The Q3 has walked away with the premium compact SUV segment ever since it made its debut in India, and for good reason. Well-proportioned, spacious, comfortable, decently equipped, frugal and economical to own for its class, the Q3 fit the bill for those who wanted a genuine German car without having to rob a bank, or be a politician. It’s not that the Q3 didn’t have competition, though. The Q3’s supremacy in its segment wasn’t by default, but by virtue of its inherent merits, very suitable for the Indian audience. The likes of the BMW X1 and the Volvo V40 Cross Country did try their bit to claim a share of the lucrative territory, but couldn’t quite suit the Indian taste well enough. While the X1 was too sharp, too stiff and too focused for its own good, the V40, being a Volvo, and relatively unpopular in this part of the world, was never meant to be of much consequence.
More recently, the emergence of the new GLA class, the debonair looking crossover from Mercedes-Benz has posed a new challenge, and Audi India have responded with a feature laden, more stylish and more capable version of the compact SUV. The Q3 Dynamic, the model in question here lays claim to be the best premium compact SUV in India. Is it, really? We tried to find out at the Kari Speedway, where Audi India had set up an on-track and off-road experience for select media.
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So does the new Q3 look more ‘Dynamic’ as compared to the basic variant?
You bet! The changes aren’t overly subtle, and even a kindergarten kid should be able to tell the new Dynamic variant from its humbler cousins. Say woot! For the extra money you spent will show.
Changes on the exterior include an all-chrome singleframe grille, comprising 14 chrome drenched vertical bars. While it’s easy for the rookies to overlook that refined detail, the newly incorporated front bumper with its aluminium finish under-cladding isn’t so easy to miss. The aluminium under-cladding not only adds some contrast, character and premiumness to the fascia, but also underlines the Q3’s off-roading prowess, bestowed upon it by the legendary Quattro AWD system. The bumper by itself is different and now features new faux side air intakes and chrome lined fog lamp housings.
In profile, the Q3 Dynamic remains largely unchanged with only the new 17 inch alloys offering some distinction. Audi prefers calling the new 5×3 spoke alloy design ‘Trias’ and we quite like the way it looks.
At the rear, the Dynamic variant gets newly styled clear lens tail-lamps with a distinctive design. The chrome and black combination of the new tail-lamps is lent some bright contrast by the illuminated brake light in the shape of tongs. It’s an interesting design, very subtle, yet highlighted in places that matter. Reminds me of one of those Photoshop jobs where you apply a greyscale tone to an entire photograph leaving only a certain bright colour as a highlight. The tail-lamps, to some of the fellow journalists didn’t appeal much, but to me, personally, came across as a fantastic job which requires great visualization skills and attention to detail.
Are the changes only skin deep, or has something changed under the bonnet as well?
Well, Audi haven’t tinkered with the delightful engine-transmission setup. However, while the Audi Q3 earlier came only with a standard suspension-steering-transmission setup, with the introduction of the Dynamic variant, it gets the Audi Drive Select.
The new introduction on the compact crossover now allows the driver to choose from three different drive modes. There are Comfort, Auto and Dynamic modes to choose from. In comfort mode, the system loosens up the suspension and steering, and commands the brilliant 7 speed S-tronic dual clutch transmission to bring down the shift points for easygoing, seamless and efficiency oriented ratios swaps.
Conversely, the Dynamic mode makes the suspension stiffen up to reduce body roll to the least possible levels, makes the steering tighter and lets the tacho needle go higher up the rev crescent. How high the tacho needle travels, however, remains subject to the amount of lead in your right foot. Auto mode tries to constantly juggle various settings to suit the road conditions and your driving style as well as an electronic brain possibly could. We would, however, suggest you choose either Comfort or Dynamic mode depending on the terrain and your mood.
Does the Drive Select feature really work, or is it just a gimmick?
We had our doubts too, especially on the relatively inexpensive Q3. And we found the answer on the undulating B-road branching out of the highway, leading up to the Kari Speedway. “It’s just too stiff for a premium car” – my fellow journalist remarked. I agreed, and subsequently checked the mode engaged, which happened to be the stiffest Dynamic mode. I switched the mode to comfort, and the difference in the ride quality was almost instantly perceptible. The unyielding bouncy suspension was suddenly much more supple and absorbent. The unnerving shakiness emerging from the hard suspension dissolved in no time, making for a significantly more comfortable ride quality.
Conversely, during our on-track experience, while following Prithveen Rajan, Audi’s official trainer-driver for India we could feel the Comfort mode getting more than a tad bit ‘uncomfortable’ as the car was pushed closer to it limits around the bends of the small but interesting Kari Speedway circuit. Switching to Dynamic mode was the instant remedy we tried, and it worked to a great extent. The car felt tauter, the steering, though not very feelsome, felt heavier offering a more planted feel with the kickdowns becoming more frequent and up-shifts happening at a higher engine speed.
So to answer your question, it really works. It’s not a gimmick, and based on the kind of environment you are driving in, it can really make a whole lot of difference to your experience.
Next page for interior, equipment, off-road capability and verdict>>>