Audi Q3

The cabin layout of the Audi Q3 looks and feels decently modern and plush, with the seats, steering wheel, dashboard and door panels getting nicely appointed upholstery and trim finishes. There are three types of leather upholstery on offer for the Audi Q3 in Malaysia – Black with Okapi Brown, Black with Pearlescent Beige and All-Black.

The Audi Q3 has a premium and new-age vibe in its driver’s cockpit, with a three-spoke leather-wrapped, tilt and telescopic adjustable steering wheel and a full-TFT virtual cockpit instrument console placed in a binnacle behind it. The asymmetric centre console of the Audi Q3 is slightly tilted towards the driver's side while housing a 10.1-inch MMI touchscreen infotainment system that is its main highlight. With silver surround, this infotainment system has up-to-date MMI navigation and MMI touch.

Below the infotainment system, the lower centre console of the Audi Q3 has buttons for the dual-zone automatic climate control and a wireless charging pad. The Malaysia-spec Audi Q3 also has other premium features like sports seats with electrical adjustments for the driver’s seat, an electric tailgate, stainless steel pedals, ambient lighting, 12-way powered front seats and a transmission lever with perforated leather.

Sharing a few of its design elements with the larger Q-Series SUVs from Audi, the 2024 Q3 looks premium and edgy for its size. While its overall stance and silhouette are more of a crossover than an SUV, it has a sense of authority and premium appeal that people expect in an SUV of its size or price. The striking design elements and edgy creases go well with the S Line package on offer as standard in the Audi Q3, which adds a few blacked-out elements to the exterior design of the SUV. 

The front profile of the Audi Q3 boasts of a large single-frame octagonal grille, which gets tapered edges all around and hexagonal mesh inserts and Audi rings that have a gloss black finish. The Q3 also gets widespread headlamps placed adjacent to the grille, that have all-LED illumination. The front bumper of the Audi Q3 has a dynamic design with its corners having large and angular air intakes that look sporty with the gloss black highlights around them.

The side profile of the Audi Q3 has smooth-looking contours over the front and rear wheel arches, which along with the 19-inch matte titanium grey alloy wheels make the compact SUV look muscular and sporty. With the S Line package on offer, there are more gloss black highlights for the door-mounted rearview mirrors, side body claddings, window surrounds and wheel arches.  

The rear profile of the Audi Q3 has a decently-raked windscreen, which has angular LED combination tail lamps placed horizontally below its lower corners. These tail lamps mimic the design of the headlamps and look contemporary with modern-looking LED inserts. The rear bumper also gets a gloss black diffuser as a part of the S Line package, that’s spread across its width at the bottom.

The Audi Q3 has a simple suspension setup of Macpherson struts at the front and multi-link at the rear, which is complemented by the presence of Audi’s much-acclaimed Quattro all-wheel drive system as standard. The overall suspension setup has been tuned for excellent handling around corners and fast stretches. The progressive steering with direct steering characteristics and Audi Drive Select with multiple drive modes further make the Q3 a surprisingly agile SUV to drive.

The Audi Q3 in Malaysia gets a 1.4-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, which is currently the smallest petrol engine from the German brand. Paired with a 7-speed S-Tronic automatic transmission, this turbo-petrol engine delivers a maximum power output of 150 PS and a peak torque output of 250 Nm. Along with a top speed of 207 kmph, the Audi Q3 also takes 8.9 seconds for the 0-100 kmph run.

The standard safety equipment list of the Audi Q3 comprises six airbags, automatic high beams, ABS with EBD, lane change assist, front and rear automatic emergency braking, blind spot monitoring with side cross-traffic alert, 360-degree parking camera, lane keep assist, electronic stability control and adaptive cruise control.

Like most compact luxury SUVs, the Audi Q3 also has a striking exterior design, a practical and decently-equipped cabin, a powerful and refined petrol engine and agility and thrills in its driving dynamics.