Audi Q3

What is it? Audi's latest and most affordable

IF THE PRICE is right, it will sell, and cheaper is generally better. This holds true even in the growing luxury car segment. It’s no wonder Audi is all set to enter the sub-Rs 30-lakh bracket with the car you see on these pages, the Q3 SUV. It will go on sale this month and will be the least expensive car in the showroom, expanding Audi’s reach to a completely new set of buyers.

Baby Q

Audi’s behemoth Q7 has a huge fan following and it’s easy to spot the similarities between it and the new baby. Of course it’s nowhere near as huge, but the Q3 has that traditional SUV shape. The proportions are just right, and the first thing you notice are the LED daytime lamps inside the squared-off headlamps, which look striking despite their simple shape. The updated, hexagonal Audi grille with horizontal slats is present
and so is the nondescript Quattro badge.
The flanks are rather featureless, however, save for a ridge running down the length of the car. Even the wheel arches aren’t too pronounced. The wheels fill the wells nicely and give the Q3 a squatted appearance. Move to the back and you notice the gentle slope in the hatch and the near-triangular tail-lights that seem to gel well with the overall design.
There is black cladding on the lower parts of the bumpers and under the doors to reduce the car’s visual mass and give it a rugged look. It may not have the traditional SUV muscle, but the Q3 has an understated appeal
which, especially in orange, makes it even more conspicuous on the road.

Inside job

The biggest and most welcome surprise is this car’s interiors. Despite being the most affordable car in the range, there is no sign of cheapness here; it looks and feels as good as any of its bigger stablemates. The two-tone interiors are superbly crafted and we didn’t find anything to complain about as far as build quality goes. In fact, the lighter colour shade was especially chosen for India  given the buyer preference for beige. The buttons and control surfaces exude class and work with a nice feel. There’s also a helping of wood trim on the door pads and dashboard. Audi hasn’t skimped on the equipment either. There’s an eight-speaker music system, height-adjustable front seats, a fuel-saving stop  start system and hill-start-assist feature. On top of this, there’s optional equipment, like 18-inch wheels  instead of the standard 16-inch ones. As with the bigger Q7 and Q5 you can specify a big panoramic sunroof and can even have adjustable shock absorbers.

Enthusiast drivers can option their Q3 with paddle shifters on the steering wheel and sport seats. Of course, all these come at a price and the final cost of the car can go up quite a bit if you tick a lot of options. What you can’t have is a full-sized spare; only a space saver is on offer, and though an MMI system is present, it is a stripped-down version  of what you get in the bigger cars.