New Audi Q3 REVEALED – It’s bigger, it’s smarter and it’s more ‘Audi’

The new Audi Q3 arrives to replace the current seven year old model, and it gets bigger, with more technology and a focus on petrol engines.

When the current Audi Q3 arrived way back in 2011, it delivered a more affordable SUV to the Audi range, sitting under the Q5 and mopping up sales in the already burgeoning SUV market.

But seven years is a long time in the car market, and the Q3 has been left a bit behind as new competitors take the limelight – like the new Volvo XC40 – so this new Audi Q3 doesn’t arrive a minute too soon.

Still looking like an Audi Q3 (or any other Audi for that matter) the new Q3 gets sharper looks and it grows in size too; it’s 97mm longer and 18mm wider, delivering more space for both people and ‘stuff’.

Inside, the old analogue instruments make way for Audi’s virtual cockpit of digital, even on the base models, as well as the latest MMI Infotainment, although with a single screen and retaining knobs for climate.

Engine options major on petrol, with just a single diesel on offer (which, surprisingly, is all Audi offered when the current Q3 launched) with a 1.5 litre petrol with cylinder deactivation the base offering and badged Q3 35 TFSI (no, we can’t fathom Audi’s new nomenclature either). It gets front-wheel drive and a seven-speed auto.

If you want petrol then there’s also a pair of power outputs for the 2.0 litre TFSI – badged 40 TFSI and 45 TFSI – with 178bhp and 227bhp respectively, complete with 4WD quattro and seven-speed auto.

The lone diesel offering in the new Q3 is the 35 TDI with a 150bhp 2.0 litre diesel, manual gearbox and quattro 4WD.

Based on the same underpinnings as the VW Tiguan (as was the current Q3 when it launched), the new Q3 should be a better drive and an all-round better car. But will it be better than the Volvo XC40?