Audi Q3 2.0 TDI Quattro 2012 review

If there's one certainty in a vehicle market that doesn't know whether to laugh or cry, it's that SUV sales are going up.

Every year for the past decade they have taken a bigger slice of the market, with the sole exception of 2006 when rising petrol prices forced a misstep.

Nevertheless, our appetite for these vehicles still has the capacity to surprise. This year they are outselling small hatchbacks and account for 28 per cent of vehicles bought. In 2003, it was less than 17 per cent.

There are dozens more models available now compared with a decade ago and demand seems immune to bowser fluctuations. 

Despite the abundance of choice, car makers still see opportunities. There is vast unexplored potential at both ends of the luxury SUV spectrum.

At the top end, elite badges are preparing to go off road for the first time and pitch for the ultra-wealthy buyer who wants something more than the most expensive Range Rover or Porsche Cayenne.

They include Bentley, which unveiled a concept SUV at the Geneva motor show early this month, as well as Maserati and Lamborghini. These vehicles will be very large, very powerful and extremely expensive.

There's also scope for newcomers at the other end of the spectrum, in small luxury SUVs. BMW got there first with the X1, launched two years ago, and it's also behind the only other car in the category to date, the Mini Countryman.

Within a few years, showrooms will overflow with premium tiddlers. They will include the Citroen C4 Aircross due later this year, a Mercedes that's part of its new A-Class family as well as, eventually, cars from Alfa, Volvo and many others.

The Audi Q3 is the first of the new wave. Audi is already familiar with the SUV market from its Q7, launched six years ago, and the Q5 from 2008. The Q3 slots in beneath the mid-size Q5, which has reached almost half-a-million buyers globally in four years. Audi has equipped a Seat factory in Spain to make 100,000 Q3s a year.

Audi Australia managing director Uwe Hagen says the Q3 will spur growth at a brand that is catching its German rivals. "It closes the gap and gives us the opportunity for further growth,'" he says. "It's the right time and the right place.'" In Australia, he expects the Q3 to match the sales performance of the Q5, which suggests Audi will have a hit on its hands. The Q5 was Audi's second most popular car after the A4 executive last year, and narrowly outsold its BMW rival, the X3.

Mercedes laments the fact it doesn't have anything in this segment to offer. Its mid-size GLK, available overseas, is not made in right-hand drive and its small SUV is still a couple of years away. The Q3 is the same length as a hatchback at just under 4.4m. Like other Audis, it's based on a cousin from Volkswagen, the Tiguan, and is similar in dimensions but -- somehow -- has more luggage space. On price, the Q3 starts where the Tiguan finishes around $45,000.

Audi says it has hundreds of advance orders and its unusual marketing campaign should catch the eye of the young, aspirational buyers it hopes to attract. Download an app for your iPad, and special Q3 posters trigger a three-dimensional image of the car on the screen. It's even possible to explore inside the car or change some of the details, such as wheel design, as you watch.

If buying an Audi gives you qualms because you can get similar stuff from Volkswagen at a lower price, then you've as much cause for concern with this car as with any of them. Certainly there is overlap between the Q3 and the Tiguan, with some engines and transmissions in common.

In the Q3, most of the interior plastics and some of the switchgear doesn't feel a class above what you get in a Volkswagen and, of course, much of the technology is shared. But if the badge and what it brings appeals, then the Q3 stands on its own merits as an excellent first crack at this segment.

Engines and transmissions

There are five models, with the least expensive the 103kW diesel with a manual transmission and front-wheel drive. It's not especially quick off the mark, reaching 100km/h in the slimmest margin under 10 seconds. It all sounds like an uninspiring combination but it gets along respectably and is easily the lightest of the five -- 140kg lighter than the diesel with all-wheel drive -- which benefits handling.

Fuel consumption is a winner, too, with an average of 5.2 litres per 100km and for three-pedal drivers, the manual has a pleasant action. This Q3 matches the all-wheel drive variants on key dimensions such as ground clearance, which is a car-like 170mm. That was enough for the dirt roads and trails on the launch drive this week in southern Queensland.

All the other variants get all-wheel drive and more powerful engines. The higher output diesel, with 130kW, adds a degree of urgency to the respectable performance of the entry unit, and although both are discernably oil-burners, they are impressively quiet. The lower output petrol, with 125kW, revs freely and sounds better even if there's a bit of turbo-lag.

The unsampled 155kW petrol, as expected, is quickest, with a 6.9 second time to 100km/h. Both achieve economy under eight litres per 100km and if you go easy on the options, will come in under the luxury car tax threshold.

Driving

Although many buyers will opt for all-wheel drive, the Q3 is an urban SUV and on tarmac, it shines. The country roads on the drive program were as bad as any in Australia but the Q3 handled them well, holding its line over bumps and absorbing the uneven surfaces with finesse.

Often, this level of comfort comes at a price to handling but the Q3 goes around corners without excessive body lean or lurching. Some Audi sedans don't handle this well. Other driver-pleasing features include the brakes, where Audi has dialled back the over-assistance it's usually tempted to employ, and the steering, which would not suit a sportscar but felt right for this SUV.

Particularly impressive was the interior refinement. In some cars, the country roads we took would have been thunderous with tyre roar and slap. The Q3 cabin stayed quiet. It's also been well thought out, with first-rate rear seat room for something this size. Fitting three across the rear would be a squeeze, but two adults will not want for space or amenities.

It made me wonder whether the smaller, more efficient and more affordable Q3 might cannibalise some of the Q5's sales. I'm not even sure I could tell them apart at a distance because the designs are so similar. Like other models, the Q3 has its own signature LED headlight design but in stance and proportions they're like Russian dolls. 

Audi's chief exterior designer Achim Badstubner says a consistent brand image is still more important for the brand than being able to pick a particular model at 100m. "If you see the Audi rings and know it's four, not five (like the Olympics rings) -- they're as familiar as a Nike Swoosh or a Coca-Cola sign -- then we can talk about more detail." The Q3 will get Audi closer to that goal. Despite a dud start to the year, the Q3 should put Audi back on its growth track and leave it smiling rather than crying by the end of the year.