The latest pin-sharp spy shots to help us piece together what Audi has in store for the Q3. We’ve also got the bigger Q6 to help guide us, which ought to be a real help because we know how Audi likes to give its cars a strong family resemblance. And even with all that disguise in play, we can see that the little Q3 borrows heavily from the electric Q6. Both get Audi’s new slim DRLs that are made up of multiple LED blocks allowing different patterns and messages to be displayed. This means the Q3 also employs a split-headlight treatment, something Audi now uses on several SUVs, but decided not to give the latest A5, the successor to today’s A4.
Moving along the side, things look rather less sophisticated. There’s no sign of the RS6 e-trons’s camera-based door mirrors and the door handles are the chunky old-fashioned pull-kind, rather than the more modern flush-fit type that the Q3’s BMW X1 rival has switched to. Unlike the last Q3 prototype we scooped back in September, this one had its rear lights on, and the pictures seem to suggest that Audi won’t give its smallest SUV a full-width light bar, despite using the styling trick on other cars.
What we can’t quite make out is whether
this car has a charging flap on the driver’s side front fender. The Q3 in the
last set of spy shots did, indicating that it was a PHEV, but this one may be
running one of the simpler mild-hybrid engines that will also be available.
Audi’s baby SUV is a close relative of the newly-launched VW Tiguan, and that
is available with front- and all-wheel drive, and a choice of 1.5 and 2.0
petrol power, a 2.0-liter diesel or two PHEVs that offer up to 268 hp.
We’re expecting Audi to unveil the Q3 in
the middle- or second half of 2024, so there’s a while to go yet before we get
the full picture and prices. But based on the US$ 37,000 starting price for
today’s Q3 the new one should still come in at just under US$ 40k.
