It is easy to see that the entry level luxury car market is fast developing in our country. The Indian subsidiary of Mercedes Benz recently launched the A Class and is also very close to launching the diesel variant of the B Class in our country BMW India sells the X1 entry level luxury crossover and has met with sufficient success. The third of the German luxury car maker trio, Audi, sells Q3 crossover in the same segment and has managed to become the segment leader in a really short span of time. Joining the might Germans in near future will be Volvo, who will launch the V40 CrossCountry crossover in coming months.
With competition looking all set to increase in near future, the good folks at Audi could be a bit worried. Regulars here would remember that we were among the firsts to report that in a bid to prevent Q3 from slipping down the sales charts, Audi India is planning to soon launch a new entry level variant of the Q3.
Now, the Q3 that you see in the pics here is the same entry level variant that might be soon launched in India. Powering the new entry level variant will be a diesel engine and the car will have a front wheel drive layout. Also, the car will miss out on various high end gizmos. This entry level variant is expected to come to us via CKD route.
The entry level variant of the Audi Q3 is powered by a 2.0 litre TDI diesel engine in most international market. This variant has a max power of 140 BHP and a peak torque of 320 Nm. The motor comes mated to a 6 speed manual transmission, instead of an auto ‘box, to keep the costs under check. In India though, the current entry level variant, which indeed is powered by the same 2.0 litre engine, comes with a 7 speed dual clutch automatic gearbox and Quattro all wheel drive system. Also, the motor comes in a different state of tune and has 177 Bhp-350 Nm on tap.
We won’t be too surprised to see Audi India retaining the auto ‘box for the upcoming entry level variant, what with most premium car buyers preferring to have an automatic transmission? The new entry level variant could be priced almost INR 3-4 lakhs lower than the current base variant. The current entry level variant of the Audi Q3, the 2.0 TDI Quattro, retails for INR 27.21 lakhs.
Via ACI