2019 Audi Q3 Teased Ahead of Official Reveal
The new Audi Q3 is en route for a launch later this week, but Audi gave us a sneak preview of the model in a teaser video. As the smallest crossover the brand has ever sold in the United States, the Q3 is in a hot segment right now. However, it hasn’t managed to outpace the more expensive Q5 in terms of overall sales. With 20,633 deliveries in 2017, the crossover sells well enough, but pales in comparison to the units moved by its larger sibling.
It does look to be on schedule to surpass the A3 in terms of sales by the end of the year, though. The fact that crossovers are killing the smaller to midsize car segment isn’t much of a secret anymore. But it’s as true for Audi as it is most other brands, which is why the Q3 needs to be a success. You can see the brand going the extra mile — even in this little teaser.
You don’t see a lot of the car in the video. Every glimpse you recieve is cut short by a lighting change or new angle. However, it’s still apparent that Audi has added creases everywhere and some bulging wheel wells. It appears to be a more muscular-looking vehicle than we’ve grown accustomed to.
There’s also a massive “Singleframe” Audi grille and oversized vents that don’t appear to do any actual venting. I know we harp on this relatively benign styling choice, but there’s something about air inlets that clearly don’t lead anywhere that always comes off as looking cheap. It’s fine at a distance, but a triangle of black plastic on the bumper isn’t fooling anyone up close.
Still, the LED running lights look wonderful and there’s a neat color-changing Audi logo somewhere inside the cabin. Where not sure what this means. Likely some kind of interior lighting customization, which isn’t new concept but would update the Q3.
So far as we know, the crossover will make use of Volkswagen Group’s MQB platform and is almost guaranteed to swap over to Audi’s Virtual Cockpit. It’s also likely to see a host of tech upgrades that we’ll find out more on later this week.
[Images: Audi]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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And not a moment too soon. The existing Q3 is the epitome of badge engineering: it's based on the PQ35 platform that dates back to 2005 (albeit heavily updated in 2009). It wasn't a bad car....just completely non-competitive on just about every metric you can think of. The current A3 debuted in 2012 and was due for its revamp this year. Word on the street is that Audi pushed the wagon/sedan back because the Q3 is much more relevant today than it was 6 years ago. The MK8 Golf goes into production 11 months from now, and I suspect that means that the next A3 will debut late this year or early next.