Firestyle Magazine Issue 3 - Spring 2016 | Page 40

MOTORING

Audi Q3
After being on sale for 3 years
Audi’s superb crossover the Q3 has
received its midlife makeover, it has
been refreshed, with a few tweaks
externally, nothing too dramatic to a
winning formula, but the main areas
of involvement have been within
the engine derivatives, writes Bob
Hickman.
Externally you may notice that
headlamps are now Zenon with
LED running lamps and at the rear
the tail lights are now standard with
LED, but one new novel feature,
the actual indicators are activated
in sequential blocks, in simple terms
this means the light moves in the
direction that the driver is turning.
So to save the indicator just flashing
on and off, it actually flashes in the
direction of travel. This could well be
a novel feature and I await to see
howling before other manufacturers
copy.
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It is beneath the bonnet that
some of the major changes in
the Q3 have been made. The
entry level diesel engine is a
2-litre TDi and this has more power
than the out going vehicle and
in its front wheel drive form the
emissions have reduced. The
quattro 4-wheel drive also has
a reduction in emissions which
makes them more economical.
The new petrol engine is the
major feature of the Q3, it is the
brilliant 1.4-litre TFSi 150bhp and
this has Audi’s wonderful cylinder
on demand technology. This
means that this engine will run
on just 2-cylinders if the throttle
load is light and you are just
meandering along or coasting.
Put your foot hard on the throttle
and the whole engine kicks in
to life, a very clever piece of
equipment.

Inside the Audi it is a typical luxurious
cabin, it oozes quality and it is very
well equipped too, my particular test
car was equipped with the wonderful
1.4-litre engine and it was great to
drive even with the lower power
derivative fitted. If this engine is the one
that tick your boxes then be prepared
to only be able to purchase a front
wheel drive version. This may be a
bit of anomaly as the Q3 is obviously
promoted as being a potential offroad vehicle, but if 4-wheel drive is
your prime feature then you will have
to move up to a 2-litre petrol or one
of the 2-litre diesels. There are also
variable transmissions that can be
ordered, a 6-speed manual, or an
S-Tronic automatic with either 6
or 7 speeds. My particular 1.4-litre
front wheel drive had the 6-speed
automatic box fitted and it was an
absolute pleasure to drive and I never
ever once missed the 4-wheel drive
option.