On the face of it, it appears that this Audi Q3 has all the right ingredients for success.
It has a premium badge, good quality interior and raised ride height with excellent forward
visibility, which is exactly what family buyers are looking for. And it’s a small SUV which
is one of the largest markets around, trouble is the size of that market means competition
is tough. Just 3 of the rivals are BMW X1, VW Tiguan and Range Rover Evoque. So can the
Audi Q3 still cut it or has it lost its day? To find out we’ll start by taking it on the UK roads.
For a small car there’s actually a big choice of engines available from a small
1.4 litre petrol up to a 2 litre and 2.5 litre petrol plus a pair of 2 litre diesels.
It's the lower powered diesel option that we’ve got fitted to this car and if you do any motorway
miles it’s the one that we ultimately recommend because it’s smooth, has enough power delivery
to cope with a fully loaded car and is relatively economical. Even on its standard suspension,
the Q3 offers a comfortable ride at all speeds. In fact, this is the set up to go for because
the one fitted to the pricier S line models is less forgiving. As you might expect, raising
the ride height for any car doesn’t do any favours to its handling. That said, compared
with its SUV rivals, the Q3 does pretty well. It has plenty of grip through the corners
and keeps its body well controlled. The petrol engines are quieter than the diesels and aside
from some small vibrations sent back into the interior, overall refinement is good.
Go for the 6 speed manual gearbox and you’ll enjoy some precise, well weighted changes.
While the S tronic automatic we’ve got here is largely quick and smooth. Like the best
Audis, the Q3 has the kind of interior that oozes quality. Everything you touch feels solid
and there are plenty of soft touch materials. You won’t have any trouble getting comfy
either because there’s plenty of adjustment in this seat and the steering wheel can be
moved for reach and rake which is great. And even the entry level versions have got adjustable
lumbar support and you can even alter the height of the armrest. Although if you’re
only 5” 4 & 1/4 , it's not really that much good! Every version of the Q3 gets this retractable
6.5” colour screen. You get DAB radio and bluetooth as standard, Sat Nav is an optional extra.
What you can’t get though is Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring and Audi’s
virtual cockpit instrument display. So let’s see how easy it is to set a destination in
that optional Sat Nav and pair my mobile phone. Okay, let’s start by setting a destination
in the Sat Nav, if we go to address and scroll up here. Let’s go somewhere in Portsmouth.
Okay so we’ve got Portsmouth. Let’s add a street, let’s go to High Street.
High Street. House number, 100, if that exists, yes it does, excellent. Start route guidance.
Your route is being calculated. Well, that was quite easy to use. Next up let’s pair
my mobile phone. Okay, search for new mobile, make sure my bluetooth is on. Bluetooth, quite
a few cars there, might have to have a bit of a clear out! Find bluetooth devices. Okay,
waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting. Ah, Rebecca's Iphone, want that. Hands free, yes. Connection
is being established, please wait. Pair, hands free, yes. Yes, that code matches. Connection
is being established. Excellent, we are connected. Even if you’re tall, you’ll have plenty
of space in the front of the Q3 and these door bins are large enough for a big bottle
of water plus you’ve got two cup holders here. Some more storage here for everyday
bits and bobs and a decent sized glove box. Move back here and it’s not quite so spacious,
there’s not much more room than you’d get in the back of a family hatchback. In
fact, a BMW X1 does have more space Although there’s decent sized door bins, that’s
where I’ve put my umbrella and you can reasonably comfortably sit 2 adults back here but 3 will
be a bit of a squeeze. The Q3’s boot is smaller than that of the Mercedes GLA however in reality
it’s the Audi’s boot that’s easier to live with because it has a wider opening and
although this boot floor is non-adjustable, there is a little bit of storage space underneath.
And if you’d like to turn your Audi Q3 into a van, all you do is press this button here
and cue camera trickery. The Audi Q3 is a premium car, so it does look expensive when
compared with the Seat Ateca or Nissan Qashqai, that said, up against a Mercedes GLA or a
BMW X1, it’s priced competitively and with strong residuals, PCP finance deals are rather
tempting. We’d team our recommended 2 litre diesel engine with SE specification, this may be
the entry level trim but it still gets you everything you’re likely to want including
17” alloy wheels, dual zone climate control and rear parking sensors and when it comes
to safety, the Audi Q3 received a full 5 star rating when it was tested back in 2011. The
Audi Q3 is good to drive, compact and inexpensive to run. So if you’re looking for a small,
comfortable, small SUV with a premium badge, it definitely deserves to be on your short list and if you
are thinking of buying one, head to WhatCar.com and go to our ‘New car deals section’
where we can save you some money. You’ll also find our full online review as well as
its rivals reviews but before you go anywhere, hit subscribe and never miss another video.