Auto Express – July 30, 2019

70 SpecialIssue http://www.autoexpress.co.uk

ROADTESTS AudiQ3vsrivals

MODELTESTED:Audi Q3 40 TDI quattroStronic Sline

PRICE:£38,115 ENGINE:2.0-litre4cyl, 187bhp

WE’VEtestedtheAudiQ3inpetrolform(Issue
1,556),butnowit’stheturnofthedieselto
meetitstoughestcontenders.Weputthepopular
40TDIquattroSlineversionwithStronicautomatic
gearboxthroughitspaceshere.Itcosts£38,115.

Design &

engineering

THEQ3wasoneofthelastsmall
Audistomovetothebrand’sMQB
platform,butbecausethemodularchassishasbeen
updatedovertime,theQ3isoneofthemostmodern
carsaround–includingitsengineandsafetytech.
Audi’sconfusingnamingstrategymeansthe
Q340TDIispoweredbya2.0-litrefour-cylinder
turbodieselthatproduces187bhpand400Nmof
torque.Quattrofour-wheeldriveisstandardwith
thisengine,andsoistheseven-speeddual-clutch
automatictransmission,whichAudicallsStronic.
Aswithitsrivals,yougetamulti-linkaxletaking
careofsuspensioncontrolattherear,whilethe
trioallfeaturestrut-typesuspensionatthefront.
TherearedrivingmodesintheAudi,andifyou
optforthe£750adaptivedampers,thesedifferent
settingschangethesuspension’sparameters,along
withthesteering,engineandgearboxcalibration.
However,it’slikelythatprice,equipmentand
qualitywillbeabiggerdrawinthissector.Slinetrim
getssat-nav,Audi’sVirtualCockpitdisplay,half-leather
upholstery,LEDlights,climatecontrol,AppleCarPlay
andAndroidAuto,andloadsofcleversafetykitand
driveraids,aswellastheoptiontoaddmore.You’ll
havetospendextraonkitsuchasarearcameraand
heatedleatherseats;theEvoquegetstheseasstandard.
Cabinqualitymightalsoraiseafeweyebrows
inplaceswhencomparedwiththeRangeRover’s
interior.Someplasticsdon’tfeelaspremiumaswe
mightlike,orasthepricewouldsuggest.It’snotas
noticeableintheareasyoudon’ttouch,butis
obviousintheplacesthatyouwill.

Driving

DOWNSIZEDturbochargedpetrols
aregreatandcanbequiteefficient,
butinlargercarssuchastheQ3,a
2.0-litreturbodieselgivesadecentlevelofflexibility,
andthereforemakestheAudieasytodrive.
Thatshowedinourperformancetests.Even
thoughthisisn’tthemostimportantfeatureofa
smallSUV,theQ3’s8.0-second0-60mphtimewas
thequickestofthistrio,0.2secondsaheadofthe
Volvo.That’sthankstostandard-fitlaunchcontrol
aspartoftheStronicgearbox,aswellassharpshifts.
However,thetrade-offisalittlelossoflow-speed
driveabilitywhenmanoeuvringcomparedwith
itsconventionalautomaticrivals.
Despiteitsstrongsprintoffthelineand
full-throttlepacethroughthegears,theQ3didn’t
provequiteasflexibleasitsrivalsin-gear–although
it’sfarfromslowandservesupenoughpunch.
On19-inchwheelstheQ3exhibitsaproblem
thatafflictsquiteafewofthecarsbasedontheVW
Group’sMQBplatform–itfeelsabittoofirmandits
dampingcouldbeabitmoreforgiving.TheAudi
fidgetsandjostleswhencomparedwithitsrivalshere.
It’scertainlynotuncomfortable,though,andon
smoothersurfacestheAudisettlesdowntoadecent

Bootisroomy, and sliding seatscan increaseoverall capacity

There’splenty of spaceinthe back, with moreroom than rivals

Testers’ notes

“Standardslidingrearseatsmovebackandforth

byupto150mm,soyoucanprioritiseeitherboot

spaceorlegroom.There’splentyofbothinthe

midposition,butit’saneatfeaturenevertheless.”

Sam NaylorSenior reviewer

enoughcruise.Theslightlyfirmerridedoesatleast

givethecarprecisionontwistierroutes.Itssteering

islightbutaccurate,thankstothedecentlevelof

grip,althoughaswithallofthesecars,thehigher

rideheightcomparedwithamoreconventional

hatchbackmeansthereisnoticeableroll.

Practicality

THEgrowthinsizeforthissecond-

generationQ3meansthere’smuchmore

spaceinsidethanbefore.Therearseatsslide

backandforth,sothere’sbetween530and675litres

ofbootspace,whichissignificantlymorethanits

rivalshere–neithertheEvoqueorXC40breaksthe

500-litremark.Plus,theQ3istheonlycarto

getapoweredtailgateasstandard.

It’salsoroomierinside,withmorelegand

headroomforpassengersthantheRangeRover

orVolvo.However,that’snottosaythateither

rivalfeelscrampedincomparison.Sowhilethe

Q3isthelargestcarinthistest,there’senough

spaceinbothcompetitorsforittonotbeanissue.

Storageisreasonable,butthetrayatthebottom

oftheQ3’scentreconsoleisn’ttheeasiesttogetat.

Ownership

THESEthreemarquestradeontheir

premiumimage,butactuallynone

performedthatwellintheeyesof

owners,withAuditakingamiddling16thplace

inourDriverPowerownersatisfactionsurvey.

However,theQ3ismuchmoreimpressivewhen

itcomestothestandardsafetytech,because

autonomousbrakingwithpedestriandetection,

lane-keepassist,blind-spotwarning,LEDlightsand

parkingsensorsareallstandard.Youcanaddthe

DriverAssistancePackfor£800,whichbrings

adaptivecruise,trafficsignrecognitionandhigh-

beamassist,althoughtheQ3scoredafullfive-star

EuroNCAPsafetyratingwithoutthisextrakitanyway.

Running costs

ALTHOUGHtheQ3hasthelowest

listprice,italsoemitsthemostCO 2 ,at

147g/km,soitsitsinthe37percentBenefit

inKindtaxbracket.ThismeanstheAudiwill

costhigher-rateearners£5,602ayeartorunas

acompanycar.It’s£308cheaperthantheEvoque

–theRangeRoveremitsless,at145g/km,butstill

sitsinthetop37percentbracket,andispricier

soit’llcost£5,910incompanycartax.

TheVolvoisalmostascheapastheAudiand

sitsinthe34percentband,thankstoits133g/km

CO 2 emissions,soitwillonlycost£5,120ayear.

ɃɃ 4 L 4 L

score

3.8

ȿȿ 4 L 4 L

score

3.7

ȑȑ 4 L 4 L

score

4.2

ȽȽ 4 L 4 L

score

3.9

ɃɃ 4 L 4 L

score

3.8

Audi Q3

Diesel four-wheel-driveversion is expect

Sa

Running costs

39.8mpg (ontest)

£83 fill-up/£145 or 37%tax

Practicality

Boot(seats up/down)

530-675/1,525 litres

!

Braking

70-0/60-0/30-0mph

49.5/36.8/9.6m

Performance

0-60mph/top speed

8.0seconds/137mph