With the new Audi Q2 garnering plenty of attention (including gracing the cover of our September 2016 issue), the Ingolstadt automaker has decided to lend the larger Q3 some added appeal in Europe.
How? By giving it an apparent facelift (the Q3 has, of course, already enjoyed its traditional mid-lifecycle update).
The updated Q3 in “sport” trim features sharper styling up front, thanks largely to bigger outer air inlets. The blade beneath the centre inlet, meanwhile, is now finished in body colour and the grille in stone grey.
Specifying the S line exterior package adds diamond-pattern inserts in the air inlets, a new strut spanning the full width of the front skirt, and gloss-black elements in the radiator grille and air inlets.
The German brand has also introduced a new special edition model dubbed the “Audi Q3 S line competition”, which adds yet more gloss-black exterior elements, as well as black trim for the wheel-arches, door strips, roof-rails, side-mirror caps and the window slots.
At the rear, the gloss-black treatment has been extended to the spoiler and the lower section of the bumper. The S line sport suspension, Audi drive select dynamic handing system and driver information system are all standard in the special edition model, as are new 19-inch wheels.
Unfortunately, we won’t see these changes on local Q3 models, since the update is being applied to so-called “sport trim” variants only, which are not offered in South Africa.
