we found was an unwillingness initially for the bluetooth to work. More physical controls would be nice but this works fine compared to most. The steering wheel with its rocker controls is familiar too and not the last word in tactility. It’s virtually Bentley spec compared to the sliding lid for the central storage bin. It feels borderline unacceptably harsh, flimsy and tinny, like a kid running it back and forth repeatedly would break it if you didn’t stop them in time.
Likewise the stalk for the cruise control (that escaped the control migration to the ‘control unit’) has some sharp edges, like a raw 3D print that’s not yet been cleaned up. So odd in contrast to the backlit Alcantara trim on the door, which in look and feel wouldn’t be out of place in a next-generation R8. Space is decent – the Q3 is actually only nominally shorter and slimmer than the Q5 which is impressive given how much smaller and lighter it feels to drive.
A final note for the Q3’s lighting tech. Audi’s always lead with this stuff and new modules with 25,600 micro-LEDs each are the latest example, allowing precise light control and even guidance projections. In a similar fashion to the tech Mercedes-Benz has employed, it will show an ice crystal on the road when temperatures are low, or lane lights that project into the lane you’re indicating for – both useful for other drivers and you. It even projects an animation and the Audi symbol onto the road as you unlock and get in the car, with numerous configurations for the twinkling LED ‘greeting’ possible.
MPG and running costs
- 261bhp is expectedly thirsty – 30mpg average with some enthusiastic use
- PHEV with its 72 miles of electric range best for urban buyers
- Diesel good for 50mpg best for high speeds and long distances
Audi’s multi-powertrain strategy means the Q3 lineup is versatile, with a version to suit all needs. The petrols are best for those who tackle all sorts of driving, from city pottering to motorway schleps. In truth, you’ll want the 201bhp 2-litre at minimum, as you won’t be working it as hard even in normal use as the base 1.5. The top-whack 2-litre is definitely the fastest but will sip at fuel if you use its potency. Across our mixed (and sometimes hard) use we saw an average hovering around 30mpg, which is punchy for a family crossover without overt sporting intentions.
The hybrid will absolutely be best-suited to city work, where you can lean on that electric range and at low speeds, actually have a hope of achieving the claimed 72-mile average. It’ll also be the nightmare scenario for the diesel, which wants long stretches of motorway to get nice and warm, get the DPF hot and settle into a c50mpg rhythm.
Price and rivals
This is where things get complicated. I quite enjoyed my time in the Audi Q3, unexpectedly so. That it was the absolute top spec, with the most powerful petrol engine and a number of nice options, definitely helped with that.
The base Q3 Sport with the weedy 1.5-litre engine, front-wheel drive and passive dampers might feel a little mean. For £38,350 (starting) as opposed to the £58,900 (as tested) of our car, that’s what you might expect.
Happily, being Audi, some nice toys come as standard – heated front seats with electric lumbar adjustment, the curved display, climate control and so on. Jump to the diesel and it’s £40,050, then £42,050 for the 2-litre. S line spec starts from £41,150 and adds sportier styling, ambient lighting and stainless steel pedals. The diesel is £42,850, the 201bhp 2-litre £44,850 and the 261bhp petrol £48,950.
You can have the base 1.5-litre in Edition 1 spec for £44,700, which adds progressive steering, the dynamic package, the sportier heated steering wheel with paddles and more. That jumps to £46,400 for the diesel, £48,400 for the 201bhp 2-litre and to £52,500 (without options) for the 261bhp 2-litre.
The e-hybrid is the elephant in the room as the most expensive version if you want Sport spec, starting from £46,545. That rises to £48,650 for S line and to £51,400 for Edition 1 – comparable to the 261bhp petrol. Our car’s price was inflated to £58,900 by some options – £695 Arrow Grey paint and Sound and Vision pack pro for £3550, which adds the Sonos premium sound system, a head-up display and faster USB charging.
Happily, the Q3 appears to be priced competitively with BMW’s X1, which ranges from £37,525 to £52,485. Likewise the Mercedes-Benz GLA ranges from £37,830 to a heady £75,435 for the GLA 45 S performance model that now has no equivalents form Audi and BMW. For the figure attached to our test Q3, we'd be tempted to stretch a bit further to try for a Cupra Formentor VZ5, or for mid-spec Q3 money, a 328bhp Formentor VZ
