Audi Q3 review - Reliability and safety

The Audi brand may have a positive premium image, but that may be counter-productive when it comes to setting high expectations for owners. In our 2022 Driver Power satisfaction survey, Audi came 22nd overall out of 29 manufacturers, well behind Lexus and BMW. The Q3 itself finished in 43rd spot on a 75-car list in the best cars to own poll. It didn't excel in any one area but should be good to live with.

Euro NCAP awarded the Q3 a full five-star rating after putting the small SUV through its crash testing programme. It achieved a 95 per cent score for adult safety and 86 per cent for child passenger protection.

The Q3 has an extensive roster of safety kit, including an autonomous emergency braking function, lane departure warning and lane-keeping assistance, as well as an optional intelligent adaptive cruise control system that not only keeps you a set distance from the car in front, but steers for you as well.

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Warranty

Audi’s warranty offer lags behind its direct rivals BMW and Mercedes, because although you get three-year cover there’s a 60,000-mile cap on warranty claims. BMW and Merc offer unlimited mileage cover over the same three-year term, and of course some non-premium manufacturers are offering much longer warranties – up to seven years. You can extend the Audi cover, but that’s at extra cost. 

Servicing

If you do a lot of miles your Q3 will tell you when it needs servicing, with intervals that shift depending on how you drive the car. Service intervals could be as far apart as 24,000 miles as the car’s onboard sensors check oil quality and notify the driver when it’s time for a pit-stop. Lower mileage drivers – less than 12,000 miles a year – will have annual checks.