Is the Audi Q3 1.4T S the best design from the group of premium compact cross-overs?

At launch in 2012, the Q3, Audi’s smallest cross-over and therefore the most compact Audi Q model, arrived on the bustling scene.  It was well received by the market, often bought by people who want both the attraction of a high-quality vehicle and the attractiveness of a cross-over SUV, combined.

Moving out of their “normal” traditional sedan/hatch/estate cars into a car able to attract buyers by being higher, bigger and stylish, the Audi Q3 clicks on all the right boxes.  Whether it is trading in the sedan or the Audi A4 Avant station wagon, or perhaps a bigger SUV for something a bit younger and smaller, the Audi Q3 is the car to do so.

Best design from the group of premium compact cross-overs?

Country rivals BMW and Mercedes have their X1 and, more recently, GLA.  It is the clever BMW X1 that was #1 to arrive in this new sector in its raised station wagon type design, which was pioneering in this type and class of vehicle… though it was a strong seller, its appearance put many people off.  Now the new BMW X1 is being launched, fitting into the BMW X family as a scaled-down SUV.  The Mercedes GLA is more raised hatchback – think A-Class hatch with risen height, roof rails and chunkier bumpers and different taillights.

So could the Audi Q3 be the best of the group of premium cross-overs?  The Audi Q3 captures what a premium cross-over should be – high quality, good to look at, and following the outline template of a shrunken SUV… not a high-rise station wagon or hatch as its rivals did.

With the word premium becoming an abused adjective in the motoring industry, recklessly thrown about by lower-level car makers to try artificially up the status of their cars, some cars are truly premium, standing for years of quality, prestige and innovation.  The Audi Q3 has all of these desirable traits… in a compact cross-over package.

Is it an engine reduction too far, or still energetic?

Initially available with 2.0 petrol TFSI or 2.0 diesel TDI engines, these seemed generous for a smaller cross-over.  With the facelift, launched locally in June 2015, the engine line-up was shuffled to add in a smaller 1.4 TFSI engine, for efficiency, of course. 

But is a 1.4T perhaps an engine reduction too far?  Not at all.  The 1.4 petrol turbo makes a decent 110kW, but the 250Nm of pulling potential from 1500 across 3500 revs make this a lively baby Q.  The engine is eager to get you moving, giving the Q3 an energetic driving experience, striking a spot-on balance between performance and efficiency.  The Audi claim is 7.1 around town, as low as 5.1 for extra-urban, and an average of 5.8 l/100km.  During testing, which included the feel-how-it-pulls turbo and some quick errands around town, had us closer to the 8-litre mark, though with gentle throttle a sub-6 should be achievable.

A manual is available, but if you want to get the most comfort, eagerness and efficiency out of your cross-over experience, go for the S tronic automatic, worth the R 17 500 extra in the long run.  The S tronic is direct and quick and smooth (it is an automated manual, after all, with quick-shifting dual clutches in the gearbox) making it the perfect partner for the 1.4 turbo engine.  Just stick it in Drive and leave it there, or pull it back another notch to engage S (Sport) mode, though this keeps revs unnecessarily high even on gentle throttle (sounding like you forgot to change gear) or push the gear selector to the left for up-down sequential shifts, for that semi-manual feel.

The good and not-so-good about the interior

The good is mixed with the not-so-good.  The metal-like click-click controls for the controls interface (audio/media, menu, car, info etc.) are pleasantly tactile to use.  The flip-up dashboard screen shows menu-option in the corners relevant to the current menu (audio, navigation etc.) which you control through the central rotating knob and its 4 planetary metal-like switches… which works well for some, but a bit unusual to figure out for others.  The screen is small, so displaying for example the navigation map shows letters quite hard to read.

In the standard car you get manual air conditioning, so best to pay R 5 780 for the Deluxe automatic air conditioning (climate control).  The controls for the temperature, left and right, are clever upright switches – tilt left for colder or right for warmer.  The other climate control switches and temperature displays, however, are positioned too low down straight ahead of the gear lever actually, meaning the driver has to take eyes off the road to check or adjust.  There is vacant land further up, occupied by 2 SD card readers and a CD slot.

The suede-cloth in Alcantara (the genuine stuff) with leather bolsters on sports seats is an option, and gives a premium sporty interior feeling.  Most occupants cannot resist brushing the Alcantara upholstery to enjoy the touch.

The front and rear interior room is enough, though not vast for taller rear people.  The boot is 460 litres big.

Exclusive style package looks

The price for the standard car in automatic is R 428 000, competing well against its X1 and GLA rivals, and a bracket lower than the mid-size Audi Q5.

There are plenty of Audi Q3 on the road, though most are in plain whatever-they-had-in-stock spec.  Make an effort to order yours with some bigger wheels, at least – the standard spec for the 1.4 engine is a mere 16-inch wheel, which looks way too tiny – choose from 17 (starting at R 7 400), 18 or 19-inch.  As fitted o this car: 19” Audi exclusive wheels 5 twin-spoke “Offroad” wheels, costing R 30 860. 

The “Offroad style package basic” adds R 42 200, and gives the metal undersides in front and rear, and some more off-road look cladding.

Also, rather than the default monochrome white, silver or grey of almost all Audis, the test car came in a lively paint called Hainan Blue.  Audi has a large palette of paint colours, so be a bit creative.  The LED rear lights are a treat with onlookers, changing to horizontal artworks, for R 4 020 extra.

In the rear bumper you will see an extra set of lights.  These don’t actually work when you’re driving.  When lifting the tailgate of the Q3 (as in many other Audis) an ugly eye-less rear means there are no more taillights, as these lift up with the tailgate.  So when opening the tailgate, the bumper taillights come on.  Surely there could be a better solution? 

Is the Audi Q3 1.4T S the best design from the group of premium compact cross-overs?

The BMW X1 may have been the first compact cross-over and the new X1 is all grown-up, so the Audi Q3 is the first to do a proper reduction of the SUV and yet keeps a sporty youthful character, helped by the cute-but-tough Q3 outline.  If a premium compact cross-over that has these traits is what you want, the Q3 is the best design.