Audi Q3 review

The steering doesn't immediately drip with feel, but Audis never did, and it turns sharply enough into corners while riding reasonably well. The engineers claim the new Q3 combines better steering response and stability with greater comfort than its forebear; these sound like mutual exclusives, to some extent, but the car’s overall handling character is one of easy-going accuracy.

Just watch your wheel choices – we’ve only driven test cars wearing glitzy 20in alloys and they made a bit of a fuss on more damaged road surfaces (we all know ‘em). They didn’t half kick out some tyre roar at a fast cruise and the concreted section of the M25, too. Prudently sticking to 18s or 19s is our advice. This is meant to be a compact SUV, after all.

Which engine should I choose?

The base 1.5 is the only car to duck under the £40,000 barrier and will likely snare plenty of folk as a result. It’s brisk enough if you’ll mostly travel alone or with a partner (Audi quotes 0-62mph in 9.1s), but it might strain under the load of family life. It can get a bit vocal at higher revs, but the sound is kinda nice – a proper, un-augmented petrol growl – and any enthusiasts who find themselves driving one might like its unabashed internal combustion schtick.

More buyers are likely to upgrade to the 2.0-litre Quattro models, which offer 201 or 261bhp and see off the 0-62mph sprint in 7.1 and 5.1s respectively. We’ve sampled the more powerful iteration and there’s an undeniable swagger to it by comparison. Its 4WD system isn’t extrovert but it helpfully avoids scurries of wheelspin out of wet junctions and ought to bring some comfort in winter, however much of that is a mere placebo. Good engine, too, with the novelty of having the heart of a hot hatchback in your eminently sensible SUV a joyfully juvenile one.

What about the others?

The diesel is expected to make up just nine per cent of UK sales – imagine hearing that stat 10 years ago? – but is a bit of a dark horse. It makes light work of the Q3’s 1.7-ish tonnes and is quiet and refined. If you can strike a decent lease deal (and you don’t have an enthusiast bone in your body) it’s our recommendation for the ultimate in effortless family travel.

Mind, an even smaller portion of British buyers (six per cent) are expected to go for the Q3 e-hybrid. Surprising, huh? It’ll suit business buyers to a tee (largely thanks to the nine per cent Benefit-in-Kind tax), and it’s the most powerful Q3 of all (for now), though it channels all its power through the front axle. Which feels like a big ask, and often results in the tyres scrabbling for traction.

Top marks for the miles it’ll cover under electricity alone – you’ll do well to match the 73-mile claims, but a typical British commute shouldn’t need any engine power and you’ll still have 114bhp and 243lb ft to be getting along with. It starts in EV mode by default and pressing its EV button ensures the engine absolutely won’t spark up while battery power remains.

That said, if you don’t want to rinse the battery, you’ll want to switch it straight into Sport mode on the gear selector, which we found offered the best balance for day-to-day running, and helped minimise the slight delay in handover between e-motor and engine. Over a couple of long runs up and down the M25 we saw as high as 68mpg, though this dropped to mid 40s with the battery fully empty.

Any bugbears?

All Q3s, but especially the hybrid, suffer from a mushy brake pedal. Not much appears to happen for the first half of its travel, which given much of your braking will involve lighter dabs of the pedal rather than trackday-worthy lunges to the floor, feels like an undercooked area of development. We suppose you’ll get used to it, and it doesn’t undermine a car that’s otherwise very pleasant to drive and operates with a familiarity to anyone who's driven an Audi (or, indeed, VW Group) SUV in recent years.

As for the fancy LED lights? Their nighttime tricks (images 19 and 20 in our gallery) feel like just that, and you need a certain set of circumstances – including hitting over 40mph on a country lane – to see the best of them. Gimmicky, yes. If you’re already looking far enough down the road and keeping an eye on your mirrors they don’t add much beyond a bit of theatre.