LATE BLOOMER

Audi’s baby Q is all grown up in its second generation, but can it go back to being the segment leader it once was?

- SHIVANK BHATT

The second-gen Audi Q3 has finally landed on our shores four years after its global debut. COVID-19, supply shortages, and logistics hurdles – there are a whole bunch of things to be blamed for the delayed arrival of Audi’s best-selling SUV in India. Let bygones be bygones, though. The real question is – has the Q3 still got it?

REFINED AGGRESSION

Audi shipped over a million units of the first-gen Q3 across the world, making it the company’s best-selling SUV. But, as popular as it was, it never looked SUV enough. With the second-generation model, Audi seems to have fixed that issue – the Q3’s now got character in spades. Its overall shape and silhouette give it a mini Q8-like appearance. It’s as if Audi designers put the Q8 in a photocopier and reduced the size to 60%, and voila! – you have got the next-gen Q3 ready. This one has an imposing face, thanks to a wider single-frame grille, a flatter bonnet with a prominent power dome, wedge-shaped LED headlamps, and a chunkier bumper. The same goes for the side profile, courtesy of its more dramatic shoulder lines and contours. Since the new Q3 is 97mm longer (4,485mm) than its predecessor, it’s a more purposeful SUV stance, I’d say. The 18-inch alloys do look boring, though.

At the back, the Q3 cuts a familiar shape, although the new wraparound LED tail lamps and a wider bumper give it a sturdy and slightly rugged look. Overall, I believe it won’t be an exaggeration to say that it’s the most SUV-like machine amongst its rivals.

TECH-DRIVEN