It doesn’t inspire as much confidence as the Audi, because even though that car feels just a touch more rigid in the way the dampers deal with bumps, it also has more precision, greater agility and therefore gives you more reassurance. The steering is light but quick and you get a sense of the Volvo’s taller stance. However, while it replicates this on country roads, it doesn’t feel as controlled or as composed as the Q3. The cabin design is the most interesting, but also still functional. The item that really stands out, though, is the XC40’s connectivity: CarPlay and Android Auto are part of a £300 pack when the Audi gets these features as standard.Īt least quality is strong – not quite a match for the Q3, but the materials feel like they justify the price tag and edge out the Mazda. A power tailgate costs £375 but is standard on the Q3. A reversing camera is a £375 option and some of the more advanced safety tech is extra, too, plus heated seats are part of a £500 pack. In R-Design trim the Volvo features sat-nav, a digital dash, autonomous braking, parking sensors and LED lights, plus half-leather seats to match its rival. We feel some of that is down to the Audi’s longer list of standard equipment. The transmission makes up a good portion of the price difference, but the manual Q3 is still £2,410 more expensive. The six-speed manual box sends drive to the front wheels, and while four-wheel drive is available on the T4 and T5 petrols, this T3 is two-wheel drive only. With a 530-litre load bay, it’s the largest of the three cars for luggage room this increases to 675 litres if you move the split sliding bench seat forward, giving the Q3 an advantage. By the end of its predecessor’s lifespan boot space was an issue, but not here. Still, even for an SUV direction changes are positive and the Q3 offers a good trade-off between ride quality, refinement, handling and comfort. This doesn’t come at the expense of agility, though, because the Q3’s steering is light but quick and accurate it’s the roll that creeps into the driving experience that limits the dynamic ability here. These do cause a jiggle, but the set-up tones this down well so it still rides with a decent level of maturity. The ride and therefore comfort is acceptable, too, thanks to the standard passive dampers’ ability to mostly smooth out the impact of all but the worst bumps. Rev the engine and it sounds strained, but it is refined enough thanks to the mid-range torque, so you don’t have to work it as hard as the Mazda. The gearbox slurs changes well to keep things smooth, while taking manual control delivers snappy shifts. With launch control and swift shifts thanks to its dual-clutch gearbox, the Q3 was the fastest car on test from 0-60mph, taking 9.0 seconds. Still, it’s no worse than in the XC40 and in the most part the plastics are premium, while the mix of textures and materials creates the right feel, and the technology is superb. Going for the manual gearbox will save you £1,580 and put the Q3 closer to the manual-only XC40 T3 R-Design.Īlthough it’s pricier, it feels good for the money, because the quality inside is of the typically high standard we’ve come to expect from an Audi interior, even if there are some areas where pennies have been pinched. This transmission will make up the wave of early deliveries, while a six-speed manual and quattro four-wheel drive will follow later. In 35 TFSI guise (the name refers to its power output in kW, not engine size) it produces 148bhp and 250Nm of torque here and sends that power to the front wheels only through a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. Just as with the chassis, the 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol engine is familiar. Audi Q3 vs Range Rover Evoque vs Volvo XC40.BMW X1 vs Audi Q3: 2022 twin test review.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |