[CEF_Beasts]

So a friend of mine from Gurgaon just picked up the new Q3 in Glacier White (supposedly the first delivery in India).

Everything looked fine and good, but then what caught my attention blew my mind!! A 50 Lakh premium car doesn’t get a Push Button Start in today’s day and age, whoever specced the car for India has definitely made the biggest blunder of his life!

I’m guessing it was the Premium Plus variant in question. And to make matters even worse Audi India doesn’t even have a brochure available on their website where one can see the actual difference in features between the Premium Plus and Technology variant!

If anyone has seen the Premium Plus variant in person or has a brochure with the detailed variant differences, that would be great. And please correct me if I am wrong.

[ThunderIce]

This was shared by gurgaon rep a while back. Hope its useful:

[Lux_Noob]

Originally Posted by CEF_Beasts

I’m guessing it was the Premium Plus variant in question.

Yes this is the PP version. This is not clear from the gradewalk as PP has “remote key without safe lock” which doesn’t intuitively imply good old fashioned key insert start.
Another point is the aluminium finish difference between the two versions - Here it is mostly not so bad for PP as only the door inserts which host the ambient lights are missing, along with a touch of chrome finish on EPB, and window controls. So these look all black. Not a dealbreaker IMO. Also, the virtual cockpit housing still has a chrome outlining but is less thick that what is there in the technology version. In my experience, the big miss between tech and PP version is the electric boot as the car is so well built that one actually needs to out an effort to close the tailgate, not to mention the “luxury” quotient of pressing a button and walking off.

On push button start, I find it to be a somewhat silly feature from an enthusiast perspective. Getting the pulse of the car with a key start feels more connecting than pressing a button like it is a microwave oven or something. I do get that there are hardly any luxury segment cars which do not use push button start so it maybe frustrating from that angle. And cars which have a keyless entry as well (like the technology version), there is an added ergonomic ease as you can say come out of the gym with keys in your bag and you can get going without disturbing your belongings.

To put it in a “glass half full” perspective, I feel PP version is significantly high VFM as the car looks absolutely the same from outside and your are getting a proper 4x4 in the mid 50 lac range.

[attrip2008]

Q3 sportback to be launched this month it seems.

I would love for it to get the missing auto hold feature and maybe a more powerful engine.

https://www.carandbike.com/news/audi...-3205715?amp=1

[Lux_Noob]

Originally Posted by attrip2008

Q3 sportback to be launched this month it seems.

I think this is after a long time that Audi is stepping up the game in this segment, like it did in early 2010s to beat the two German rivals with its fresh and sporty looking cars. But this time, the credit goes to Merc and BMW who are downgrading the entry level petrol segment luxury badge with their small engines, while Audi has just stuck to being normal. But internationally Q3 too has the 1.5 TFSI engine, so who knows if the new X1 succeeds, Audi may follow suit!

[attrip2008]

Autocar has reviewed the India spec Q3 sportback.

Gets the sline styling package and different alloys. It sure is a looker. But then rear seat is compromised in terms of headroom and the sunroof single pane.

I don’t see many going for this compromise.

https://www.autocarindia.com/car-rev...ized-q8-427214

[airguitar]

So what is the most noteworthy(=VFM either for it's handling finesse, power or comfort ) in the luxury subcompact/compact crossover/SUVs either in the 45-60L bracket or the 60-75L bracket that doesn't feel like "much ado about nothing" in the fab four - Audi, Merc, Volvo & BMW in India in 2023?

Increasingly seems (esp after reading the new X1 reviews) like it's just the badging on offer at that price ( now I know why people steal these and stick on their buses, cars etc )

[mountainboy1213]

Has anyone here potentially considered Q3 premium plus as an alternative for Kodiaq LnK? Can you please share your perspective on why should someone choose one over another, or why not? Looking for some guidance on this.

[one-77]

Can anyone who has purchased/ negotiated on a Q3 or sportback please share what kind of deals are being offered by Audi on these?
I know that 5-year warranty and 3-year maintenance is offered as standard along with corporate discount, but what is the scope for further negotiation?

[one-77]

These are my impressions from a test drive off the Audi Q3 Sportback

Positives
- Exterior styling. It’s a really nice car to look at. Elegant lines with just the right bulges over the wheel arches. Will age well. Probably my personal favourite in the class from the looks perspective.
- The progressive steering. It’s got the best steering amongst the competitors. Very easy to take U turns, nice to hold, decent feedback, and weighs up nicely in “dynamic mode”.
- Drive. The creamy 2.0 L petrol and 7 speed DCT, along with the Quattro AWD system make this, in my opinion, arguably the nicest car in the class to drive.
- Suspension. A tad firm, but comfortable at the same time.
- Real leather seats.
- A good sized and practical boot despite the coupe styling. Can fit the boot cover under the false floor too.
- Physical knobs for the AC with good tactile feel.

Neutral
- The interiors. Though the material quality is good, the layout is very plain and similar to other VW group cars. There’s absolutely no wow factor. Especially the centre console area.
- Key fob. Might as well belong to an old VW Polo, if you swap out the Audi logo.
- Pricing. It’s on the higher side (like every car on sale right now), but Audi does include 5-year extended warranty and 3/ 5 year maintenance in the pricing now. They were also more willing to negotiate further had we decided to go ahead.

Negatives
- Too many missing features and blank switches for the price. You’d feel like sitting in a “base variant” car. Wish they had launched a fully specced variant, or at least found a way to not have those blank switches.
- No auto hold. This is a terrible terrible miss. Makes driving in heavy traffic a chore because you either have to keep pressing the brake down or use the parking brake every time traffic slows to a stop. You can buy a kit to retrofit it online for about 15k INR, but it’s a complex installation that needs taking apart the centre console and part of the dashboard to route a new cable to the brakes/ abs module instead of the current one, and then enable the function via OBD. Will likely void the car’s warranty.
- No seat memory. It will be a task to get back your perfect position, if you hand over the car to a chauffeur or valet. Or if you and your partner take turns driving.
- No adjustable seat squab in the front.
- No usb ports in the rear.
- No connected car features which the competition offers.
- No active safety features.
- The rear seats are so contoured, that they can only seat two. Plus the transmission tunnel is huge.
- No clarity on E20 compliance.
- The VW Tiguan, with the same platform, engine, and gearbox is over 15 lacs cheaper; and it gets auto hold and memory seats.

[Lux_Noob]

Agree on the positives - the drive refinement, and ride/handling balance is the best for Q3 by a margin compared to rivals in its segment (GLA/old X1/XC40) and in my opinion is reason enough to purchase the car compared to competition, not to mention the looks which no one can complain about even though it is a subjective thing (and I am personally madly in love with). The slight lag when you push the pedal down fully is a bit if a disappointment but then there power at the end of it compared to X1/GLA petrols. The other powerful petrol here I.e. XC40 mild hybrid does a bit better on this front though even that is not instant acceleration.

Also agree on the negatives on interiors - especially the CENTER console which is made up of not super-high quality plastic and the most annoying old school gear lever. If you were blindfolded and taken inside the car and then shown only this part of the car before being taken out, you will never believe it’s an Audi (screams VW). Though I also do not like the switch type shifter (new X1) which feels appliance than car-like. Q5/A4 shifters are the way to go or even the classy crystal one on XC40. However, I think Q3 does have the most modern looking electronic interface I.e. MMI plus virtual cockpit. Being integrated int the car design is a much more eye soothing experience compared to the elongated tablets which GLA and the next X1 have. I feel they will not age well even though they do look nice as well. In total, the interiors are digestible (to me).

Lack of memory seats are a real miss and no excuse for that - I believe this can be OBD’d too with enabling the seat memory via MMI based user profile which is disabled by default. The car does seem to have memory hardware as the ORVMs bend and retract while reversing and going forward which is a precondition for the OBD to enable seat memory (per google research). But then you are going into warranty risk zone. Maybe try after 5 years and get a newness factor to the car then!
On auto hold and E20 - as someone who screamed their lungs out on this forum out of frustration myself, these are manageable issues also IMO with some risk on the latter point. It could just be my driving style, but I drive fairly relaxed with my right hand mostly, inside the city given the general low city speeds and my left hand rests on the armrest with fingers dangling right above the EPB, so I do not find it un-ergonomic to pull it while idling in D whenever needed. EPB too disengages once your press the accelerator like auto hold would disengage. At longer signals, I put the car in P anyway. Also in start and go crawling traffic, you will be frustrated if auto-Hold is on as the car moves forward only when you accelerate and there is a slight delay and jerk felt as well. Crawling with brake release is actually a lot preferable in such situations. On E20, I read numerous studies on the E20 tests done abroad (see the E20 engine impact thread) almost all of which point to negligible risk of E20 fuel in cars with E10 tolerance. Also, specifically on Q3, this car was directly imported into Brazil till about 2020 (like the CBU here). Brazil has a minimum E content of 27.5 so any car landing there has to survive that (the car manual doesn’t say you can use E20 but certainly says do not use E30 and above which likely hints at this phenomena, purely my guess though). I believe this Q3 should be able to handle that as well with some minor software tweaks to the ECU to handle the compression ratio with the new fuel. It is however an unknown ultimately, so if you can wait a month or so, the CKD Q3 should have this E20 compliance anyway (Govt. mandate on cars manufactured post April 1) which I believe are tweaks no more than mentioned earlier as Audi is unlikely suddenly investing in new engines for India. You will miss out on the CBU quality over CKD though which is a point oft repeated on multiple forums and based on my conversation with someone who actually worked at VW and vouched for the delta even for cheaper cars like the early VW POLO CBU.

[one-77]

Originally Posted by Lux_Noob

so if you can wait a month or so, the CKD Q3 should have this E20 compliance anyway (Govt. mandate on cars manufactured post April 1) which I believe are tweaks no more than mentioned earlier as Audi is unlikely suddenly investing in new engines for India.

The government has only mandated Euro 6.2 emission norms compatibility from April 1, while on the side also pushing E20 fuel. It has not mandated that cars manufactured from April 1 have to be E20 compatible.

I had a long discussion with the Audi sales folk about this. They claim that CKD kits for India, Brazil etc have fuel pumps and rubber components that are meant for E20 fuel. However, the manual states E10 max. VAG cars have been plagued by fuel pump failures in India, and often warranty has been rejected saying adulterated fuel was the root cause. I think it may be wise to observe how things pan out; how tolerant the engines are to E20 fuel.

[Lux_Noob]

Originally Posted by one-77

The government has only mandated Euro 6.2 emission norms compatibility from April 1, while on the side also pushing E20 fuel. It has not mandated that cars manufactured from April 1 have to be E20 compatible.

My understanding was that E20 material compliance is mandatory for >April 2023 manufactured cars and engine compliance from 2025 onwards per media articles and the Niti aayog link below. But I do not know for sure if this is just a recommendation or has been rolled out.
https://www.niti.gov.in/expert-commi...ing-india-2025
Mass manufacturers seems to be rolling out E20 cars from April, so I assume this is a mandate. Not sure how it works for CKD/CBU cars.
Certainly, if one can wait, the best path is to pause to see whenever the E20 engines roll out.

[Nilesh5417]

Originally Posted by one-77

These are my impressions from a test drive off the Audi Q3 Sportback

Positives
-
- The VW Tiguan, with the same platform, engine, and gearbox is over 15 lacs cheaper; and it gets auto hold and memory seats.

Was that not on your list at all? Or is the Tiguan not available/ available as an older gen? Can you pls outline the difference between the two cars from the VW group beyond the badge?

[SilverSmoke]

Government might not pass an official mandate for E20 - as it will be unethical for E10 vehicles plying on road which already have registered permit from date of purchase, for 15 years atleast, it shall be silently passed on & owners will bear the brunt.