2020 Audi Q3 Sportback 2.0 Quattro Review: The Edge of Tomorrow

A fancier, sharper version of the standard Q3, is the Audi Q3 Sportback different enough to warrant a look in? SINGAPORE Introduction This is an Audi Q3. Kind of. When the current generation Q3 was designed it was always going to be wearing two body styles, which is the standard SUV design and the version seen here, a swoopier, more angular version called the Q3 Sportback. It follows on from the current trend of building coupe-like SUVs, combining the utility of a high-riding, easy-to-drive car with svelte styling that says of the driver, “hey I’m not as boring as you think I am.” The Q3 Sportback is sold in Singapore with two engine options, a 1.4-litre turbo petrol engine and a more powerful 2.0-litre petrol turbo, driven here. Continue to page 2: Design, interior, features Design, Interior, Features The Q3 Sportback has a more dramatic sloping roofline than the regular Q3, and some visual tricks like an extended rear roof spoiler adds length to the car’s silhouette. It’s far from looking like the Lamborghini Urus though, and is still a clear part of the current-gen Audi family. The external styling cues are all designed around making the car look wider than it really is, with plenty of horizontal lines across the components in the front and back. The side view is built around the sloping roofline for that svelte coupe-like look, and as you would expect, it does reduce the headroom in the rear seats, but not by much. The car is 16mm longer than its Q3 sibling and 28mm lower. However, the rear seats are fitted slightly differently so you don’t actually lose 28mm of headroom. The luggage compartment is reasonably spacious, and is officially identical in capacity to the boxier Q3’s 530 litres because the measurements are taken up to the bottom of the window line. The steeply raked rear window therefore doesn’t factor into the official carrying capacity of the car. The rear seats also do the usual business of being able to fold flat out of the way for even more space. There’s plenty of high definition real estate on the dashboard, from the digital instrument cluster with a series of swappable themes to the 10.1-inch infotainment and navigation screen. Then there’s the low level mood lighting in the cabin too. It may sound like a frivolous bit of bling, but the ability to change the colour of the lights in the cabin can really make the interior feel fresh and different every now and then on night time trips. n On the whole it’s a pretty smart looking car, designed to look more at home in the city and on the highways than off the road. Continue to Page 3: Driving Experience Driving Experience A seven-speed automatic gearbox, quattro four-wheel drive and 180hp power output from the 2.0-litre turbo engine should in theory make for a reasonably exciting drive, but the reality is a little different. The Q3 Sportback is actually quite calm and composed, with very little to hint that it can reach 100km/h from a standstill in a reasonably brisk 7.4 seconds. The early stages of the accelerator pedal’s travel is quite muted, and the car is very civilised at urban city speeds. Flipping the Drive Select switch to Sport mode and driving with more commitment brings out the dynamic qualities of the car and even then it attacks with very little drama. There’s no snarling, growling exhaust note and it barely breaks out into a sweat through corners, and that’s what’s so interesting about the way the car is tuned. It can do fast. In fact, the way it grips, carries speed, and stays flat through corners is quite amazing. There’s just very little theatrics to the proceedings. It’s a quietly confident car, and the highlight of the driving experience is how it can be comfortable and quiet enough for kids to sleep soundly through a whole highway drive, and then really show its mettle when shown a series of corners. And if the kid is still sleeping, well he won’t be now. Continue to Page 4: Practicality, costs, competitors and conclusion Practicality, Costs, Competitors As far as luxury continental small SUV-coupe type cars go, the Audi Q3 Sportback sits in this corner of the market pretty much all on its own. There's a 2.0-litre BMW X2 sDrive20i, on par with the 2.0-litre Sportback here, but most of you will aim for the BMW X2 sDrive18i that's closer in performance to the 1.4-litre Q3 Sportback but also slightly smaller. The Lexus UX 200 is definitely worth a look, as one of Lexus' newest, and most successful models though it does have less interior space in the rear.There's also the excellent hybrid version - which is the only hybrid car in the small, luxury SUV class at the moment. Then there’s also the in-house option of the standard Audi Q3 (above) if you would just like your SUV to well, look like an SUV and not some sporty-edgy-coupe-angular-crossbreed thing. But how do they stack up? This car is the more expensive 2.0, and it costs S$200k with COE (and a bit). As typical for Singapore, this will be the minority choice compared to the mainstream 1.4, where you lose the extra power, adaptive suspension, but keep pretty much everything else. For the 1.4, the price for the regular Q3 (S$158,800 with COE) and Q3 Sportback (S$168,711) is roughly S$10k - the biggest difference we can perceive from the spec sheet is that the Sportback gets adaptive cruise control. CarBuyer doesn't really like coupe-SUVs, since they often turn out compromised. But the Sportback's visibility drawback isn't huge, though it's noticeable, and the car still has plenty going for it. Despite the styling that seems to be a compromise between design and practicality, it’s actually quite well packaged, with plenty of space for five in the car and a luggage area that is expansive enough for anything from christmas trees to Ikea flat-packed wardrobes. What will move your wallet is your the eternal question for this type of car - how much do you like the styling? Conclusion The Audi Q3 Sportback’s excellent composure is both an asset and a drawback, because unless you’re a really keen driver and you're very sold on the look, there is little to separate the two variants when cruising at low speed around town. Like most coupe-SUVs, the eyes have it. Audi Q3 Sportback 2.0 Quattro Engine 1,984cc, inline 4, turbocharged Power 180hp at 3,900-6,000rpm Torque 320Nm at 1,500 to 4,100rpm Gearbox 7-speed dual-clutch 0-100km/h 27.4 seconds Top Speed 220km/h Fuel Efficiency 7.9L/100km VES Band / CO2 C1 / 180g/km Agent Premium Automobiles Price S$200,161 with COE Availability Now Verdict A nicely competent luxury urban SUV with a pace to match its edgy styling