The brand new Q3 Sportback affords a barely racier tackle Audi’s compact crossover SUV.
Audi
As SUVs proceed to turn out to be a much bigger a part of automakers’ earnings, automobile corporations are slicing up that pie into smaller and smaller items in an effort to woo consumers. The most recent instance of this phenomenon is the Audi Q3 Sportback, an-ever-so-slightly extra rakish model of the corporate’s Q3 crossover.
The brand new Audi Q3 Sportback adopts a swept-back rear window and a modestly decrease roofline (1.1 inches) to mission a sportier and extra coupe-like aesthetic. This is not nearly a brand new haircut for the compact crossover, nonetheless. It additionally includes extra sheet metallic creases alongside the physique sides and barely extra aggressive entrance and rear fascias. It is not instantly clear how large of a toll these modifications tackle headroom, however they positively add athleticism to the Q3’s appearances, in addition to visible size, even when the the Q3 Sportback is barely barely longer (Zero.6 inch) than garden-variety Q3 fashions.
Regardless of that modest added size, whole space for storing within the Q3 Sportback is lower than the usual Q3: 18.7 cubic toes of cargo house with the rear seats up is an identical, however with the seats folded, there’s 49.four cubic toes — a shortfall of 5 cubes in comparison with the Sportback’s extra upright relative.
In accordance with an official Audi launch, the brand new Q3 Sportback might be supplied with a variety of four-cylinder engines, together with a range-topping 2.Zero-liter turbo delivering 226 horsepower. A 1.5-liter possibility will come quickly, mated to a 48-volt mild-hybrid setup to yield 147 horsepower. A pair of diesels making as much as 187 hp will even be supplied, and all powerplant selections can be found backed by a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox.
A handbook transmission might be obtainable on front-wheel-drive fashions on the aforementioned 1.5-liter gasoline and a pair of.Zero-liter diesel engines, and a stick-shift setup with Quattro will even turn out to be obtainable “shortly after market launch.”
Like most new Audi SUVs, the Q3 Sportback contains options like all-LED exterior lighting (in three variations) in addition to adaptive dampers and a six-setting Audi Drive Choose controller with devoted off-road mode. Attention-grabbing, all fashions will obtain totally digital gauge clusters, with lower-end fashions getting a 10.25-inch show. Audi’s 12.Three-inch Digital Cockpit is accessible on programs geared up with MMI navigation. Different tech on provide within the Q3 Sportback contains LTE telematics, vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications and Amazon Alexa integration.
The Q3 Sportback might be obtainable with Audi’s reconfigurable Digital Cockpit show.
Audi
The Audi Q3 Sportback arrives in European showrooms this autumn. Like its normal Q3 brethren, the brand new Sportback will look to tackle the BMW X2 and Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class amongst different rivals. Audi cites German pricing from €40,200 — round $45,000 USD — for the 35 TDI S tronic mannequin, which suggests a slight worth premium over Audi’s equal Q3 fashions.
When you’re questioning when the US will see this glossy little crossover on its roads, nicely, we have unhealthy information. The Q3 Sportback will not be destined for our roads. In accordance with an Audi spokesperson reached by Roadshow, “Whereas the [standard] Q3 is on sale within the US this month, the Q3 Sportback is not going to be coming to the US.”
