Audi Q3 – What you need to know

The Audi Q3 small SUV is the German luxury brand’s best-selling model in Australia, attracting a broad cross-section of buyers with its premium badge, sporty good looks, practical body styles and relatively affordable pricing.

Sharing its platform with the Audi A3 and a broad range of other Volkswagen Group models, the Audi Q3 is currently in its second generation, launching here in late 2019 and undergoing upgrades along the way – including an important safety update for the 2024 model year.

The Q3 range has two body styles – conventional SUV wagon and coupe-style Sportback – and three model grades based around powertrain, driveline and equipment level.

The standard Q3 is available as a 35 TFSI, 40 TFSI quattro and top-spec 40 TFSI quattro S line. The Sportback has the S line trim as standard in 35 TFSI and 40 TFSI quattro grades.

Quattro denotes all-wheel drive, while the Q3 also forms the basis for the high-performance Audi RS Q3 that’s in another league altogether with its thumping 294kW/480Nm 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbo-petrol engine and $100,000-plus pricing.

We’re focusing on the mainstream variants here, where buyers can choose between a 1.4-litre or 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine, with current prices running spanning $54,600 to $70,800 plus on-road costs.

At the time of writing, special-edition Dynamic Black variants were also available for a limited time.

Taking most of the guesswork out of the specification equation, the Sportback models are pretty much aligned with their conventional SUV siblings.

Kicking off at $54,600 plus ORCs is the entry to the Q3 range, the 35 TFSI, with its 1.4-litre turbo-petrol engine, six-speed automatic transmission and front-wheel drive.

It has the following standard features:

As is often the case with premium brands, the list of options – many of them bundled into packages – is long and varied for the Audi Q3.

Available on the Q3 35 TFSI is the $1930 Style Pack, which gets body-coloured bumpers, silver aluminium interior garnish and a choice of two 10-inch alloy wheel styles for the SUV and one for the Sportback.

Buyers can also select the $2050 Comfort Pack, adding heated and powered front seats with power lumbar support, heated/folding door mirrors with a kerb-view function on the passenger side and an auto-dimming interior mirror.

Another bundle available to 35 TFSI and 40 TFSI buyers is the Parking Pack, which for 35 TFSI buyers can only be had in conjunction with the Comfort Pack. This pack will set you back $900 and comprises 360 degrees of camera coverage around the vehicle, with multiple views and park assist, the latter able to steer the vehicle into a parking space.

Offered on the 40 TFSI quattro (SUV body) is a Premium Pack. A $2500 outlay adds heated and powered front seats, 360-degree wide-angle monitors with multiple views, park assist, silver aluminium interior garnish, a choice of 30 colours for the LED ambient interior lighting, and a 10-speaker, six-channel amplifier sound system with a 180-watt output.

Exclusive to the 40 TFSI quattro S line pair is the Premium Plus Pack. For $3900 it adds a Sonos 3D premium sound system with 15 speakers, a 16-channel amplifier with a 680W output.

Exterior touches include black exterior mirrors, Matrix LED headlights with dynamic indicators at both ends, headlight washers and a tinted glass sunroof with a powered sun shade. The cabin also features an LED lighting package with 30 selectable colours.

If you just want the Sonos sound system in your S line, hand over $1000 and it’s yours. You can also nab this system in a 40 TFSI quattro, provided you’ve also got the Premium Pack.

Other individual options include three-stage heated front seats in the 35 TFSI and 40 TFSI quattro for $600. The 30-colour LED ambient interior lighting costs $650 on the 35 TFSI (SUV) and $350 in the Sportback and 40 TFSI quattro.

A no-cost option on the Sportback 40 TFSI quattro S line is Dinamica interior trim on the dashboard and arm rests in steel grey or lunar silver. The equivalent SUV model offers a no-cost interior option of slate grey finish on the dash and artificial leather on the door arm rests.

All models can be optioned with the $1000 Black Exterior Styling Pack that adds black highlights to the grille, window trims, sill inlays and bumpers, finished off with black door mirrors.

And if you just want the panoramic sunroof, it’s $2250 on all models and both body styles.

The Audi Q3 is offered in 10 exterior colours. Akona white is the only one not to attract a premium. Pulse orange adds $600 to the price, while the other eight hues will cost you $1250.

The Audi Q3 offers a host of safety equipment, including a broad range of advanced driver assistance systems.

Across all models, there’s six airbags, autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist detection, electronic stability and traction control, anti-lock brakes, hill hold assist, hill descent control, tyre pressure monitoring, automatic headlights/wipers and driver attention detection.

Other driver assist tech includes adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go function, lane keep assist, lane centring, lane change warning, blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, lane departure assist, front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera.

Would you like high beam assist? Then tick the 40 TFSI quattro S line box, as it’s the only Q3 model grade to offer this.

The Audi Q3 has a five-star ANCAP safety rating, albeit based on testing conducted way back in 2018 when the protocols were less strict than they are today.

All Audi Q3 models come with a 10.1-inch infotainment touch-screen accessing Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring, satellite navigation and AM/FM and digital radio.

This is played through a six-speaker audio system as standard on all bar the 40 TFSI quattro S line, which has a 10-speaker stereo.

Buyers also get three years of complimentary access to Audi connect plus, which provides
online traffic information and hazard alerts, parking information, weather, fuel prices, Google services, car finder with remote signal, remote lock/unlock, online roadside assistance, Audi service request and emergency calls.

Audi’s customisable 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster (virtual cockpit) is found on all models except for the top-spec 40 TFSI quattro S line, which has a larger 12.3-inch display.

All models come with steering-mounted controls, four USB ports (two in each row) and wireless phone charging.

Every Audi Q3 has a leather-wrapped, multifunction steering wheel with hands-on detection, while transmission paddle shifters are added to the 40 TFSI quattro.

The S line models gain perforated side sections and ‘S’ badging.

All models have cargo area lights, illuminated vanity mirrors in the sun shades, power windows with auto up/down, plus cup and bottle holders in the front and rear seat compartments.

Dual-zone climate-control air-conditioning comes standard across the range, along with an ambient temperature display, fold-down rear centre arm rest, front and rear floor mats and a front arm rest with storage.

Are leather seats on the wish list? Purchase any model and you’ll get this premium feature – in part – as all variants of the Q3 come standard with a blend of artificial and genuine leather.

Would you like the seats to be power-adjustable? Your starting point is the 40 TFSI quattro for an electric-adjust driver’s seat. If you want both front pews to be moved by power, stump up for the 40 TFSI quattro S line and its four-way power adjustable front seats with powered lumbar function.

Heated seats? Stick your name next to the 40 TFSI quattro S line, or save your money, buy a lesser model and add them in for an extra $600.

All models have a 40/20/40-split folding rear seat with adjustable head restraints.

Every Audi Q3 has auto on/off LED headlights and LED tail-lights with dynamic indicators, LED daytime running lights, cornering lights and automatic dynamic headlight range control.

Is privacy side and rear glass on the shopping list? Then head straight to the 40 TFSI quattro S line.

Do you want the convenience of a powered tailgate with gesture control? The beaut thing is that this feature is standard across the range.

Powered door mirrors with a heating and folding function are also standard, but if you want the tilt-down function when reversing on the passenger door mirror, sign up for a 40 TFSI quattro. And if you want the door mirrors to automatically dim, find more money and buy the 40 TFSI quattro S line, as it’s exclusive to this model.

How about a tilt and sliding sunroof? Tick it on the option list, hand over $2520 and you can have it on every model.

Setting each model apart are its bumpers: the 35 TFSI has grey bumpers, while all other models have them finished in body colour. The wheels also distinguish each model, with the 35 TFSI running 18-inch alloy wheels, the 40 TFSI quattro wearing 19-inch alloys and the 40 TFSI quattro S line variants fitted with 20-inch alloys. All come with a temporary steel spare wheel.

Ensuring the S line models really stand out are exclusive S line bumpers, titanium black grille and rear diffuser in matte titanium black, matte platinum grey sill inlays, illuminated front door sill trims with aluminium inlays and S logo and S line badging.

A choice of two turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engines is offered in the (non-RS) Audi Q3 range.

Powering the 35 TFSI is a 1.4-litre turbo-petrol engine that produces 110kW and 250Nm of torque.

The 40 TFSI quattro (including S line variants) scores a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine producing 132kW and 320Nm.

The 35 TFSI combines with a six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission (S tronic, in Audi-speak), sending drive to the front wheels.

The 40 TFSI has a seven-speed dual-clutch auto, driving all four wheels through Audi’s quattro all-wheel drive system.

While they share drivelines and platforms, the two body styles of the Audi Q3 have key differences.

In SUV wagon form, the Audi Q3’s footprint measures 4448mm long, 1856mm wide and 1617mm tall. Wheelbase length is 2680mm and ground clearance sits at 191mm.

The Sportback is longer and lower measuring 4517mm long, 1856mm wide and 1568mm tall. Its wheelbase is identical to the SUV at 2680mm, while ground clearance is lower at 183mm.

Gross vehicle mass (GVM) ranges from 2055kg to 2200kg, with tare mass from 1605-1750kg, depending in the model.

The maximum braked towing capacity is 1800kg on all Q3 models.

Cargo capacity in the five-seater Audi Q3 SUV is 765 litres with the rear seat up, and 1718 litres when lowered. The Sportback offers 933 litres when the rear seat is upright, but its sloping roof means it just loses out to the SUV with 1714L when the rear seat is dropped.

Personally, I wouldn’t buy an SUV with a fashionable coupe-style rear-end and rob myself of some cargo space, flexibility and rear seat headroom – all key reasons for purchasing the car in the first place. So give me the conventional boxy one, thanks.

I found the 1.4-litre turbo engine and six-speed dual-clutch auto in the 35 TFSI more than adequate in the Audi Q3. My partner has the same engine in her A3 Cabriolet, which she adores, so I am familiar with it.

In fact, the Q3 feels a lot like her Cabrio only you are sitting higher, with the SUV still zipping through bends effortlessly and offering a comfortable ride.

And the equipment level is comprehensive too, so the Q3 35 TFSI gets the nod from me.

How much does the 2024 Audi Q3 cost?
35 TFSI – $54,600
35 TFSI S line Sportback – $58,200
40 TFSI quattro – $62,800
40 TFSI quattro S line – $68,400
40 TFSI quattro S line Sportback – $70,80
*Prices exclude on-road costs