Audi has launched the Q3 Sport in India, priced at a rather mouth watering Rs. 24.99 lakhs (ex-showroom, Delhi). This makes the Q3 Sport the most affordable Audi in India. To come to this aggressive price point, Audi has ditched the award winning quattro 4-wheel drive system in lieu of channeling power to the front-wheels. The Audi Q3 Sport uses a detuned version of the 2.0-litre TDI diesel engine which produces 140 BHP of power and 320 Nm of torque (between 1750-2500 RPM). This is the first luxury car to use a manual transmission (6-speed) this decade (in the last decade, Mercedes-Benz used to offer the C-Class with a 6-speed manual gearbox).
The Audi Q3 Sport returns an ARAI certified mileage of 17.32 km/l. Bookings of the Audi Q3 Sport are open now and you can book yours online via Audi’s online booking process at ‘bookmyAudi.in’. The first 10 online bookings of the Audi Q3 S edition will win a special off-road style package. Deliveries will start by the end of this month. Audi believes young customers who like to drive themselves prefer a manual gearbox and thus the Q3 Sport offers the thrill of ‘self-controlled driving’. The Q3 Sport weighs just 1520 kgs which is around 140 kgs less than the quattro equipped Q3 (the lack of quattro saves weight).
Audi has removed the panoramic sunroof, daytime running lights and Xenon headlights (it uses halogens instead). The lack of DRLs rob away the presence from an Audi vehicle. However other equipment like cruise control, rear parking aid, ABS, ESP, 6 airbags, electromechanical parking brake, driver infotainment system, hill start assist, power adjustable driver seat, etc have been retained. Audi has started locally assembly of the Q3 with the Sport edition.
Mercedes-Benz sold more cars than Audi last month, which has made the Ingolstadt automaker sit up and take notice. Audi will thus launch a new model every 4-6 weeks in India. The Q3 Sport is cheaper than the Mercedes A-Class, with the ex-showroom Mumbai price of Rs. 24.61 lakhs resulting in a cheaper on-road price than the A-Class (the Q3 is a CKD while the A-Class is a CBU). The Audi Q3 S edition will also fend off competition from the B-Class and upcoming BMW 1-Series.
Audi has also inaugurated Audi Delhi Central, which is the company’s third showroom in New Delhi. It is based on the Central Business Direct concept, spread over more than 6500 sq.ft. The German automaker has also launched Audi Club India, which is a dedicated club for Audi owners in India. Owners can register by logging onto myAudi.in. wherein they can meet other owners and get a host of benefits like ordering a service, booking a test drive, checking out and ordering new accessories. They can also video chat with Audi engineers, crew, designers and race drivers through Audi Chat. Audi will open 7 more showrooms this year to take total dealership count to 34 outlets. Audi has received 125 bookings for the Q3 Sport on the first day of launch itself.
