IMOTO: AUDI Q3
AUDI South Africa continues to deliver new vehicles with the launch of the latest Q3 SUV and Sportback.
Last year the company promised to deliver more than 20 cars in the next two years and it is fulfilling its promise.
I haven’t gotten into this Q3, others to come include the Q5, RS 5 Sedan and RS 5 Avant, RS 3 Competition Limited of choice, A6 Allroad and others.
The Q3 is an important car for Audi South Africa because one in four cars they sell is the Q3, according to them.
The latter is the third type and you don’t look for newness in it because it is clearly coming.
At the front, it has a singleframe grille that is slightly open and Matrix LED headlights.
The headlights are very bright and can be turned off to avoid dazzling other drivers and are too bright on the sides.
It depends on your model but the rims are between 18 and 20 inches.
If you look at it from the side, the Sportback has a skull that becomes a scar at the back.
The back is where you find the OLED lights that you can install if you like, like in the A5 that arrived last year. The Audi logo is now illuminated for the first time.
Stepping inside the first thing that struck me was the high level of construction used. Even when you touch it, you can feel that it is hard and it softens where it should be soft.
The cargo space is 488 liters but if you move the rear seats forward it becomes 575 liters. If you put them to sleep, it will be 1,386 liters and in the Sportback it will be 1,289 liters because of its head.
The things that come with it include the Audi virtual cockpit combined with the MMI touch display of 12.8 inches. It’s where you connect a mobile phone via Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, display directions, play the radio through Sonos speakers and more.
Some models have a panoramic sunroof, heated front seats, adaptive cruise control and more.
If you want, you can add technology to park itself and remember the way you always park it and do it automatically. You can also add that it warns you when you are going down that you might crash or there are people.
Under the bonnet, the Q3 comes with two petrol and diesel engine options.
The petrol is 1.4 liter with a power of 110kW and a torque of 250Nm. The gearbox is a 7 speed S-tronic.
They say it goes from 0 to 100km/h in 9.1 seconds and from a 55 liter petrol tank it consumes 6.8l/100km.
I drove it a bit in Cape Town and it drives well and the power sends it without any problem even though it feels small since it is not a fast car.
My heart, however, is taken with the 2.0 TDI diesel. It also has a power of 110kW but a higher torque of 360Nm.
It takes 9.2 seconds to reach 100km.
I like it because it takes off and its noise is different than the TFSI because it has a nice sound and the way it takes off you can feel the torque it pulls.
The good thing about it is that it saves on diesel as they say it consumes 5.0 liters per 100km.
Price:
1.4 TFSI 110kW S tronic
- Q3 SUV: R814,200
- Q3 Sportback: R849,200
- Q3 Advanced SUV: R867,000
- Q3 Advanced Sportback: R902,000
- Q3 S line SUV: R904,000
- Q3 S line Sportback: R939,000
- Q3 S line Black SUV: R929,000
- Q3 S line Black Sportback: R964,000
2.0 TDI 110kW S tronic
- Q3 SUV: R852,500
- Q3 Sportback: R887,500
- Q3 Advanced SUV: R905,300
- Q3 Advanced Sportback: R940,300
- Q3 S line SUV: R942,300
- Q3 S line Sportback: R977,300
- Q3 S line Black SUV: R967,300
- Q3 S line Black Sportback: R1,002,300
They come with the Audi Freeway Plan for five years or 100,000 km.