In the world of car design Audi is synonymous with the sloping roof line known as the Sportback. Available on their hatchback, sedan, SUV, and now electric vehicles, the Sportback is as crucial to their line-up as the defensive linebacker in an American football game.
This Progressive red, metallic Audi Q3 Sportback 40 TFSI quattro S line has contrasting bumpers in Manhattan grey with S line exterior styling and it’s the higher spec of the two variants offered in the Q3 Sportback range. Under the bonnet there’s a 2.0 litre, 4-cylinder inline petrol engine with 132kW of power and 320Nm of torque. The modest powerplant offers adequate but not scintillating acceleration with a claimed 0-100km/h time of 7.8 seconds. The official combined fuel consumption is 8.2L/100km and for my week with the Q3 I used 9.9L/100km of petrol.
The quattro (all-wheel drive) Q3 Sportback has downhill decent control and Audi drive select offers five drive modes, which are Efficiency, Comfort, Auto, Dynamic, and Individual. Under Individual mode you can adjust the Drive System and Steering between Efficient/Comfort and Dynamic settings. I spent my time in Auto mode and found that the Q3 had a comfortable ride, even on bumpy roads.
The Premium plus package fitted to this Q3 costs $3,900 and includes a SONOS 3D Premium Sound System including 15 high performance speakers and 16-channel amplifier with a total output of 680 watts, black exterior styling package including black exterior mirrors, ambient LED colour interior lighting package including contour lighting for the doors with 30 selectable colours, Matrix LED headlights with dynamic indicators at front and rear, headlight washers, panoramic sunroof with tinted glass, electrically tilting and opening with electric sunshade.
The Q3 has keyless entry on all four doors and keyless start, which enables you to leave the key in your handbag at all times. The seats have leather appointed upholstery with interior elements on the doors covered in lovely to touch Dinamica material. I really like the distinct lack of gloss black trim used in this Q3, with it only surrounding the 10.1″ touch screen display that is at an angle that can make it difficult for the passenger to see it.
The sport front seats have “S” embossing on the backrest, contrasting stitching and both are heated. The front seats have power adjustment for recline, forward/back, seat height front and rear and 4-way lumbar support, but the driver’s does not have any memory positions.
“S” badging also appears on the 3-spoke leather steering with perforated side sections and unattractive plastic paddle shifters for the 7-speed S tronic transmission. Behind the steering wheel is the 12.3″ Audi virtual cockpit display, which can be customised to your personal preference.
Like all the Audis I have recently driven the wireless Android Auto connects easily to the infotainment system, wireless Apple CarPlay is also available. The voice control on the Q3 works well for making calls, setting a destination on the sat nav and changing the radio station as long as you name the radio station correctly with the media sources being AM, FM/DAB+, Bluetooth, and USB. At the front of centre console there is a wireless charge pad with two USB-C ports next to it or between the two cup holders in the centre console there’s a slot for holding your phone and one 12V socket.
A two-metre tall, 115kg linebacker will find the rear seats are not suitable for them, but for me the leg and headroom were just adequate even with the bumps cut out in the headliner to compensate for the sloping roof. The rear seat bench has manual backrest angle adjustment using the strap at the base of the seats and for little league stars there are two ISOfix/three rear tether child seat restraint points.
The centre seat can be folded down as an arm rest and has two slim cup holders in the front it and there are good size drink bottle storage cubbies in the rear doors. The two central vents have individual direction control and one central on/off switch and below the air vents there are two USB-C ports and one 12V socket.
This Q3 has an electric tailgate with open/close buttons also on the tailgate and key fob and open only from the button in the cabin. The boot is an adequate size and accommodated my weekly shop that was secured using a cargo net with four substantial tie down points and there are two hooks as well. The boot floor can be lowered down to gain approximately 10cm of extra height in the boot and the rear seats can also be laid down with a 60/40 split fold mechanism or centre seat only fold down if extra length is needed. Under the boot floor there is a small amount of extra storage space and a temporary use spare tyre.
All current Q3 variants with the exception of the RS Q3 have a 5-star ANCAP (20218) safety rating with an Adult Occupant Protection score of 95% (36.2 out of 38) and a Child Occupant Protection score of 88% (43.5 out of 49). Dual frontal, side chest-protecting and side head-protecting (curtain) airbags are standard. For convenience you also get a 360-degree reversing camera with front and rear parking sensors, auto lights with high beam assist, and auto wipers.
Adaptive cruise control is activated using a stalk behind the steering wheel and the Audi Q3 is fitted with autonomous emergency braking (AEB) and a lane support system (LSS) with lane keep assist (LKA), lane departure warning (LDW) and blind spot monitoring (BSM). ANCAP tests of the AEB system showed GOOD results with collisions avoided or mitigated in most highway speed test scenarios. ANCAP tests of LSS functionality showed GOOD performance in all scenarios including the more critical emergency lane keeping (ELK) test scenarios with the overall ANCAP score for Safety Assist being 85%.
The service interval for the Q3 40 TFSI is 12 months or 15,000km, whichever occurs first, and a five-year service plan (maximum of 75,000km) can be purchased upfront for $3,330. Customers also have the opportunity to purchase Audi Advantage, an Audi-exclusive program that allows owners to purchase two-year packages to extend their servicing, warranty and roadside assistance. New vehicle customers are able to purchase two-year programs back-to-back at the time of purchase, or at a later date up to 8 years old, to extend the current manufacturer warranty beyond the current 5-year timeframe. This allows new vehicle owners the security of a full factory warranty for up to 9 years, which is transferable to future owners of their vehicle.
The Audi Q3 Sportback 40 TFSI quattro S line is priced from $70,800 excluding on-road costs and as tested this Q3 with Progressive red metallic paint ($1,250) and Premium plus package (3,900) was priced at $75,950 excluding on-roads. However, for a limited time only, customers will receive reductions equal to the amount of GST on the manufacturer’s recommended list price across a wide range of new and demonstrators, including Q3 Audi models. You can shop for an Audi Q3 Sportback online or visit your preferred Audi dealer for more information.
| Pros | Cons |
| The stylish exterior and interior design | Limited head and leg room in the rear seats |
| Easy to connect wireless Android Auto | No memory positions for the driver’s seat |
| The comfortable ride | Plastic paddle shifters |
Photographs by Driven Women Magazine.