Audi Q3 Review: 2015 1.4 TFSI, 2.0 TDI Sport, 2.0 TFSI Sport – Swift, Smart And Sure-Footed
What's hot: Dynamic handling, lots of ‘zing', packaged right for the modern urban family.
What's not: Underdone standard feature list, a bit pricey once you start ticking boxes.
X-FACTOR: Not too big, not too small, and with a sporty feel at the wheel, the Q3 is both the stylish practical wagon and a treat on-road.
Vehicle style: Small SUV wagon
Price:
1.4 litre TFSI: $42,900
2.0 litre TDI: $47,900
2.0 litre TFSI Sport: $52,300
2.0 litre TDI Sport: $56,900
Engines/transmissions:
110kW/250Nm 1.4 TFSI petrol | 6spd S tronic auto
110kW/340Nm 2.0 TDI diesel | 7spd S tronic auto (not tested)
132kW/320Nm 2.0 TFSI Sport quattro petrol | 7spd S tronic auto
135kW/380Nm 2.0 TDI Sport quattro diesel | 7spd S tronic auto
Fuel consumption, l/100km:
1.4 TFSI claimed: 5.9 | tested: 7.4
2.0 TDI claimed: 5.2 | (not tested)
2.0 TFSI Sport claimed: 6.7 | tested: 9.1
2.0 TDI Sport claimed: 5.6 | tested: 8.5
OVERVIEW
With order books stretching into next year for both the Q3 and the Q5, Audi is clearly doing a lot right with its small and mid-sized SUV range.
It is also doing a lot right as a brand.
This year, in the Australian market, Europe's leading premium brand has moved to within an ace of stealing second place from BMW in annual sales here.
Now, as if it needed it, there is a refreshed Audi Q3 range to add a little extra heat the showroom.
And this car, a good car made better, is certainly going to add to the biting, eye-gouging and squirrel-gripping in the bullpit we might otherwise refer to as the ‘premium German segment'.
Always neat, compact and appealing, the updated Q3 now looks a little more sporty, a little wider and edgier, and a little more enticing.
While first and foremost a little wagon - it's for light-duty SUV-ing at best - Audi describes it as "a car for roads less travelled".
Fact is, it's for roads very well-travelled, for the city commute and the occasional dash to the snow, but that fact hardly diminishes its appeal.
Neither is it diminished by the sporting verve at the wheel, the comfortable accommodation, and the enjoyable on-road dynamics.
We drove three of the four variants of the updated range - the 1.4 TFSI (FWD only), the fiesty 2.0 litre TFSI Sport quattro ($52,300) and the pricey 2.0 litre TDI Sport quattro ($56,900).
Like the refreshed A1, with the updated Q3 range, Audi has added a little more polish to an already polished car.
INTERIOR | RATING: 3.5/5
Q3 1.4 TFSI and 2.0 TDI 110kW
- Leather-appointed upholstery
- Dual-zone climate control air-conditioning
- Multi-function leather steering wheel with paddleshifts
- Audi Music Interface with Bluetooth audio streaming
- MMI radio system with retractable 6.5-inch colour display and 8 passive speakers
- Tyre pressure warning and electric exterior mirrors
- Cruise control, light sensor, rain sensing wipers
- Audi parking system plus, with front/rear sensors and rear-view camera
- LED interior lighting package
- 17-inch alloy wheels
- Xenon headlights with LED daytime running lights
Q3 Sport 2.0 TFSI and 2.0 TDI 135kW (in addition the above)
- 18-inch alloy wheels
- Colour-coded bumpers and wheel arches
- Front sports seats with electric lumbar support
- Milano leather upholstery
For style, fit and finish, this is a ‘four star' interior… at the very least. Tight, classy, an Audi interior rarely fails to satisfy.
But for a stingy feature list in a premium-buying small SUV, one where even the cheapest entry to the range won't see any change out of $46,000 (for the 1.4 TFSI, on road), we think it comes up short. So off comes a half-star.
We think buyers spending that kind of money might rightly expect sat nav - at least - on the standard feature list. But no, the MMI navigation is bundled in as part of the $2990 Technik package.
You want it… you take the package.
Sure, it's smart marketing; but that base model 1.4 TFSI is pretty bare. And two or three ticks of the options ‘packages' later and suddenly there's $10k added to the list price. Like in our tester.
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