Audi South Africa completed its Q3 line-up with the introduction of the first compact crossover utility vehicle for the brand. As the halo model for the range, the Audi Q3 Sportback is designed to emphasise sportiness, practicality and elegance.
Capatalising on the South African market’s love of SUV’s the Q3 Sportback combines the strong presence and everyday convenience of an SUV with the sporty elegance and agile handling of a coupé.
Design & Trimmings
Priced from R693,000 the two-model range is targeted at customers who appreciate a sporty character as much as an expressive design. And expressive the design certainly is, making it much sportier, faster and sleeker than the standard Q3 while it is also slightly bigger to fit into the small SUV segment (officially positioned in the A-segment CUV market). Thanks to the striking black grille of the octagonal Singleframe is strongly three-dimensional in design, it boasts a particularly sporty design creating a good-looking vehicle.
The same applies to the trapezoidal air inlets and the expressive bumper with its flat blade. The coupé-like passenger cabin acts as a contrast to the distinctive attachments, which are painted in contrasting silver and thus emphasize the SUV character. The low roofline gives way to flat D-pillars and ends in a roof edge spoiler.
A total of ten exterior colours are available for the Audi Q3 Sportback, including the new metallic paint colour called Dew Silver, exclusive to the Q3 Sportback. Audi S line exterior trimmings are standard across the range and includes prominent aluminium elements around the grille, bumper and air inlets. The standard wheel size is 18 inch with an option to upgrade to a larger 19 inch for a further advanced look.
Engine options
Offering a fun driving experience on various terrains – on city streets, long-haul trips and easy off-road tracks – this compact crossover promises to be a dynamic all-around performer. Two petrol engines are available on offer in South Africa. The 1.4 TFSI in the Q3 Sportback 35 TFSI delivers 110 kW and 250 Nm of torque from a four-cylinder direct injection unit with turbocharging. It uses a six-speed S Tronic transmission and produces a 0-100 km claim of 9.3 seconds. The Q3 Sportback 40 TFSI Quattro S line is fitted with a 2.0 TFSI engine producing 132 kW, 320 Nm of torque and a seven-speed S Tronic transmission which allows it to sprint from 0-100km/h in 7.8 seconds. This engine is an additional offering within the Q3 model range since its launch in August 2019. In this model, the quattro all-wheel drive takes on the job of force transmission as standard and thereby makes for a more dynamic and stable drive.
Will the boot space be enough to pack a tent and a cooler box for a camping weekend? We doubt it, but it certainly will be a fun drive for a quick day out to one of the easily accessible conservation parks such as Dinokeng or Pilanesberg!
