Skip advert
Advertisement

Audi Q3 2019 review – just another compact SUV, but one with potential - Design

The Audi Q3 is not a bad car, but it's lacking in key areas compared to strong rivals, while short of the quality you’d expect

Evo rating
  • Agile and spritely on-road dynamics, reasonably space efficient
  • Dull interior, lethargic powertrains, not special enough for its crowded segment

Design

The new Q3 is typical of Audi in 2019, with a combination of highly complex surfacing emphasising each of the four wheelarches through both creases and expanding volumes. The idea is to channel the Audi Quattro, and to a certain extent it’s successful, but is instead at the mercy of that complex design going too far on the lower sections, looking fussy and unresolved.

Advertisement - Article continues below

S line models go even further with larger, even more complex lower bumper designs, and body-coloured lower bumper and wheelarch trims that make even the largest wheel sizes look dowdy. Out of context, the Q3 actually looks more like a large hatchback than a chunky SUV, albeit one that will easily swallow 20-inch wheels. Once again, in the context of premium rivals, the Audi looks a little cheap and underwhelming and no longer competes on desirability – a key deliverable in the class.

Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement

Most Popular

Ferrari Amalfi Spider review – the perfect foil for Aston Martin's Vantage S Roadster
Ferrari Amalfi Spider
Reviews

Ferrari Amalfi Spider review – the perfect foil for Aston Martin's Vantage S Roadster

Ferrari has listened to its customers, refining the Amalfi as a daily compared to the Roma, while rationalising its cabin. But it does have a muted vo…
5 Aug 2026
Lotus Elise (S3, 2010-2021) review – lithe, lightweight and extinct
Lotus Elise S3
In-depth reviews

Lotus Elise (S3, 2010-2021) review – lithe, lightweight and extinct

There was nothing like the Elise before it arrived in 1996 and surely, there will be nothing like it ever again
7 Aug 2026
Bugatti Destrier revealed as the ultimate one-off W16 hypercar (really, this time)
Bugatti Destrier
News

Bugatti Destrier revealed as the ultimate one-off W16 hypercar (really, this time)

The one-off Destrier is the latest creation from Bugatti’s Solitaire programme, and there’s no underlying Chiron hardware here
6 Aug 2026