Audi Q3 2.0T review, test drive

The smallest Q gets a petrol motor and may just be a better rounded option than before.

Published on Mar 12, 2013 10:45:00 PM

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Make : Audi

Model : Q3

Audi’s range of the Q SUVs has been well received here and the carmaker’s soaring sales figures make it more than evident. The eldest Q was the first to be launched here and is still one of the top contenders in the segment. The middle sibling, the Q5 is of course, the most popular one here. The reason for these cars doing so well is the number of things Audi has gotten right with them. The carmaker’s four-wheel-drive system – christened Quattro – is one of the best systems around. It wastes very little energy and is very effective. Audi also seems to have got the balance between car and off-roader just right. While the Q SUVs are very car-like and easy to drive, and come with beautifully crafted interiors on one hand, they have plenty of off-roader appeal as well.

The baby of the family, the Q3, has been on sale in diesel avatar since June last year. This new petrol, however, promises to be better rounded, and though it may ultimately appeal to a smaller set of customers, the car is so good we think it could be a better overall package.

The Q3 isn’t an Audi, but a Volkswagen under the skin. But it’s a car that’s executed so beautifully, you’ll almost never feel short-changed or be able to tell. First impressions of the car are great. The body is exquisitely crafted. The fit of the panels is millimetre perfect, the manner in which the doors and hatch open and close reeks of precision engineering and even the quality of the paint is exceptional. The Q3 is also the best interpretation of Audi’s Q design language yet. It has that all important upright SUV stance, but it isn’t boxy or brick-like in the least. It also has the neatest headlamp and tail-lamp design of the three Audi SUVs.