Audi Q3 (F3) and Audi Q8

The Audi Q3 is now on its second generation and with its all new look, all new powertrain, all new packaging, and so on, the Q3 is now fully prepared to take on the luxury compact midsize crossovers in a way it has never done before, although this new model feels right at home on the road rather than on the outdoors but see if I can do with it.

2019 Audi Q3

Starting at 33,700 Euros, the all-new Audi Q3 is all about being a proper all-rounder by Audi standards and with its new form and packaging, this crossover tries so hard to be like one of the good boys rather than being one of the proud boys like the ones from BMW and Mercedes. Beginning on the exterior design, the all-new Q3 looks sharper and sportier than the first-generation and with expensive versions get Matrix LED headlights, this crossover really puts a shine into it.

2019 Audi Q3 interior

The interior retains the futuristic elements that today's Audi models possess such as the Audi Virtual Cockpit that puts the sat-nav into the speedo as well as smartphone connectivity, MMI, and so on and while the cockpit is basically driver-focused, this five-seater is surprisingly comfortable for luxury car standards and because it runs on today's platform, it's surprisingly more spacious than the old Q3 it replaces in terms of legroom and boot space, which carries 530 or 675 liters with seats present. 1,525 liters when the back seats folded, of course. With that amount of space, this crossover does a lot of things for drivers to do in their free time.

At launch, the new Q3 is offered with a wide range of 4-cylinder petrol and diesel engines mated with either a six-speed manual transmission or a fast-shifting seven-speed S tronic. Since this is Europe today, best to ignore the diesel engines all thanks to the issues about the government banning diesel engines on the road in the near future because of the D-word.

For now, the highest of the range goes to the Q3 45 with the 230PS TFSi 2.0L petrol engine and when mated with the S tronic, it does 0-100kph in 6.3 seconds and onwards to 233kph while delivering CO2 emissions of 167 g/km and combined WLTP fuel economy of 8,7 l/100km. Not bad, but the most fuel efficient goes to (no, not the Q3 35 TDi S tronic because Europeans are ruling out diesels) the 35 TFSi S tronic with 130g/km of CO2 emissions. That's it.

Running on the new platform, and with quattro all-wheel drive system, the new Q3 feels alright on and off the road, but in terms of exciting, since this is an Audi alright, it's about as buzzkill as Buzz Killington and it's just being too behaved for its own good. Couple that with a wide array of safety features and this nice guy next door is all about slow and steady winning the race but this is no turtle and hare story. It's the real world and in the real world, the new Audi Q3 is all grown up to do what's right not just for itself but for the drivers and passengers around it.

At this rate, I wanted to complete my analysis about the second-generation Audi Q3 but then, there's another new Audi crossover in the mix and looks like there's something about this Audi equivalent of BMW's sport activity coupes such as the X6.

2019 Audi Q8

2019 Audi Q8 interior

This is Audi's answer to BMW's sport activity coupes such as the X6. It's called the Q8 and with prices start at 76,300 Euros, it's very expensive to own especially when the fact that it offers only with the 3.0 TDI engine mated to a tiptronic gearbox but before ignoring this engine because it's diesel, this engine is equipped with mild hybrid technology like the one from the new Audi A8. This mild hybrid technology uses a 48-volt main electrical system that connects to the li-ion battery and a belt alternator starter. It's capable of long coasting phases with the engine deactivated and a start-stop range that begins at 22 km/h, resulting to 172g/km of CO2 emissions and combined WLTP fuel economy of 8,2 l/100km.

Word of caution, however, that because this is shaped like a BMW X6 and despite having quattro permanent all-wheel drive, the new Audi Q8 is going to behave like what the old BMW X6 does when taken to the streets of Spain, the Swiss Alps, Sydney, Hong Kong, even offroad where the Range Rover excels. Rings a bell, hmmm?

As for styling, yes coupes are sexy but coupe utility vehicles are in a different story and this Audi Q8 is pretty much like what happened with the BMW X6 and when taken on the road, how people react when they see one is everyone's guess.

Think about this; because the Q8 is priced at 76,300 Euros, you can buy two Q3s with that allowance and some spare change for some optional extras. Now there's your piece of consumer advice for you but I wouldn't care about it even though the Q8 packs a lot of technological features as seen in more expensive Audis like the A8 and so on.

So, how can I conclude this analysis? Well, because they're both Audis, it's hard to sum up these two because frankly, these Audi crossovers are always be Audis. Nothing more, nothing less.

Photo: Audi AG