Ingolstadt - Do you want an Audi Q8 but your budget is thinking more along the lines of a Q3? Audi has just the thing for you in the form of the new Q3 Sportback, which was revealed on Wednesday.
In most ways it is a close relative of the second-generation Audi Q3, which is set to be launched in South Africa at the end of August (check local pricing
), except the Sportback has, as you would have guessed, a sportier back. You can expect to see it in local showrooms during the first quarter of 2020.
Sporting a coupe-like sloping tail section, the Q3 Sportback is in fact 16mm longer and 29mm lower than the regular Q3 and also gets a unique grille as well as a gloss black trim package as standard.
The South African engine line-up will be announced closer to launch, but European customers get just three options to choose from initially, with the only petrol engine being the same 169kW 2-litre TSI turbopetrol that powers its Golf GTI cousin. There’s also a 2-litre diesel, offered in 110kW and 140kW guises.
Further down the line, Audi will add its 110kW 1.5-litre turbopetrol engine to the mix, mated to a 48V electrical system that features fuel-saving mild-hybrid technology.
The 2.0 TSI and 140kW 2.0 TDI variants both get Audi’s seven-speed S Tronic dual-clutch gearbox and quattro all-wheel-drive as standard.
The cabin is, for the most part, a carryover from the regular Q3, and Audi’s MMI touch display, with its wide, high-gloss black trim, is offered as an option, along with Amazon Alexa.
There is plenty of scope for customisation, thanks to a wide selection of colours and materials, and the Q3 Sportback also offers some advanced technological features (in Europe at least) such as Car-to-X services that communicate with cities’ infrastructure to allow drivers to predict the green-light phases of traffic lights.
South African specifications and pricing will be announced closer to launch.