2015 Audi Q3 face-lift: Design Review

The 2015 Audi Q3 face-lift has been revealed worldwide and Audi India won’t waste much time in getting it to our shores. Pegged as a major money spinner for Audi both in India and abroad, the Q3 freshens itself for 2015 as a part of the Ingolstadt based manufacturer’s mid-cycle refresh program. So what’s new here? We find out.

The face:

The new Q3 smartens up by wearing a completely new front fascia, which constitutes primarily of what Audi likes to describe as, a ‘3D-effect Singleframe’ grille housing a few slats, the four rings and the front registration plate. While regular models come with a thick chrome surround for that grille, the hotter RS model gets an optional all-black treatment along with a trademark RS honeycomb pattern instead of the boring slat job.

Audi has also re-styled the front bumper to make it look crisper, which now features lower air intakes (fake) that have been enlarged slightly, giving the crossover more road presence than ever. For the RS Q3 though, things hot up even more, with the bumper sporting larger air vents hosting even more honeycomb and a couple of RS style sub-intakes too.

Higher variants of the new Q3 now come with the optional all- LED illumination, while the rest of the variants get Xenon headlamps instead of the halogen ones on the current car.

The hotter RS Q3

The sides:

Go away if you came here searching for changes, because there are none. Ok, wait! The wheel arch surrounds and door sills that are now body colored even on the base model, as compared to the plastic elements from the pre-face-lift model. A new set of alloy wheels complete the show.

The rear:

With a powerful magnifying glass’s help, we could spot a mildly revised rear bumper that now bears slightly elongated rear lamps/reflectors and a different scruff plate, while the S-Line kit adds some faux mesh job.

The taillights are very slightly different – the biggest change is the addition of ‘scrolling’ indicators – the indicator scrolls from the inside to the outside of the lamp cluster in the direction in which the car is turning.

Inside there’s a new steering wheel with a round centerpiece , new instrumentation and an updated MMI system, while optional goodies include LED interior lighting package, power-adjustable front seats and several driver assistance systems and more.

The 2.0 TDi that we should be concerned with is powered by the same 1968cc four-cylinder turbo-diesel motor as the current car, while the updated Q3’s diesel engine now makes 181bhp and 38.74kgm of torque.

Head to the gallery below for more hi-res images of the 2015 Audi Q3 face-lift: