Audi Q3 2019 Australia
Audi Q3 2019 Australia welcome to audicarusa.com discover New Audi sedans, SUVs & coupes get our expert review. There is no shortage of options for shoppers in the world of small-to-medium-sized SUV’s, those compact crossover vehicles that intersect the line between everyday urban duties with robust utility looks. It is a crowded market, one in which the combatants should highlight it if they have to disturb the sales lists.
The Audi Q3 has been one of the most popular vehicles of the German brand since the first launch in 2011. Even now, so very late in its life cycle, Q3 remains the third-best-selling model of Ingolstadt in Australia, behind Big Brother Q5 and the small hatch and/or A3 sedan. It is, in short, an important car for Audi, never more than in Australia, where the brand is struggling in terms of sales. This year alone, Audi has seen a decrease of about eight percent at the same time last year, which makes this, the new Q3, an extremely important model for the brand.
The 2019 Audi Q3 will hit Australia in the mid-2019, but CarAdvice has been given an early projection in the International model launch in the North Tyrol region of Italy.
And right away, it’s easy to see that this is a more aggressive looking crossover. Once again (for 97mm), wider (25mm) and lower (5mm), and with a wheelbase of 77mm on its predecessor, the new Q3 presents a menacing façade, accentuated even more by an aggressive octagonal grille with eight vertical slats. The general lines of Q3 are sharper, edges where once lived curves. It is well proportioned, with a musculature simply lacking in its forebear.
Read more: Audi Q3 2019 Canada
Flanking that aggressive grid is a new LED flashlight design that offers intelligent adaptive high-beam technology. Those headlights are connected to their tail-light counterpart by a prominent shoulder line running the length of the sides of the Q3. If in fact, Audi designers are set to create an aggressive crossover SUV, then visually at least have been successful.
Audi Q3 2019 Interior and Exterior
Inside, Q3 receives the latest fitments interiors from Audi. Audi’s virtual cockpit comes standard across the range, although there are 10.25-inch and 12.3-inch options. It does not matter, however, as virtual Cockpit continues to impress with its clarity, functionality and fully customizable interface.
Equally impressive is Audi’s new generation Infotainment system, with a 8.8 inch touch screen as standard or an optional 10.1 inch monitor. Integrated into the board and angled towards the driver. The display itself offers crystal-clear images and is intuitive to use. Apple Display and Android auto come standard like voice control as well as integrated satellite navigation with real-time traffic alerts. Our test car in the launch came with the optional mapping of Google Earth and is, simply, superb to look at.
And that real-time traffic alert functionality more than demonstrated its mettle on the roads around the Dolomites in northern Italy, a honeycombed Backroads and Autostrada in the midst of a lot of roadworks. Could we avoid it? Not in this case, but we knew he was coming and cushioned the punch a little.
Not that being caught in traffic was unpleasant, not in this part of the world, with imposing mountains and green fields and impenetrable woods flanking the roads. And especially not in the Q3 ‘s beautifully executed interior, which is both carefully and artfully designed.
Those prominent daring lines on the outside Q3 ‘ s carry through to the cockpit, which is an acute and modern take on the interior design. There are angles and facets everywhere, surfaces where there should be no and trimmed in unexpected materials–such as the amber-brown section of Alcantara from the splash of the terrace–an option, part of Audi’s design selection concept for the interior, But brave though. The brushed-aluminum accents highlight the bold lines and surfaces, but they are not exaggerated in any way. Simply, the interior invites the tactility and I spent my time in the passenger seat touching each surface.
Read more: Audi Q3 2019 Cost
The biggest party trick in the interior, however, is space. There’s plenty. These larger external dimensions-together with some smart packaging-have translated very well into the cockpit, which is both more spacious and more fluffy than the old Q3. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the second row, which now feels like a medium sized SUV in terms of leg, knee and toe of the room. It easily surpasses the outgoing third quarter – it is not difficult since the previous model was not exactly a shining beacon for the comfort of the second row – in every crucial measurement. And those seats are comfortable too, no doubt the banks are overboard. The back row slides back and forth as well, up to 150mm in a 60:40 divided form, while the seat backs rest for that bit of extra comfort.
Audi Q3 2019 Engine
This slip helps to address another major critique of the old Q3 – boot space. In short, there are now many, about 70 liters more than the outgoing model even in the smaller configuration. The new Q3 now offers 530 liters with the back row in use and slid to its rear position. Slide the benches forward and expand to 675 liters, while bending the non-flat back row (40:20:40) releases up to 1525 liters. The starting floor itself can be dropped in a lower position (about 6cm) to provide even more depth, and therefore space. Suddenly, the Q3 compact no longer looks so compact.
However, what we can safely assume is that the Q3 35 TFSI front-wheel drive unit will re-form most of Q3 ‘s sales. Around 60 per cent of all former-generation Q3s sold in Australia were of the 1.4-litre two-wheel drive small variety. It is not a big surprise, considering that in the current market, compact and medium SUV’s have become the urban vehicle of choice. In short, we still don’t know what motor and the transmission train combinations we’re getting.
What we do know is that the Q3 of new generation is being launched in Europe with three petrol engines and one diesel, along with the six-speed manual or the dual-speed automatic S Tronic clutch of Audi. And depending on the variant, the drive will be shipped to the front wheels only or through the Audi All-wheel Quattro traction system.
We sampled the 35 TFSI at the launch, with a four-cylinder turbo-gasoline of 1.5 liters with modest outputs of 110kW and 250Nm. That power is transmitted to the front wheels via Audi seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, helping to move the Q3 into a brisk, if not fashion-breaking neck. A Sprint time of 0-100km/h of 9.2 seconds is nothing to shout on the rooftops around, after all, but then, nor does it have to be a Grand Prix semaphore winner.
What the TFSI 35 does, and does extremely well, is to provide a supremely comfortable level of each motor day. That 1.5-liter four (having won 100cc over the old 1.4-liter replaces thanks to a longer movement), is perfectly willing to go about his day work with ease and refinement.
That last word cannot be emphasized enough. Refinement. The first thing you notice about Q3 in this way is the damn tranquility it is, in every sense. On more than one occasion, we had to check that we had started the damn thing (we had), it is that quiet. In CarAdvice we often sing praises from the droning engines and RONR and thrum and yes, sometimes screaming, for their dinner. But in this segment, and at this point of entry, we venture that it is not something high on the list of prospective buyers.
Leaving a dead spot invokes a slightly gravelly note of the four-pot ahead, but once in motion, there is not much noise coming from the bonnet. That’s not to say that performance is dull because of its lack of noise. The TFSI 35 is perfectly capable and willing to negotiate most situations effortlessly, and working in tandem with the dual S Tronic clutch, offers an attractive and relaxed driving experience.
The dual-clutch car is a breeze as well, keeping intuitively the right relationship for what you demand from Q3. No doubt, no lag, just a simple and methodical Get-up-and-Go with the slightest fuss. Ask more about it by stepping on the right pedal, and you are rewarded with a vivacious Downshift of a pair of Cogs and a burst of speed, while not exactly manic, certainly fast enough to get you out of trouble.
That refined sensation extends to the configuration of the Q3 ‘ s suspension which is, again, sublime. There is nothing revolutionary about the MacPherson configuration on the front and the four-link rear design, but it is both obedient and silent, ironing every obstacle in its way with hardly a ripple. Even the biggest hits such as speed humps were skillfully and quietly treated, the third quarter going through the obstacle with minimal fuss.
If there is a complaint, and it is a long lasting complaint with Audi, it is the address. Our test car was equipped with Audi’s optional progressive steering configuration and while offering a good weighting and is sharpened in its precision, it does not lack a bit of feeling. No feedback, no connection to the road. But again, is this something the expected customer will notice in their day-to-day driving?
What you’ll notice is the excessive noise of the road. And the good news for Audi is, this is one of the quietest Audis we’ve ever driven. Perhaps it was the relatively fat rubber wrapped around 18-inch alloys, but the noise levels that intrude into the cockpit are minimal. Only the thickest of the surfaces evidence some roar of tyre in the cockpit, while the wind noise was next to non-existent, with only the wing mirrors offering the purest touch of a whistle at Autostrada speeds. In short, it’s quiet inside, refined.
Read more: Audi Q3 2019 Changes
Of course, those who want a more sporting experience can enter the 40 TFSI or 45 TFSI, variants of the same four-cylinder Turbo-gasoline engine of 2.0 liters. The 40 offers a healthy power 140kW and a Sprint-to-triple-digit time of 7.4 seconds, while the 45 UPS outputs to 169kW power and torque 350Nm, capable of boosting Q3 to 100km/h in 6.3 seconds.
We spent some time in the most powerful of the two 2.0-liter options, and immediately, it is evident that this is a happier third quarter, with an urgency that lacks its stablemate engined. That 6.3 second claim, while not clinically proven, feels good. It still does not come full of drama-no doubt that the theater will be charged in the inevitable variant SQ3-but there is a spriteliness to the 45 TFSI which is endearing.
The trip is more firm also, certainly in part because of the low profile rubber married with some alloys of 20 inches brave, and the optional sport suspension adjusted to this example. It still shows exemplary manners, with excellent shock absorption and minimal cabin noise, but there is a slight firmness in the path, especially in the dynamic mode. It is perfectly within acceptable limits, however, and not anything that will put your teeth on the edge.
At motorway speeds, the 45 TFSI, like the 35, is delighted to Lope along with a minimum of effort. However, call her for a gust of speed to overtake and is, no wonder, more disposed and effortless, the 350Nms available happy to oblige. There is the same feeling numb to the steering, but again, as far as accuracy and weighting goes, the TFSI 45 provides enough of both to make this a minor nuisance, certainly not a breaker of treatment.
Audi Q3 2019 Australia
Externally, our launch car is equipped with the black style package, which essentially replaces all the chrome finish with gloss or matte black. Everything, from the surroundings of the window, to the grate and even all the brand and the badging model gets the treatment of the blackout and, when combined with the orange pulse painting of this particular car, certainly stands out.
That pulse the orange subject continues in with contrast seams and fringes of orange Alcantara. It sounds flashy, but in fact, it works.
In fact, the new Audi Q3 only works. There really isn’t much wrong with this compact SUV. Even in its lowest specs, the 35 TFSI, the Q3 handles daily driving tasks with dignity and a touch of style, if not theater. Instead, it is presented as a convincing package, both elegant and avant-garde, while also remaining functional and extremely practical.
The style on the substance is not an epithet that can be leveled in the new Q3. Simply, the new Q3 impresses in almost every area you are asked for.
