A few weeks ago, someone backed into our car. It was the most ridiculous accident. I was driving into a car parking space and the car parked next to it just started to reverse. I watched in complete amazement, waiting for the sound of the crunch as there was literally nothing I could do about it.
As the accident was clearly the other drivers fault, we jumped through the hoops of the car insurance to get our car repaired. Our car went into the garage just before we went on our road trip to Pembrokeshire. As they loaded our car onto the back of the breakdown truck, our dream car courtesy car arrived to replace it.
How I contained my excitement when an Audi Q3 was delivered to our house I’ll never know. With a 600 mile road trip planned, we were certainly going to get to know this compact SUV very well over the next week. We have not been asked to provide this review, but we were so impressed with the Audi Q3 that it seemed obvious to write about it.
First Impressions of the Audi Q3
This car looks great on the road. It has all the features you would expect from the Audi brand including the grill details to the nose, stylish headlights and solid design. Described as a compact SUV, it’s chunky but not over the top. You get a great driving position without feeling like your taking over the road. It’s a modest SUV in many respects. The seats are comfortable and the steering wheel is on the sporty side, giving you a sense of control before you’ve even started the engine.
When the driver delivered the car, and was giving me an overview of the features, I was definitely feeling a little on the impatient side. If ever a lady wanted to say, ‘just give me the key, I’ll figure it out’ it was then. I was very excited about driving the Audi Q3 and I was looking forward to our family road trip a lot more than I was before.
Driving the Audi Q3
The Audi Q3 was probably the easiest car I have ever driven. My husband even liked driving it, and he really isn’t a fan of driving and will happily leave it to me most of the time. When he saw the Audi Q3 he was as keen to get behind the wheel as I was.
Our Audi Q3 model was a diesel automatic, which is our ideal engine and transmission type to be honest. When you have two lively children as travelling companions you need a car that makes driving as easy as possible. The engine dealt with gear changes efficiently, and we loved the cruise control function for hitting the motorway with. My husband was in his element being able to set the speed to 70mph and let the engine take care of the rest. This was one relaxed drive to Pembrokeshire, even with a 2 and 4 year old in the back seat.
The Audi Q3 takes care of a lot of the other aspects of driving too with automatic windscreen wipers and headlights that dip when it senses oncoming traffic or well lit areas. This was a real help to me when driving unfamiliar roads in the dark. Not having to hover over the full beam for the whole trip made for a less stressful and safer drive all round.
I’ve got to give a shout out to the heated leather seats. In the winter they are most definitely needed for a more comfortable driving experience. We also thought the light features on the Audi Q3 are pretty slick. The brake lights and wing mirror indicators are nothing short of sexy, as well as being great for road user visibility.
The feature I didn’t really get on with at first was the Audi parking aid. I was surprised that it wasn’t a rear view camera, but instead a simulation with parking lines. I think I would have got used to it had I have spent more time with the car, but in the time we had it I didn’t find it particularly beneficial for parking.
In terms of size, the Audi Q3 was perfect for me and my 2 daughters but perhaps a little on the cramped side for my husband. He’s a good 6’2″ so the extra space provided in the Audi Q5 would be more comfortable for him. He did find the Audi Q3 a little tight on leg room to be honest. The boot was a good size for general day to day activities, but for our road trip it was literally filled to bursting. If you are a frequent road tripper you might want to go for the larger model also.
The Audi Q3 would be a great car for me or in a family where the Mum does a lot of the driving and transporting of children. We found it to be an incredibly comfortable drive and the engine definitely had a bit of grunt when it was needed. We also found it to be fairly economical with fuel for a car of it’s size.
It’s an incredibly safe and solid SUV option, packed with features for making driving a car a pleasure rather than a chore. We are currently looking at getting a new car in the New Year and Audi is a serious contender.
What do you think of the Audi Q3?