The Goldilocks car

 Audi's new Q3 is neither too small, nor too big and may in fact be just right

- HORMAZD SORABJEE

Small is beautiful. It's manoeuvrable too. Especially in Central London where you have to tackle narrow lanes and navigate through a labyrinth of road works and diversions with one eye on Google Maps and the other on the road.

It certainly did help that the Audi Q3 I'm piloting is nice and compact, has a high seating position and good all-round visibility. As an urban luxury SUV, the Q3 is just the right size if you are mainly going to be behind the wheel, which is why it was pretty popular in India until Audi discontinued it in early 2020.

Now, after a long gap of two and a bit years, Audi is set to bring back the Q3 to Indian shores with the second-generation model that was launched internationally almost three years ago. That's why its launch in India last month couldn't have come a day sooner.

The 10 cm advantage

The Q3 completes the Q range and also bookends it at the affordable end. The Q2 has long been discontinued and so, in effect, the Q3 is the entry point to Audi's SUV range in India. It's significantly different from the previous Q3 too, both inside and out. And it's a touch bigger too, so let's start with the size.