First report: The grind of Mumbai site visitors is the place a compact luxurious automobile actually makes a case for itself.
Greater is best is an idea embedded within the minds of conventional Indian automobile consumers who’ve universally equated measurement with value. So the larger the automobile, the extra they’re completely happy to pay for it and, conversely, if it’s smaller, the prospect of sticker shock is all the time increased, particularly with a luxurious automobile. However it’s a mindset that’s slowly altering due to a fast-maturing shopper who, after coping with chaotic site visitors and parking hassles, sees the worth in slipping into one thing that’s good and compact, however isn’t brief on luxurious. And it’s vehicles just like the Audi Q3 that may catalyse that change in mindset.
Small measurement is welcome in our ever-crowded Autocar car parking zone.
After driving the Q3 for a month, it’s proved to be the right city SUV for a number of causes. Let’s begin with the Q3’s compact measurement and strong construct, which supplies you the boldness to tangle with cabs, bikers and aggressive bus drivers. The Q3 is slender sufficient so that you can squeeze previous gaps you’ll suppose twice about in a much bigger automobile, and sitting good and excessive, you possibly can spot these gaps simply. And one such hole I attempt to wiggle by means of nearly every day on the drive house is on the Mahalaxmi station sign in Mumbai, the place the free left flip is perpetually obstructed by a slew of autos making an attempt to wedge their approach into an additional lane with a view to flip proper and beat the fleeting inexperienced mild. However now and again, you get a spot so slender that solely a compact automobile can nimbly manoeuvre by means of. Sitting excessive up within the Q3’s elevated seat, I can higher choose the sides of the automobile while the frenzied beeps of proximity sensors inform me how harrowingly shut I’m to different vehicles and bikes.
Excellent experience high quality smoothens out Mumbai roads.
Then there’s the comfortable experience, now an Audi signature that the Ingolstadt model has seized from Mercedes. On Mumbai roads, it’s honest to say Audis have the perfect experience and the Q3 isn’t any exception. It’s a mix of well-judged damping, which is barely on the softer facet and the comparatively excessive profile 235/55 R18 tyres, that are your greatest defence in opposition to atrociously paved roads. And being an SUV, there’s enough floor clearance to not fear concerning the new rash of pace breakers sure areas of Mumbai are infested with.
The two.0-litre TFSI engine within the Q3’s ‘40’ spec produces 190hp and 320Nm of torque, which is modest for a 2-litre and efficiency feels simply that. There’s no robust rush of acceleration however for day-to-day driving, this engine is completely calibrated to present a easy step-off and even the 7-speed DSG transmission is without doubt one of the smoothest twin-clutch items round. The extra you drive the Q3, the extra you realise its health for objective, which is to supply a really relaxed driving expertise.
Decrease down plastics really feel arduous and lack an opulent really feel.
Our new workplace’s parking space is kind of tight, and when there are extra vehicles than obtainable areas, we’ve got to do a little bit of jostling to suit all of them in. That’s once you recognize the compact footprint of the Q3. It doesn’t stick out neither is it extensive, which lets you squeeze one other automobile in the identical spot.
I haven’t sat within the Q3’s again seat but and for now am having fun with the well-contoured and beneficiant driver’s seat, which doesn’t provide the impression that this can be a compact SUV. Nevertheless, what betrays the Q3’s place in Audi’s Q-range pecking order are bits of arduous plastic across the seat base and on the decrease sprint. It doesn’t look low-cost, however in case you put it within the context of the Skoda Kodiaq, which feels extra plush within the cabin, you’ve increased expectations from an Audi, nevertheless small it’s.
Entrance seats very snug with beneficiant cushioning.
The opposite problem with the Q3 is the fairly dated digital screens, which lack the crisp and vibrant graphics you discover within the competitors. The as soon as much-vaunted ‘digital cockpit’ falls brief on content material and wow issue, and clearly, the Audi infotainment system is a technology behind, however that’s not all the time a nasty factor. In contrast to trendy dashboards the place there may be not a button in sight, the Q3 has loads of them for crucial capabilities just like the aircon, which you might be all the time fidgeting with. The steering-mounted buttons, too, are bodily and that feels satisfying to make use of not like the capacitive contact controls in trendy Mercs.
Sure, the Q3 feels a bit old-school from the within, but it surely additionally has a reassuring familiarity and ease of use, which makes you’re feeling at residence each time you drive it.
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