You’ll Probably See The New Audi Q3 Absolutely Everywhere Soon

There are two things British car buyers absolutely love: small crossovers and posh German badges. Welcome, then, to a car you’ll probably be seeing absolutely everywhere very soon: the new Audi Q3.

Audi’s second-smallest SUV – soon to regain its crown as the smallest, as the Q2 isn’t sticking around for a second generation – is one of the company’s very best-selling models around the world, and we see precisely zero chance of that changing with this third-generation version.

That’s especially true given there’s a powertrain to suit everyone (well, unless you want an EV). Sitting at the lowest rung is a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol four-cylinder, driving the front wheels and making 148bhp. It also has cylinder shutdown tech, meaning it runs as a two-cylinder when all four aren’t needed. Later on, a 201bhp, all-wheel drive version of this powertrain is coming.

Next up comes a beefier 2.0-litre turbo petrol, delivering a healthy 261bhp to all four wheels. Diesel enjoyers are catered to with a 2.0-litre TDI four-cylinder, making 148bhp and more importantly, 266lb ft of torque. That one’s front-wheel drive.

Finally, there’s the obligatory plug-in hybrid, pairing the 1.5-litre petrol engine with an electric motor. It makes a peak of 268bhp, and can do a quoted 74 miles on electric power alone. Whatever powertrain you go for, you’re limited to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox.

The design’s all very familiar from other recent Audis with a big trapezoidal grille and slender headlights up front, and a full-width lightbar at the back. Because Audi loves this sort of thing, you can set the LED lights to do various different fancy dances when you lock and unlock the car.

The inside doesn’t bring any big surprises either if you've seen things like the new A5 and Q6 E-Tron. Audi’s current wall-of-screens approach greets you with a panoramic display incorporating an 11.9-inch instrument cluster and 12.8-inch infotainment display.

There is one potentially controversial change in here, though. Steering wheel stalks have been done away with in favour of a new ‘steering wheel control unit’, which houses a big fixed block of buttons on either side of the wheel. The one on the right handles drive selection, while on the left, all the wiper and lighting controls – including indicators – are incorporated.

Petrol and diesel versions of the Q3 go on sale in Britain next month, with the hybrid following in August, and deliveries starting in later summer. The petrol engines start at £38,300, the diesel at £40,000, and the PHEV at £45,800.