Audi RS Q3 confirmed for Oz

Audi has announced its wildest SUV ever will cost less than $100,000 when the Q3 RS super-crossover becomes available in Australia in the first half of next year.

Speaking at this week’s launch of the twin-turbo diesel SQ5, Audi Australia’s B-segment product planner Peter Strudwicke confirmed the TT RS Plus-powered small SUV has been locked in for local consumption.

"Our first RS SUV model comes next year and that will be priced at under $100,000 and we can't wait to drive that car," said Studwicke of the new RS Q3.

Studwicke later revealed to motoring.com.au that the high-performance compact SUV will arrive here in the first half of 2014, making Australia one of the first countries outside Europe to get the vehicle.

However, it could also be up to six months later than previously expected (in December this year) and Audi would not be drawn on exact pricing.

The hottest Q3 is priced at €54,600 in Germany, which is about $A70,000, but expect shipping, import duty and luxury car tax to push local pricing closer to $80,000.

Like the larger SQ5, which will also be priced under $100,000 when it hits the mid-size luxury SUV segment this week, the Q3 RS will have no direct competitor, with the Q5 range-topping 2.0 TFSI quattro already being one of Australia’s most expensive small SUVs at $56,000.

Following in the footsteps of the SQ5 TDI (the first Audi SUV to wear an 'S' badge), Audi’s first RS-badged SUV will be the first vehicle in its class to be offered in high-performance guise, with BMW's X1 range topped by the 2.0 xDrive 28i ($58,200).

Audi Australia Managing Director, Andrew Doyle, said some people might scoff at the idea of a 250km/h baby SUV but there’s no denying that demand for performance-oriented SUVs in Australia is growing.

“The drive toward SUVs is quite strong, so why not have an RS SUV?” he said. “If the general public is moving towards SUVs so much -- and we've loved RS cars and other competitor's cars in the high-performance arena -- why not?”

First revealed in concept guise at the 2012 Beijing motor show a year ago, the piping-hot Q3 RS appeared in production form at Geneva in March.

The RS Q3 is propelled by the same 2.5-litre inline five-cylinder turbo-petrol engine from the TT RS Plus and produces 228kW at 6700rpm and 420Nm of torque at a low 1500rpm, giving drivers an enormous powerband to play with.

Blitzing the 0-100km/h dash in 5.5 seconds, the quattro AWD tiddler rides 25mm lower than regular models and gets a more rigid suspension tune to improve handling.

Despite the sports sedan pace and a not-so-light 1730kg kerb weight, the Q3 RS consumes a respectable 8.8L/100km – thanks in part to fuel-saving idle-stop technology.

Packaged exclusively with a seven-speed twin-clutch automated gearbox, the RS Q3 gets a launch control system huge 365mm wave-form cross-drilled front brake rotors chomped by massive eight-pot brake calipers.

Though the car doesn't get the wide-body kit of most RS vehicles, it does get a big roof spoiler and trademark twin oval exhaust outlets, not to mention a flat-bottom steering wheel, 14-speaker Bose sound system and heavily bolstered sports seats inside.

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