Audi Q3 is shaping up for battle

BMW X1 should be worried, the Q3 is coming with both 2wd and 4wd

Auto Express Car Reviews

10th July 2009

Watch out BMW – this is the Q3, the car that’s set to become the latest addition to Audi’s off-road line-up. And our exclusive images show precisely how the brand’s compact 4x4 is shaping up.

Joining the imposing Q7 and understated Q5, the Q3 is the car Audi enthusiasts have been waiting for. It has its sights set firmly on BMW’s X1 and the MINI Crossman, taking the four-ringed brand into a new market.

Previewed by the Cross Coupé Quattro concept at the 2007 Shanghai Motor Show, the production version will share the same proportions as the show car. But it borrows heavily from the flowing creases and clean surfaces of the Q5, built on the chassis used by VW’s Tiguan. Both two and four-wheel drive versions will be available, the latter using a Haldex-developed all-wheel-drive set-up, also shared with the Tiguan.

The engine line-up includes 138bhp and 168bhp 2.0-litre TDI units, as well as a petrol 207bhp 2.0 TFSI borrowed from the Golf GTI. Transmission options are a six-speed manual or seven-speed DSG.

Audi has already confirmed the Q3 will enter production at SEAT’s Martorelli plant in Barcelona, Spain, in 2011. So we can expect another Q3 concept early next year, bearing a much closer resemblance to the showroom-ready car.

Audi has also revealed its A4 is to get the ‘e’ treatment. It will use the A6’s 2.0-litre TDIe engine, returning 61.4mpg and emitting 120 g/km of CO2. The model goes on sale in October from £23,340.

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