The compact Q3 SUV will be the first Audi to feature ‘disconnect coasting’ – a system that automatically freewheels downhill to save fuel.
It will be fitted as standard to front-wheel drive ‘eco’ models with two-litre petrol engines.
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Annual sales in the UK are expected to be around 5,000 units, about the same as the Q5.
But why the Shanghai show for the unveil of the Q3? The answer is the same as for the A6 unveil at the Detroit show in January: it was the next available international event.
Audi’s breathless launch schedule leaves little room for the company to pick and choose where it launches global models.
Since the wealthy Chinese who could be in line to buy the Q3 will probably opt for something bigger – there are Q7s and A8s in numbers on the streets of Shanghai – the unveil is obviously aimed at a global rather than local audience, although Audi did show the Cross Coupé concept here four years ago.
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By GlobalDataThis was a teaser for the Q3 but the production car loses the over-sized Q7 grille and sharply dipping roofline of the concept.
The five-door Q3 is based on the underpinnings of the recently facelifted VW Tiguan, with which it also shares its transversely mounted engines and gearboxes.
At 4,390mm long, 1,830mm wide and 1,600mm tall (roof rail included), the Q3 is 239mm shorter, 50mm narrower and 53mm lower than the Q5. Audi claims a 1,500kg kerb weight for the base front-drive model. Weight-saving measures include the adoption of an aluminium bonnet and tailgate although the remainder of the body is made from high strength steel.
The Q3 will be built in China and at Seat’s Martorell factory in Spain. If sales can reach the 100,000 level that Audi is said to have pencilled in, that will go a long way to easing Seat’s current under-utilisation of the factory.
