Audi teases new-generation Q3 SUV
BY ROBBIE WALLIS | 23rd Jul 2018
AUDI has released a teaser video through its social media channels of its new-generation Q3 small SUV, partially revealing the model that will replace the original premium crossover which launched locally in 2012.
Set to be revealed later this week, the Q3 looks to have undergone some serious visual changes, swapping out its existing squared-off headlights for a more angular style in line with the brand’s new design language.
Snippets of the Q3’s headlights show the same shape as the new-generation A6 sedan revealed earlier this year, and also feature striped daytime running lights (DRLs) across the bottom and on the outside corner of the lighting cluster.
The video also shows what looks to be adaptive LED matrix headlights with a pair of square lighting modules, as well as another LED strip along the top of the headlight cluster.
Audi’s large, hexagonal grille looks to have been retained, with mesh-like slats, lower outer air intakes and a ‘quattro’ badge which denotes all-wheel drive for the new model.
The teaser model appears to wear large alloy wheels with a striking design, while a curious new feature consists of a colour-changing lighting strip with Audi logo seen on the car’s interior.
Little else has been revealed on the Q3, but it remains likely that the new range retains its 1.4- and 2.0-litre powertrains, the latter of which is offered in petrol and diesel guise in Australia.
If recent Audi trends are to be followed, the Q3 range could see the introduction of mild-hybrid powertrains for the first time on its small SUV.
Performance fans can also expect the fire-breathing RS Q3 range-topper to arrive sometime after the regular line-up, while reports indicate Audi could also lob a slightly less savage S Q3 for the first time.
The new version is expected to be built on Volkswagen Group’s MQB platform, which should result in a weight reduction over the current model.
Audi’s interior designers should give the Q3’s cabin a significant overhaul, with a touchscreen integrated into the dashboard and the vitrual cockpit digital instrument cluster expected to be featured.
Through the first half of 2018, Audi has sold 1184 examples of the Q3, down 37.2 per cent year-on-year.
It sits third in the premium small SUV segment, behind the Mercedes-Benz GLA (2266) and BMW X1 (1807), and ahead of its Q2 stablemate (1055).
