Q3

Overview

The Q3 is the quiet one in this group, and Audi has built its case on the things you notice by touch rather than by brochure. The 1.5-litre turbo petrol in this listing makes 150 bhp and 250 Nm, the most modest output of the premium compact SUVs here, but it delivers them through a dual-clutch automatic with a polish that makes larger-engined rivals feel blunt, and the cabin’s switchgear has the damped, machined feel that is Audi’s real signature.

The shape is compact in a deliberate way: 4.48 metres long, narrow enough for a basement slot without anxiety, and arranged around a 400-litre boot that suits a couple with luggage rather than a family of five with a week’s worth of bags. The digital cockpit, the matrix-pattern LED lamps on upper trims and the panoramic roof are all the things that make the difference between a car that reads premium from ten metres and one that reads it from one.

The case against is arithmetic. Option the driver assistance package and the good wheels and the Q3 approaches the money of the larger BMW in this catalogue; the rear seat is the tightest of the premium compacts for tall adults; and the base setup is firm in a way that rewards smooth tarmac more than broken. What you are buying is not space or straight-line drama, but a level of consistency few rivals trouble to match.

• 1.5-litre turbo with dual-clutch automatic
• Audi virtual cockpit as standard
• Fit-and-finish ahead of the price bracket