[SilverSmoke]

Originally Posted by biplab3110

Which of these would be the best replacement for the stock wheels on the Q3?

My vote goes for Massimo.

[PaddleShifter]

Originally Posted by biplab3110

Which of these would be the best replacement for the stock wheels on the Q3?

I guess Massimo look the best followed by Revenge.

What is the colour of your Q3?

Kindly consider posting in the dedicated Q3 review so that more people can contribute to your query.

[biplab3110]

Originally Posted by PaddleShifter

I guess Massimo look the best followed by Revenge.

What is the colour of your Q3?

Kindly consider posting in the dedicated Q3 review so that more people can contribute to your query.

I am buying the White Q3 with beige interiors. Since the car has no black claddings (unlike others in the category) and a lot of brushed Aluminum, I feel the Evoluzione suits it well. I saw these wheels in flesh today and they are fabulous. Approx 65K to 70K for a set of 4.

Here is a bad crop and paste job for reference


And here is the one for Massimo voters.

[sydras]

Congratulations on your new Q3!

I'd considered the Q3 for myself back in February when I'd purchased my A4 but eventually looked away as I was not yet ready to become an SUV convert.

I share your observations w.r.t. the quality as I felt that the quality in the Q3 was a notch below the A4, but probably because the B9.5 A4 is based on an overall older (2015 I think) platform v/s the Q3 which is much newer.

I also agree with your observations on the refinement and power of the beautiful 2.0L TFSI engine. Apart from the initial shake on startup, the engine is super refined and it feels as if I'm driving an electric car at low speeds. Plus the noise insulation is superlative and the multi-link suspension at all 4 wheels gives a superlative ride that neither Mercedes(C-class, GLA) or BMW (330Li) can match.

W.r.t. power, there's loads of it and when taken on highways, the engine can either cruise gently or propel you to three digit speeds before you realize it. I've taken my A4 to my hometown and back thrice and I've even touched 200-205 kmph on the Bangalore-Hassan highway though only for a short duration as you quickly run out of peaceful road.

[Lux_Noob]

Originally Posted by biplab3110

I am buying the White Q3 with beige interiors. Since the car has no black claddings (unlike others in the category) and a lot of brushed Aluminum, I feel the Evoluzione suits it well. I saw these wheels in flesh today and they are fabulous. Approx 65K to 70K for a set of 4.
[ATTACH=Q3Evoluzione.jpg]2499416

While there is no denying the Q3 alloys are fairly dull, I believe replacing them with non originals take the class away from the car. It just becomes a “mod” car for which there are a few enthusiasts, no doubt. I do not know if it is possible, but maybe ask Audi if they can make their options available after some time maybe. Also does changing the alloy etc have no impact on warranty?

[Lux_Noob]

I have been filling up normal Petrol in the CBU Q3 per the showroom advice, though they said you can fill up Premium too if you’d like but it is not needed. Does not putting RON95 damage the car in any way or I just miss out on the better engine response? The fuel cap says 95, so I reconfirmed with the showroom. He put me in touch with these service centre who again said normal Petrol is fine. Any views here?

[JoshMachine]

Originally Posted by Lux_Noob

I have been filling up normal Petrol in the CBU Q3 per the showroom advice, though they said you can fill up Premium too if you’d like but it is not needed. Does not putting RON95 damage the car in any way or I just miss out on the better engine response? The fuel cap says 95, so I reconfirmed with the showroom. He put me in touch with these service centre who again said normal Petrol is fine. Any views here?

Suggest to stick to 95 octane petrol or higher (Indian Oil XP95 for e.g.) for overall smoother and crisp response, relatively better fuel efficiency and a tension-free drive.

Check out a fellow BHPian's post on this matter - https://www.team-bhp.com/news/2022-a...ow-i-solved-it

[Lux_Noob]

Originally Posted by biplab3110

I am buying the White Q3 with beige interiors.

Do consider painting the brake callipers in red. I saw it in flesh on a new white Q3. It looked amazingly sporty.

[biplab3110]

THIS IS AN SOS POST

I will take delivery of my Q3 Technology on 8th of October 2023. I was at the dealership yesterday for a PDI. I found the car standing on Hankook Ventus S1 Evo 3 EV tyres.

I have no idea about EV tyres and hence came home and did some research. There is a lot of good info available about Hankook EV tyres. These are the salient points I could gather:

1. Since EVs are much heavier than ICE cars, EV tyres are a lot stiffer than regular tyres. While this makes the handling very sharp, it will also make the ride stiffer in a regular car.

2. There is a lot of attention towards reducing noise. There is a foam lining along the surface of the tyres. The lateral grooves are much smaller. Lateral grooves help in displacing water on wet roads but increase tyre noise in dry conditions. In EVs the weight of the car itself helps in displacing water. Thus, EV tyres on regular cars will have lower noise, but will have poor water displacement and lower resistance to hydroplaning.

3. EV tyres are much heavier than regular tyres, which will make the overall vehicle heavier and will reduce fuel efficiency.

4. EV tyres are designed to handle much more weight and sudden bursts of power and torque. Hence they are expected to last longer on regular cars.

Does anyone have any experience with these tyres?

I checked with the dealership and they said all Q3s, Q5s and A4 are coming with Hankook EV tyres and these are all Audi approved. I am just wondering, is this acceptable?

[Lux_Noob]

Originally Posted by biplab3110

THIS IS AN SOS POST
Does anyone have any experience with these tyres?

I checked with the dealership and they said all Q3s, Q5s and A4 are coming with Hankook EV tyres and these are all Audi approved. I am just wondering, is this acceptable?

My 2 cents having driven the Q3 PP for the last 5 months on Hankook. I had never heard of this brand so I also panicked when I saw the same at the delivery time. But the the Q8 next to my car was also on the same brand so I assumed these are quality tyres. Btw, I am the types who didn’t even do a PDI, so normalize my observations from an enthusiast’s perspective. The tyre noise is negligible on city roads, EV like as someone said earlier. The water splash during rains in somewhat extraordinary. I have to slow down really to make sure pedestrians etc remain dry as the Q3 passes by during rainy times. On highways (only done 1 run so far), the tyre noise is there, a constant hum. Not bothersome but a departure form the ultra quiet city manners. Overall, I find the ride quality on these tyres to be very good around the not so great road conditions around where I live, but the caveat is that I have only driven hatchbacks before this, so my bar maybe really low. But at least compared to the lot I test drove (old X1, GLA, XC40), Q3 is the best ride quality with XC40 fairly close.

[biplab3110]

Originally Posted by Lux_Noob

My 2 cents having driven the Q3 PP for the last 5 months on Hankook. I had never heard of this brand so I also panicked when I saw the same at the delivery time.

Do your tyres have "EV" (Check the photograph I have shared) written, or just "Ventus S1 Evo 3"?

[Lux_Noob]

Sorry I am travelling so can’t get a real time picture but attaching a screen grab from a delivery time video. It seems it does have ev at the end. And can’t see the photograph you posted here fyi.

[biplab3110]

Finally brought home the Baby Q today, after what seemed like an endless wait. The wait was purely on my account as my financial plan was falling in place only at end of September. Sharing the process and the experience.

The Selection Process – It was late July when I suddenly had the itch of buying a Luxury SUV. I drive a Seltos GTX DCT (first lot – bought in Sept 2019) now and I was not looking for something bigger. A quick back of the envelope maths and I knew I could do it before I reach an age milestone coming up this year. So I got down to the selection process, from a very short list. Next few weeks were spent test driving these SUVs.

BMW X1 18d – Least powerful of the lot and did not meet the basic performance criteria. I also found the sheer lack of physical buttons very gimmicky. This was the first one to get dropped from consideration.

Volvo XC40 – Felt heavy, not a very enthusiastic engine. “Safety” seemed to be the only selling point. The Volvo SAs should understand, making a statement like “the car will roll over at least four times before the roof collapses” is not good to sell a car. I wouldn’t like to visualise myself in a car rolling down a slope. However, the XC40 got dropped for two primary reasons – extremely poor backseat comfort (low seating, very low under thai support, upright back, ineffective AC) and the uninspiring service network (only one in MMR, just four all over Maharashtra).

GLA 200d – Punchy performance, opulent interiors. 400Nm of torque in a FWD is a LOT! The extremely soothing MBUX interface and the rotary AC vent controls with a reassuring click exude class. Nothing over the top and it easily put me at ease. However, I feel a rotary dial with clicks on the central console would be a much easier way to operate the MBUX screen than the touchpad with haptic touch.

GLA 220d 4M – Initially this car was not available for TD. The extremely enthusiastic SA and the Sales Manager at the dealership managed to get one down from Indore on a flatbed and it is now working overtime in Mumbai/Thane/Navi Mumbai for TDs. The 4Matic really blew me away. The AWD felt more reassuring than the FWD. The AMG line trim was an added bonus.

Driven by the heart, I went ahead and booked the GLA 220d 4M.
However, both the 220d and the 220d4M had some misses in my books, which I kept ignoring – till I drove the Q3.

Q3 Technology – TD of the Q3 happened by chance. I had requested a TD for the Q3 by selecting a dealer in Mumbai. There was no response for three weeks. I had already booked the GLA 220d4M before they finally called. Initially I ignored the call. But then, I felt why not try out the Q3 once? This time I just called up the other dealer in Mumbai directly and they were very responsive. I called them on a Friday afternoon and on Saturday they were at my doorstep with the car. I went out for a TD with my wife in the back seat and the SA in the passenger’s seat. It was quite a long TD. For people who know Thane, it was on Ghodbunder Road, from Manpada to Fountain Hotel and back. A distance of 27km with quite a few sharp bends, turns and gradients.
It was raining and the road was bad in some places. I was pushing the car on a nice long curve and the SA asked me not to apply brakes. The way the car handled was fascinating! Then we were stuck in traffic with a few trucks in front. There was space on the left with 30% road and 70% gravel. The SA asked me to move ahead through that gap. The performance and the feel left me with a BIG smile. Yes, it did not have the 400Nm of torque of the GLA, but 320Nm did not feel like much less. The Q3 has a lot of misses. It is the lowest on “new age tech” among all four. It is the only one with ZERO connected car features. But then, my Seltos is a connected car and how many times have I used them in last four years? Very very few!! However, there are some very practical aspects which are better in the Q3. These aspects, aided by the attractive pricing, made me zero down on the Q3.

Considering the performance of GLA220d4M and the Q3 Technology almost at par, I got down to comparing the practical matters of the two cars, and this is how they fared. That the Q3 is a petrol car and the GLA 220d4M is diesel also tilted the balance in Q3’s favour (I was jittery putting so much money in a diesel car with some policy changes looming large). Eventually, the Q3 was Rs14 Lacs cheaper than the GLA, with extended warranty and a 5 years’ Service Package:


The Booking Process – This is where things became interesting and irritating. Let us say Dealer A offered me the Test Drive and Dealer B had initially been non responsive (Now I believe it was a system glitch and the information did not reach them from Audi’s website). I went to meet Dealer A on a Sunday morning, spent two hours chatting with them, clearly discussed my requirements, financing plan and timelines. I clearly told them that I will have a similar sit down with the other dealer as well. However, since they gave me the TD, they will have the first right of refusal. I had only one condition. You have to give me your best offer. If the other Dealer’s offer is lower by more than Rs 1 Lac, I will not call back as it would mean you did not give me your best offer. They were also unsure of BH registration charges and were all over the place. We assumed a lumpsum value for registration and was given a price that seemed high to me. I asked them to share some details with me – inclusions and exclusion of the insurance being offered, conditions of extended warranty, inclusions and exclusions of a 5 years CSVP, and a proper breakup of the BH registration charges. It was a Sunday and I was told they will get back the next day with all details.

Meanwhile, Dealer B was to meet me in my office the next day. However, for some reason, I could not be in office on Monday. The Sales Associate and the Sales Manager turned up at my residence at 9pm the same evening. 30 minutes was spent discussing my requirements. They had already shared all details with me in advance (Information on warranty, CSVP and insurance, which Dealer A was yet to share). I was asked if I would book the car right now and I said no. I told them I would need two days to finalise the deal, no more. Then they gave me a number, which was almost Rs5 Lacs lower than what Dealer A had offered!

I was still waiting for Dealer A to give me the required details. Late on Tuesday, I got a call from the SA at Dealer A asking me about when I was going to book the car. I ended up giving him an earful for taking me for granted. I was still waiting for them to give me the details and the calculation for BH registration. Then the Sales Manager called and very casually said “BH registration is 2% of Ex Showroom Price”. I gave him an earful and sent him the MoRTH Gazette for BH registration. Then I told them if they want my business then they need to share their best offer and all details I have asked for by 10am the next day. Instead, they wanted to meet, give me the offer in person and get the booking from me right there. I flatly refused to be put at gun point.

Next morning at 11am, I called up Dealer B. They gave me a token reduction from what they had already offered and we finalized the deal. I asked the Sales Manager why he gave me such an aggressive price when he met me even after I told him that I would not book the car immediately. I was impressed with his honest response. He said “Sir, I had not done anything to get your business. You gave me a chance and I grabbed it. I had nothing to lose. I am glad you decided to go with us”.

Dealer A called me at 3pm and once again insisted on meeting. I said I have already booked the car and they have lost their chance. They kept on insisting that I share at what price I have booked the car. I refused. Gave them a lot of gyan on not taking a customer for granted and to learn something from the incident.

PDI and some hiccups- I have already posted about the issue I discovered during PDI. The car was on Hankook EV tyres and not regular tyres. I wrote to the dealer, spoke with them. I told them it must be a mistake and they should take it up with Audi and change the tyres before delivery. I also called up Audi Customer Service and shared my observation. Within a couple of hours, I got a call from the dealer that the issue will be sorted before delivery. Some to and fro, another call to Audi Customer Service, and my car was delivered with Pirelli Scorpion Verde tyres. All good!!

Accessories – The car came kitted with carpet floor mats and a cargo net in the boot. I added all weather mats, mud flaps, a boot liner and, YES, sports pedals!! 4 years with the Seltos GTX and couldn’t imagine the Q3 without sports pedals.



Here are some photographs of the car before delivery:





Too early to share a drive experience. That will have to wait for a few days. Next the car will go for detailing. Then I have a trip to AmbiValley next weekend. Will share drive experienec and some more photographs after I come back.

[biplab3110]

Detailing in progress

[CarsAndDrives]

Originally Posted by biplab3110

.

Congratulations on your purchase. It is a great buy and an amazing value for money. Of all the vehicles I have driven recently in that category, the Q3 is the only one that put a smile on my face. The revving engine, power, handling and the practical size of vehicle.
White is a fabulous colour for the Q3 from the looks of it.