[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Couple of images of the new Q3 in Navarra Blue -

[AZ911]

With the discounts rolling in, the technology Q3 is just 5-6L less than the premium plus of Q5. With Q5 being a much better car in most aspects, this pricing doesn't make much sense. I smell discounts rolling out sooner than usual.
The car is pretty good, no doubt, but its late arrival, bad pricing, availability of better vfm options, pretty much push this towards, either oblivion like Q2 or heavily discounted similar to an outgoing X1.
Missing out on ventilated seats is such a downer, especially when cars costing a fourth come with these features. Pretty much same on Q5 as well.

[Lux_Noob]

Test drove the Q3 and got a “discounted” quote of ~55 lac OTR Mumbai (~3 lac to quoted/inflated price). TD vehicle is only available in Technology variant but the quote was for Premium Plus variant as ~64 price tag for technology is too high even with discounts unless they are bumper. Also, not sure whether a gimmick by Audi or truthful, the Technology variant is sold out already per the dealer, and as the booking for this can only be done online, this seems true if you visit the booklng website.

With a 3 year warranty+3 year service package, I guess the true OTR is ~52 lacs? Which makes it in-line with XC40 (with festive season offer if still on) and less than the 220d GLA (as I think comparing GLA petrol maybe unfair to this powerful petrol Q3).

Compared to GLA, this premium plus Q3 misses out on big “premium” features like Memory seats in the front, and electric tailgate, not to mention the amazing overall interior of the GLA. Compared to XC40, incremental miss is gesture based tailgate opening, wireless charging and ADAS features.

All said, this is my personal favourite in terms of exterior looks in this class by a mile, so I am very tempted even after the “teeth-clenchingly” frustrating misses of memory seats (which I always desired in my luxury car dreams, having adjusted manually all my life) and electric tailgate (now will have to wait to close my “luxury car” boot when no one is watching!). I think its road presence is something which somewhat crosses the subjective barrier for anyone who is looking for sporty+luxury exterior presence. GLA only looks luxury (no character actually IMHO, no offence), XC40 is too “not soft” (and that heavy plastic/rubber cladding all around without any chrome compensation exaggerates this IMO) while X1 still looks luxury with a fair amount of road presence even as it fades away in its current avatar.

Common man short drive review on Worli sea link(from a non engine head who is primarily getting into this luxury segment from a feel perspective) - Overall, this felt like the most sophisticated drive when combing power delivery and ride quality and handling. It lacks the surge which you get even in petrol X1 and of course the 220d GLA, and also if I may dare say the new XC40 but the good part of this is that you always feel more planted than the other cars (possibly AWD effect). Another thing I felt was that once inside and driving, you feel like you are in a much bigger car than it feels from outside (a positive). I plan to do a more realistic TD closer to home on Andheri west’s road, or taking the car for a Moonwalk considering the craters we have here, to get a more realistic assessment of ride quality in traffic conditions.

In the meanwhile, will be great to know
1)forum’s thoughts on pricing (the discounts are 1.6 lacs on registration tax support, 25k on insurance (now 1.5 lac), 50% on logistics (now 50k)

2) can CBU cars get BH registration (will save a lot on taxes then)

3) are there any pros/cons of getting a CBU car vs. waiting to get a normal CKD in 3-4 months (barring taxation which is well known)? The SA pitched these to be specially built cars from Germany and a common launch strategy for luxury car makers to establish the premium-ness quotient, implying quality of CBU is a notch higher than CKD.

4) the premium plus model doesn’t have “Drive select” (I.e. shifting between comfort/dynamic etc, so you only get one mode Comfort and obviously Manual for your sporty desires) but he did say that you can shift the gear knob to S mode as a compromise as this does put the gear ratios in the Dynamic mode however the Steering doesn’t weight up (as it does in Dyanmic mode). If this is true I guess I am fine with the compromise for my once in a while sporty urges, but if not then I guess Premium plus is a major downgrade. Let me know if you know any better on this aspect. And I get back to another weekend binging of car comparison videos on YouTube! Cheers!

[samitjain]

I had bought q5 premium plus around 62 on road few months back. It seems that q3 technology pack would cost similar. It seems q5 was a VFM car seeing what q3 offers.
Q3 has got its own fan following. I owned the previous generation q3. What I really missed in q3 was autohold feature which was there in previous gen.

Most of the expensive German cars don’t offer ventilated seats. But q3 because of its dimensions is very city friendly car.

Except for price which might come down after few months it might become a good buy.

[venkyhere]

The pics show Michelin Primacy 4 tyres. Did they come as OEM from factory?

[nirajr]

Why is it fine to sell a 50 lakh+ OTR car without any active safety or ADAS functionality. Merc, BMW and Audi need to be called out for this. Also, we need to challenge the narrative about ADAS not working well in India and active safety features being too intrusive. My 2021 Volvo S60's lane keeping and adaptive cruise control are super useful on highways (very significantly reduce stress and tiredness). The emergency braking has alerted in time many times, and my driver is now a much better driver because of this. Together, all of these take away a lot of stress and add real value.

[amartya_bhp]

My MY 2022 Audi A4 PP+ variant also lacks ADAS features, and frankly speaking, I have never felt their need on Indian highways, and definitely, not in city roads. But yes, I would have liked to have ventilated seats and adaptive headlights in a 40L+ car. The Q3 should have at least come with these to present a VFM option to the buyers out there, specially for those who are just wanting to upgrade to the luxury segment.

[Lux_Noob]

Originally Posted by Lux_Noob

Test drove the Q3 and got a “discounted” quote of ~55 lac OTR Mumbai (~3 lac to quoted/inflated price). TD vehicle is only available in Technology variant but the quote was for Premium Plus variant as ~64 price tag for technology is too high even with discounts unless they are bumper. Also, not sure whether a gimmick by Audi or truthful, the Technology variant is sold out already per the dealer, and as the booking for this can only be done online, this seems true if you visit the booklng website.

Did another short TD of the Q3 in the Andheri area for a more realistic day to day driving experience. The overall refinement level of the car at all speeds is a standout. Potholes (which is predominant part of the roads here) were dealt better than X1, GLA but and possibly on par with XC40. I test drove an A6 back to back to realise the higher quality of the sedan’s suspensions even with lower GC, and it felt a lot better. Another thing which I could pay attention to this time as it was mostly a slow bumper to bumper traffic drive, was the Audi viirtual cockpit plus digital infotainment screen, which imparts a super sporty vibe in the cabin. While once could argue GLA MBUX vs AUDI virtual cockpit in terms of functionality etc, in terms of feel I prefer Audi. Overall interiors are certainly no match with the GLA, especially the centre console which doesn’t feel premium (but is much more tolerable if you are inside the cabin vs seeing a picture/video, and not a dealbreaker). However, the bumper to bumper traffic and multiple signals made me realise the BIGGEST FLAW of this vehicle - lack of auto hold feature. While I was frustrated at the idea of not having memory seat buttons and electric tailgate, these are still more “feel” items as one may not operate them on a daily basis. But not having auto hold on an automatic means your foot does not get any rest unless you go back to your manual habits of shifting into neutral and hand braking at signals. This totally sucks and sucks out the premium-ness from this otherwise superb vehicle and counts as a dealbreaker for me or anyone barring hardcore Q3 enthusiasts, and quashes my long nursed dreams of owning this handsome car. I can understand Audi robbing us of the beautiful dynamic taillights due to chip shortage or whatever but no auto hold is not a nice-to-have feature for especially a luxury vehicle. On a separate note, it was amusing to see hardly any automotive journalists bringing this point up in the recently released media video reviews. Only a couple of them even pointed out the lack of memory seats as well while most just talked about lack of ventilated seats and 360 degree cameras which no-one in the segment offers anyway! Think reviews can/should be more critical/honest. Overall, my respect for XC40 has gone up even further after TDing everything. It offers everything one is looking for in this segment (including a punchy enough Powertrain) and more, it’s just a matter of agreeing to its external looks.

[UD17]

Originally Posted by inwester

Hello drivers
If you compare me against GLA, the new X1 and XC40 you know I'm the one to avoid.

+1 and what's with the bland interior, does not look aspiring at all. Better compare it with XUV7oo where 7oo wins hands down. Apart from Audi batch there is nothing special about this car, why customer would pay premium for a car which lacks in feature, space, technology and snob value.

Hope the ridiculous discounts floats in very quickly.

[Cresterk]

Originally Posted by lordrayden

The lack of a 360-degree camera though regrettable is still digestible. But a car that costs half a crore on-road doesn't have auto-hold and ventilated seats!?

Auto-hold is common on all cars with electronic parking brakes but none of the entry level germans have 360 degree cameras nor ventilated seats nor some other very basic features like keyless entry even though they all have push button start.

None of them are present in the X1, the X3, the 3 series (all versions even grand limousine), the GLA, A class, even the new C class at 70L onroad.

360 degree camera is available from the 5 series and GLC (2021+) onwards. (80L+ segment)

Keyless entry is available in BMW only from 5 series, X5 onwards.

Ventilated seats and keyless entry are only available in some CBU variants of mercedes as well the GLS and S class (1 cr - 2 cr)
Ventilated seats on BMW are available only in 7 series and X7.



Coming back to the Audi Q3, those alloys look like they belong on a 2015 honda city and the interior is just the same as any cheap volkswagen except for the nice instrument cluster.

[haskelerator]

A great all rounder as usual from Audi. The interior quality is impeccable and the drive is premium and refined. ADAS is only a gimmick and honestly is not necessary for this segment and overall useful only on access controlled highways. Missing the auto hold and memory seats badly though.

[pradheepsr]

Excellent review as usual.

The Audi Q3 is just very good for a family of 4 with just about adequate space for long drives and airport drops.

But you don’t just get that extra oomph that you need at this price point.

The Q3 lacks a sporty engine/performance, doesn’t have the WOW factor that many of its rivals have.

It should have got the TFSI in the 245 bhp state of tune and begs for an RS version with sporty body kit to set it apart from others that are way below its segment.

Considering the price and specs, It makes sense to buy the Skoda Kodiaq (which offers 7 seats) or the VW Tiguan with the same engine in the same state of tune but 15-20 lakhs cheaper.

Audi needs to reconsider its strategy with the Q3 and should consider bringing the RS.

[samik_jonak]

I have a 45 TFSI with 228 BHP here in New York. I have driven it for 14,000 miles and it has enough power for everything. Auto drive mode has turbo lag but it can be easily overcome with dynamic, comfort, and individual mode. I have done a few 1000 miles of road trips in this car and it's always a pleasure. No, it's not a sports car but it's an extremely practical small luxury SUV.

[adv]

Originally Posted by Lux_Noob

However, the bumper to bumper traffic and multiple signals made me realise the BIGGEST FLAW of this vehicle - lack of auto hold feature. While I was frustrated at the idea of not having memory seat buttons and electric tailgate, these are still more “feel” items as one may not operate them on a daily basis. But not having auto hold on an automatic means your foot does not get any rest unless you go back to your manual habits of shifting into neutral and hand braking at signals.

Hello, a noob question - the previous gen Q3 had auto hold.
When stationery for a longer than a minute such as at traffic lights, is it better to shift into neutral or is it ok to leave the car in D with the auto hold active. I ask from the POV of keeping the gearbox in good health, not from a convenience standpoint.

[adi_petrolhead]

Originally Posted by adv

When stationery for a longer than a minute such as at traffic lights, is it better to shift into neutral or is it ok to leave the car in D with the auto hold active. I ask from the POV of keeping the gearbox in good health, not from a convenience standpoint.

It was advisable with the dry clutch DQ200 to shift to neutral, and most of those vehicles weren't equipped with auto hold either. In any case, I think it is safe to leave the car in D and let auto hold take care of everything. When the car is stationary it does feel like the clutch is disengaged. So there shouldn't be any extra strain. I only shift to neutral if I can see the timer at the signal showing more than 100 seconds stationary time. But as soon as you put it in neutral, the auto hold disengages. So yeah its an extra step to first engage e-brake manually and then slot the gear in neutral.