[khan_sultan]

For the full Q3 road-test, click here.



Audi's entry level SUV, the Q3, accounts for 25-30% of Audi's sales in India. The Q3 is a very important product as it gives customers both; the luxury badge & the extremely popular 'SUV' body style. The premium entry level segment is where the battle for volumes is being fought in recent times.

Between the launch of the Q3 in early 2012 and now, Audi India has tried to put in that extra mojo to make their small SUV stay relevant and appealing for buyers:

• August 2013 saw the launch of a new cut-price base variant at 24.99 lakhs ex-Delhi. Surprisingly it was called "Sports".

• September 2013 was when CKD assembly of the Q3 began at the Aurangabad plant.

• September 2014 welcomed a new Dynamic variant priced at 38.40 lakhs. It was launched above the Premium+ variant & reviewed by us.

• January 2015 saw rumors of the possible Indian launch of a face-lift, that had been launched late 2014 in international markets.

• Meanwhile, with the launch of the Mercedes GLA, buyers in India enjoyed the increased choices and competition in the compact premium SUV/Crossover segment. The Q3 needed a face-lift to keep consumers interested in it.


The refreshed front face of the Audi Q3:

[khan_sultan]

So, what's new on the outside?

The front of the Q3 is where most of the changes on the exterior are visible. The SUV sports a new grill and bumper design that makes it look more premium and mature. Gone is the in-your-face chrome look of the previous version. It's ironic to see Audi moving towards mature styling while Mercedes is taking the bold and stylish route with the GLA. Incidentally, Audi uses #StartYoung as the hashtag for the Q3, which in my opinion is more suited to the Merc GLA!


The front grill of the Q3 is brushed aluminum. Audi calls it the '3D grill'. It integrates seamlessly with the body and looks really classy. We are told that this will be the new grill design on the 'Q' family of vehicles. There's a redesigned skid plate lip at the bottom too:


The new bumper design has differently shaped black inserts on the sides, and the absence of fog lamps is conspicuous. Parking sensors take the place where fog lamps would have been situated:


Though shaped the same from the outside, the headlight housing has a different internal design. Looks sharp:


The changes at the rear of the Q3 are much more subtle. If you look carefully, it's the bumper which has been slightly tweaked; with the lower set of lights in the bumper getting a slightly wider layout. The two middle parking sensors have moved upward, and the diffuser gets a slightly different treatment of color & design:


For the taillights, the noticeable change is the inclusion of turn indicators that move inside out in the direction of turn (like the A8 and R8). Each set of LEDs illuminate with a delay of 200th of a second creating this dramatic effect. (Animated Image):


The side profile remains the same with no visible changes except the dual tone cladding on the side skirting. The ground clearance remains unchanged at 170mm:


The new Q3 gets new 17" 5 split-spoke design alloy wheels. I personally preferred them over the outgoing model and they go well with rest of the changes and the new look. The tyre size remains 235/55 R17 on top end models with the base model running a 215 width on 16" wheels:


Interestingly, the space saver is still an 18" wheel:

[khan_sultan]

So, what's new on the inside?

The interiors get a new black/beige theme and there's an option of an all-black theme too. I personally preferred the all black theme. The interior layout and controls remain the same as before:


The existing steering wheel is retained and paddle shifters make a welcome appearance:


The paddle-shifters will be standard across the entire automatic range:


The instrument cluster now includes the display of information from the MMI navigation module & connected phone. Everything else in the cluster remains the same:


Gone are the faux wood inserts on the facelifted Q3. They have been replaced by textured aluminum inserts:


The new inserts look more modern, stylish and upmarket:


Park Assist with reverse camera:


The buttons on the dashboard include a dedicated button to change drive modes (Drive Select) and a button to engage HDC (Hill Descent Control):


An addition is the mobile phone cradle located under the arm rest. We are told that when the phone is placed on this cradle it uses the car antenna to boost & receive cellular signals, saving precious battery life in the process:


The size is okay for a Samsung S4 or iPhone6. However, fitting larger devices into the cradle will be a tough task:


The cradle also houses a well-hidden USB port on the side. We tried using the USB across two different cars and two different Android phones, but it refused to recognize the phones or even charge! The USB charging did work with the iPhone though. Bluetooth connectivity worked perfectly across Android & iPhone:


The phone cradle flips upwards to expose the armrest storage below:


The Audi Music Interface is located at the bottom of the armrest cubby-hole:


The driver side ORVM now gets the auto dimming capability. Unfortunately we couldn't test these out either, being daytime:


Seats for both driver & passenger side retain full electric adjustment. No addition of a memory function though:


The door padding also follows the black/beige theme with textured aluminum inserts. Mesh pockets are a welcome addition to the rear of the front seats. Do notice the change in design of the scuff plates. They are supposed to be illuminated but we couldn't get to check them out:


The top end model will get full leather seats with the rest of the range getting art leather/leatherette seats:


The space at the rear continues to remain a bit tight with the Q3 suited for 4 adults at best. The pronounced tunnel hump, rear AC vent protrusion, narrow center seat contour, and protrusion from the rear cabin lamp makes it really impractical for anyone except a child to sit comfortably in the middle of the rear bench. And yes, the omission of the center arm rest in the rear seat continues on this version too:


The boot remains at 460 liters of storage and the rear parcel tray cover gets a slightly different design:

[khan_sultan]

What's new with the infotainment?

The top end model features inbuilt Navigation, including a 20 GB hard disk for storing map data. The maps are supplied by Navteq to Audi AG. We were told that customers can get the maps updates once in 6 months from dealerships (not sure if there are any costs involved). The navigation module is accessed by pressing the dedicated NAVI button on the central dash. The inbuilt storage can be used for storing audio files too:


The MMI screen for the top end model is bigger and has a higher resolution:


MMI Screen for rest of the trims. Can you notice that it's smaller in size than the top end one?


After entering into the Navigation mode, one can select a destination from the saved routes or enter a new route using the speller:


Quite a few options to play around with for the selected route:


The navigation worked nicely on the interior roads of Goa most of the time. Only once did it miss an obvious turn and on another instance it asked us to proceed through a dead end. Rerouting worked nicely in both situations. There is no satellite imagery overlay on the maps for the Indian spec navigation module:


The best part of the Navigation module is that the upcoming route instructions are shown in the instrument console area, right in your field of vision. That means no taking your eyes off the road to repeatedly look at the MMI for guidance:

[khan_sultan]

What's new under the hood?

On the engine front, Audi has taken the 'why change something that's working so well' approach. The existing 2.0 TDI engine is retained for the top end models. Power output stays at the earlier 174 BHP @ 4200 rpm, with 380 Nm of torque between 1750 - 2500 rpm. The transmission in action is still the same 7-speed DSG.

With no changes to the suspension/chassis setup, one can expect the same performance, ride & handling as that of the outgoing model. In my view, the DSG in a combination of 'D' & 'S' modes works perfectly fine for 99.9% of the use cases that the owners of this SUV would ever want. The addition of the paddle shifters will make the drive interesting for the remaining 0.1%, who might get bored of the 7-speed auto box.

The ARAI tested FE for the Q3 remains at 15.7 km/l:


Additional tech specs (including gear ratios, noise levels, trailer loads, roof load capacity, etc):


Disclaimer : Audi invited Team-BHP for the Q3 test-drive. They covered all the expenses for this driving event.

[Rehaan]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Indian Car Scene. Thanks for the great overview Khan!

[vb-saan]

Thanks for the review!
Initially I did not like the new-face but now it looks acceptable (actually quite nice)
Overall some neat updates, but it would have been better if they provided memory function for the driver seat (even a lesser Octavia has it).

[Aston Singh]

Just a quick price comparison between the new Audi Q3 and Merc's locally assembled GLA

Audi Q3 S 30 TDI – 140 PS 6MT FWD – Rs 28.99 lakhs
Audi Q3 Premium 35 TDI – 180 PS Quattro AWD – Rs 33.99 lakhs
Audi Q3 Premium Plus 35 TDI – 180 PS Quattro AWD – Rs 37.50 lakhs

Note: Prices ex-showroom, New Delhi and Mumbai for the Audi Q3.

200 CDI Style - Rs 31.31 lakhs
200 CDI Sport - Rs 34.25 lakhs

GLA is powered by 2,143cc diesel engine and produces 134 bhp

Note: Prices ex-showroom Pune for the GLA

[needforspeed88]

The old face looked far better than this. This looks like a station wagon from the front. Audi have gone for a soft front in the name of being mature but for me it has lost all its masculinity with this update.

[Tushar]

Audi has just launched the refreshed Q3 at Rs. 28.99 lakh (ex-showroom Mumbai & Delhi).

Link to Team-BHP news article

[vinair]

Is it the angle or some genuine issue with the fit?

[skyliner34]

Originally Posted by vinair

Is it the angle or some genuine issue with the fit?

Maybe the dash is slightly oriented towards driver side for ease of use? It's seen on many cars.

[drive2eternity]

Confusion: You mentioned the top-end features in built navigation. And that the top end gets a bigger screen. Are the 1st and 2nd pics from the top end version? (Should be as both show navigation).

I ask this because the 3rd image definitely looks smaller. However, the 2nd image seems to have much better resolution than the 1st. Is it just the picture quality or my eyes?

Loved the indicator styling and the skid plates. The rear headroom and shoulder room should be better.

Great Review. Rated 5.

[khan_sultan]

Originally Posted by vinair

Is it the angle or some genuine issue with the fit?

The fit and finish is top notch as one would expect from a vehicle of this price bracket.
This must be just the camera angle.

Originally Posted by drive2eternity

Confusion: You mentioned the top-end features in built navigation. And that the top end gets a bigger screen. Are the 1st and 2nd pics from the top end version? (Should be as both show navigation).

I ask this because the 3rd image definitely looks smaller. However, the 2nd image seems to have much better resolution than the 1st. Is it just the picture quality or my eyes?

Yes, 1st & 2nd pics are from top end version. The pictures are taken at different times and it's just the picture quality.

Loved the indicator styling and the skid plates. The rear headroom and shoulder room should be better.

Yeah, the indicator styling is really neat. Well, for 4 adults the headroom/shoulder is kind of adequate. It's only when you try & get the 5th one in that it can get cramped.

[deetjohn]

Great review. Thanks for sharing with us Khan!

The facelifted Q3 looks great. And thank God they got rid of those horrible alloys from the older model. I would prefer to have steel discs instead of those alloys, it was that bad.

Any snaps of the 16" wheels? Don't think I have ever seen a spare which is a size up on the running wheels. Very interesting!

Looks like both Audi and BMW are hellbent on leaving no space between the headlights and the grille. But Audi' design looks far far better than the BMW one. The latter is spoiling their machines with that fad.

Any pictures of all black interiors?