The new Audi Q3 Sportback compact crossover has been added to the company’s line-up. It combines the convenience of an SUV with the sporty look and feel of a coupé.
Currently, in Europe, the Audi Q3 Sportback is being offered with a choice of one petrol and one diesel engine: a 2.0-litre TFSI turbo-petrol engine that produces 230 PS, and a 2.0-litre TDI turbo-diesel engine that makes 150 PS. After the official launch, there will also be a manual transmission option with quattro all-wheel drive. A more powerful diesel engine will also be offered later on, as well as an entry-level petrol engine that will work together with a 48-volt mild-hybrid system. The mild-hybrid system recovers energy during deceleration and during acceleration from low speeds, it supports the engine and, in turn, can save up to 0.4 litres of fuel per 100 km.
All the top-end engines are paired with quattro all-wheel drive. The Audi Q3 Sportback promises great handling and traction thanks to quattro working together with the wheel-selective torque control. Handling feedback is improved by means of gentle brake interventions on the inside wheels with the quattro, or the inside front wheel on standard front-wheel-drive models.
The Audi Q3 Sportback offers a fun driving experience on all kinds of terrain. The car features progressive steering as standard, with a gear ratio that becomes increasingly direct as the steering angle increases. Customers can opt for suspension with adaptive damper control that further increases the range between dynamism and comfort. The Q3 Sportback offers the driver control in various conditions via the standard dynamic handling system and the Audi drive select in six different profiles including the off-road mode. The system influences the electronically adjustable shock absorbers and the steering assistance alongside the engine and transmission set-up. The hill descent control is offered as an option and keeps a selected speed by the driver constant on an incline greater than six per cent.
The design of the Audi Q3 Sportback is muscular and it gets a low roof-line. The black octagonal Singleframe grille is three-dimensional in design making it look sportier. The Audi Q3 Sportback appears much longer than its conventional sibling, the Q3, due to the low roof-line that gives way to flat D-pillars and ends in a roof edge spoiler. The Sportback is almost 30 mm flatter and thus has a more muscular appearance. The reversing lights run inwards in a tapered shape just like the flat headlights. Audi supply the latter in three versions up to Matrix LED technology, whose adaptive high beam intelligently illuminates the road that best suits the driving condition.
The interior of the new Audi Q3 Sportback includes a 10.25-inch screen which the driver can operate using the multifunction steering wheel. In the top-of-the-line system, MMI navigation plus, the display appears in the Audi virtual cockpit, which offers many additional functions. There is a touchscreen measuring 10.1 inches that is positioned in the centre of the instrument panel, which gives the driver acoustic feedback when a function is selected. On request, the 12.3-inch Audi virtual cockpit plus is available with three selectable layouts, including a particularly dynamic view.
The Audi Q3 Sportback gets a permanently installed SIM card for connectivity on the go and offers online traffic information, advanced navigation with photos, opening hours, and user evaluations. Traffic light information is a new feature among the Car-to-X services. The car receives data from a city’s traffic computer, as a result of which the driver receives information about traffic-light phases in the Audi virtual cockpit. Thanks to the inter-connectivity of the Audi fleet, the Q3 Sportback receives and provides information about parking spaces on the roadside, hazard areas, and speed limits, which are detected via the on-board camera and vehicle sensors. The free myAudi app and the Audi smartphone interface ensure interconnectivity between the car and smartphone, which integrates Android and iOS cell phones into the on-board infotainment system.
The assist systems on the Audi Q3 Sportback use four standard systems used for safety that include the lane departure warning and the lane change warning. The series scope in Germany also includes Audi pre sense front. If a head-on collision is imminent, it outputs a visual, acoustic, and haptic warning to the driver. In an emergency, it causes full braking and initiates the Audi pre sense basic safety measures. This involves tightening the front seat belts, closing the windows and the optional sliding roof, and activating the hazard warning lights.
Deliveries of the car will start in the fall of 2019 in Europe. We hope to see the new Audi Q3 Sportback in India by next year.
Also read: New Audi S8 – TFSI Power and Predictive Active Suspension
Story: Azaman Chothia
