Audi forayed into the Indian SUV market with the big and beastly Q7, which has grown to become one of the most sought after vehicle for our Bollywood stars. Following the top-down approach, Audi brought in the Q5 which was basically the fun of a Q7 but in a 5-seater configuration. Now, with the compact SUV market seeing lot of growing potential, Audi India’s next offering will be the new Q3. The Audi Q3 was displayed at the 2012 Auto Expo that took place in Delhi and will be priced Rs. 2 lakhs more than the BMW X1. Expect prices to range between Rs. 28-32 lakhs (ex-showroom, Delhi) for the Q3 at launch.
The Audi Q3 is going to rival its German rival, the BMW X1 in the Indian market. The Audi Q3 measures 4385 mm in overall length, 1831 mm in width and 1602 mm in height. Many people have the misconception of believing the Audi Q3 is based on the platform of the A4. In fact, the Audi Q3 is based on the platform of Volkswagen Tiguan. Under the hood, the Audi Q3 is powered by a 2.0-litre diesel engine which produces 174 BHP of power at 4200 RPM and about 380 NM of torque between 1750 to 2500 RPM.
With the engine mounted transversely, the Audi Q3 makes better usage of the interior space as compared to the BMW X1 which mounts the engine longitudinally. The Audi Q3 has got a very good mid-range torque makes it a good cruiser. The engine is mated to a 7-speed S-Tronic DCT transmission. The Audi Q3 is going to be initially brought to the Indian market via the CBU route with CKD assembly operations planned to start later at Audi’s Aurangabad facility. Audi is currently planning to launch the diesel variant in June with the 2.0-litre, TFSI petrol engine (208 BHP) powered Q3 set for a early 2013 launch.
