[dZired]

Audi has launched the Q3 petrol in India at a price of Rs. 32.20 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). The Q3 is thus currently the only Audi SUV to be offered with a petrol engine option in the country. This launch comes at a time when the Indian market is showing a clear inclination towards petrol powered vehicles.

The Audi Q3 petrol is equipped with a 1.4-litre, four-cylinder TFSI engine that is mated to a 6-speed S-tronic gearbox and develops 150 BHP and 250 Nm of torque. The automaker claims that with this new engine, the Q3 can accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 8.9 seconds and can return an ARAI-certified fuel economy of 16.9 km/l. The petrol engine will only be available with a FWD (front wheel drive) setup.

Features on offer with the Q3 include a panoramic sunroof, LED headlights with DRLs, 17-inch alloys with 235/55 section tyres, MMI infotainment system, deluxe dual-zone automatic climate control, coloured driver information display, cruise control and electromechanical parking brake.

With this addition, the Audi Q3 is available in India with three powertrain options - 1.4 TFSI FWD, 2.0 TDI FWD and 2.0 TDI Quattro. Bookings for the petrol model are now open on all authorized Audi dealerships across the country.

Link to Team-BHP News

[GTO]

Originally Posted by dZired

Audi has launched the Q3 petrol in India

This drives me up the wall!!! Why doesn't their press release have a RHD car with an Indian number plate? If they don't have the budget, use photoshop to add the plates & tint the windows! This is a depressing lack of attention-to-detail.

For those who want to know how the engine is, here's Jaggu's review (A4 1.4L):

Originally Posted by Jaggu

A lot of discussion has been going around regarding the logic of launching a smaller engine'd car; this comparison gets all the more complicated when the likes of the cheaper Skoda Octavia & Audi A3 offer the bigger 1.8 TSI motor. Internationally, the 1.8L has been retired and Audi had a choice of bringing in the 1.4L or a 2.0L TFSI. Audi chose the former for obvious reasons - cost, and the fact that the 1.4L is already available in the Octavia. Skoda itself considers this engine as an 'economy' engine - proof? It's available only in the base Ambition variant.

"Are we being shortchanged by Audi?" was the question I had in mind when I went for the drive. The presentations before the drive mentioned that the motor is more efficient & greener (downsizing is here to stay) with 30% less CO2 emissions. The ARAI certified rating is 17.84 kmpl! Power ratings are 150 BHP and 250 NM torque; not too impressive for a luxury sedan. The official 0-100 time is 8.5 seconds; adequate, but certainly not 'special'. In fact, its baby sibling - the Audi A3 - has a time of 7.3 seconds.

The 1.4L direct-injection turbo is silky smooth. A gentle press on the engine start button and the motor fires into a refined idle - the insulation provided is very good and one can easily forget that the engine is running. Slot into Drive mode (I chose 'comfort' mode to begin with), a soft dab of the throttle and you can feel that this li'l TFSI isn't all that bad. The 250 Nm torque starts at merely 1,500 rpm and this really aids driveability. Within the city, performance is adequate and helped no doubt by the 7-speed DSG which shifts effortlessly & quickly. The DSG helps tremendously & seems to be in perfect sync with the TFSI engine - both seamlessly working together. It's a lot better with the MT gearbox that the Octavia uses. Driving in the city is easy. The car is easy to manoeuvre and the tranny is responsive enough to close in on gaps. Chauffeur-driven owners who only experience the backseat will be just fine.

We get to some four lane highways and it's time to move it into 'sport' mode and give her some gas! Let's make one thing clear - power on tap is 'adequate', but it's certainly not explosive like the Octavia or A3 1.8s which will leave the A4 in the dust. The 1.4L doesn't provide that 'premium' experience you'd expect after cutting such a fat cheque, but it is certainly not slow either. The 1.4L seems eager to climb the rev counter and harder pedal inputs mean the DSG holds the gear in the meat of the power band before progressing onto the next ratio. The DSG is quick & smooth, without any unwanted jerks. Kickdown response times are acceptable and if you really want to go aggressive, use the paddle shifters or the sequential shift of the drive selector to play around. As expected, braking is progressive and the pedal feel offers a lot of confidence (even with late moves). One has to be careful not to get rear ended.

There are two more modes on the Audi drive select; 'Auto' and a user-programmable one. After playing with all the combinations, realization was to leave it in 'Auto' and let the ECU do its business so that I can focus on the driving.

A small motor, turbo-charging & 7-speed DSG should bring good fuel economy. Even after putting it through all kinds of city + highway driving tests, the MID was still showing a respectable 10.5 kmpl overall.

To summarise, the engine will do just fine for the sedate driver or chauffeur-driven owner (who will undoubtedly be lured by the badge). Enthusiasts should look elsewhere. The A3 is quicker, and so is the Octavia. In terms of direct competitors, the Mercedes C200 has 184 horses & 300 Nm torque on tap (0 - 100 in 7.3 seconds). The BMW 320i's ratings are almost identical to the C200 - 184 horses & a 0 - 100 time of 7.3 seconds, although its torque rating is lower @ 270 Nm.

Also keep in mind that the 7-speed DSG has a notorious reputation. It has been prone to breakdowns and is known as the most unreliable automatic transmission around.

[rohan.xj]

Originally Posted by GTO

This drives me up the wall!!! Why doesn't their press release have a RHD car with an Indian number plate? If they don't have the budget, use photoshop to add the plates & tint the windows! This is a depressing lack of attention-to-detail.

For those who want to know how the engine is, here's Jaggu's review (A4 1.4L):

Forget the launch pics, they have launched the 35 TDI engine in Feb but yet to publish brochures for the same. The sales staff uses brochures from the 30TFSI model that was launched last year. To add further salt to injury, colors etc that shown in brochure are not available in Indian market. I had a hard time explaining to my wife (who immediately liked one of the colours in the brochure) why her choice was not available.

[agambhandari]

This just confirms the belief that the upcoming Audi Q2 would come with the same engines. 1.4L TFSI and the 2.0 TDI 140 with FWD configs.

It would be just adequate for the Q3/A4 but I think it would be a much suited engine for the smaller Q2/A3. The Q2 is less than 4.2m long!! and going by these prices we can expect the Q2 to be near the 25-27 lac rupee mark. It could do well if Audi serves the regular discounts that they do especially since BMW is still not offering the X1 in petrol.

In case somebody knows, is this still the infamous DQ200 DSG box or the updated one? I can't seem to remember the number for that.

[avinash_clt]

Originally Posted by dZired

The Audi Q3 petrol is equipped with a 1.4-litre, four-cylinder TFSI engine that is mated to a 6-speed S-tronic gearbox and develops 150 BHP and 250 Nm of torque.

Originally Posted by agambhandari

In case somebody knows, is this still the infamous DQ200 DSG box or the updated one? I can't seem to remember the number for that.

If Audi's press release info is correct, 6-speed S-tronic means the DQ250 DSG that does duties in Superb/Octavia/A3/Jetta/Laura 2.0TDI, not the troublesome 7-speed DQ200 present in VW/Skoda 1.2/1.8TSI. Interestingly, the recently launched A3 1.4TFSI (identical engine) gets the DQ200 itself.

[agambhandari]

Originally Posted by avinash_clt

If Audi's press release info is correct, 6-speed S-tronic means the DQ250 DSG that does duties in Superb/Octavia/A3/Jetta/Laura 2.0TDI, not the troublesome 7-speed DQ200 present in VW/Skoda 1.2/1.8TSI. Interestingly, the recently launched A3 1.4TFSI (identical engine) gets the DQ200 itself.

Yeah you're correct. Cant believe i missed that.
In fact this could probably be the gearbox they will choose in the suvs. Eg. The Tiguan has just been launched in malaysia with the 1.4 TSI and is getting a "6 speed wet clutch DSG" as told by PR team to journos. Looks like TSI DSGs are set to be a bit more reliable.

[avinash_clt]

Originally Posted by agambhandari

Yeah you're correct. Cant believe i missed that.
In fact this could probably be the gearbox they will choose in the suvs. Eg. The Tiguan has just been launched in malaysia with the 1.4 TSI and is getting a "6 speed wet clutch DSG" as told by PR team to journos. Looks like TSI DSGs are set to be a bit more reliable.

The DQ200 is exclusively paired with front wheel drive vehicles only, there are no awd variants. I suppose its design is also intended so. DQ250 however has front-wheel drive as well as AWD (via haldex system at rear) applications. That could also be a reason why Q3 and Tiguan is being offered with DQ250, unlike A3.

[agambhandari]

Autocar India has reviewed the Petrol variant alongwith the Diesel refresh and indeed, the TFSI comes with a 6 speed DSG.
Here's hoping they put that in more cars, if they have to put a 1.4 TSI in their cars. I'm guessing they're not putting it in the SUVs now since they would use more torque at all times than sedans and we know DQ200 is rated at 250NM, so it would be working near its limits all the time.

Here's the link
http://m.autocarindia.com/Reviews/Re...px?CIID=404847

Also, on a related topic Audi does change the AT on the basis of the drivetrain chosen. For eg. The A3 1.8 T if bought in FWD, comes with Dq200 (7 speed), but in quattro form, comes with 6 speed (i believe 250). So choosing DQ250 on a FWD config is a bit puzzling.

[asit.kulkarni93]

Originally Posted by agambhandari

Autocar India has reviewed the Petrol variant alongwith the Diesel refresh and indeed, the TFSI comes with a 6 speed DSG.
Here's hoping they put that in more cars, if they have to put a 1.4 TSI in their cars. I'm guessing they're not putting it in the SUVs now since they would use more torque at all times than sedans and we know DQ200 is rated at 250NM, so it would be working near its limits all the time.

Here's the link
http://m.autocarindia.com/Reviews/Re...px?CIID=404847

Also, on a related topic Audi does change the AT on the basis of the drivetrain chosen. For eg. The A3 1.8 T if bought in FWD, comes with Dq200 (7 speed), but in quattro form, comes with 6 speed (i believe 250). So choosing DQ250 on a FWD config is a bit puzzling.

IIRC the diesel q3 uses the DQ380 gearbox. If the petrol has a 6-speed wet dual clutch gearbox then it has to be the tried and tested dq250. I don't think any of the Audi's on sale in india use the dq200 because all the 7-speed S-Tronics are wet clutch gb's whereas the dq200 is a dry clutch gb.

[avinash_clt]

Originally Posted by asit.kulkarni93

IIRC the diesel q3 uses the DQ380 gearbox. If the petrol has a 6-speed wet dual clutch gearbox then it has to be the tried and tested dq250. I don't think any of the Audi's on sale in india use the dq200 because all the 7-speed S-Tronics are wet clutch gb's whereas the dq200 is a dry clutch gb.

In India, Audi A3, earlier in its 1.8TSI and now in its 1.4TSI continues to use DQ200, and as with Audi terminology, any DSG, whether wet/dry or transverse/longitudinal, utilises the s-tronic moniker. It should be noted that there are no AWD/Quattro applications possible with DQ200, irrespective of engine torque output.

When the Audi Q3 2.0TDI quattro was introduced in 2012 in India, it had the DQ500 box (like Tiguan back then), and not DQ380/381.

I am not sure whether the current face-lifted Q3 2.0TDI FWD and 2.0TDI quattro continues to use DQ500 or replaced it with DQ380/381. Upcoming Tiguan Mk2 is said to be have the DQ500, while the Kodiaq supposedly have DQ380/381.

In EU, Seat Ateca uses DQ380/381, while Tiguan Mk2 supposedly uses DQ500. We will have to wait and see the pairing for Indian vehicles.