[nickkr]

Hello everyone,

A newbie signing in to the forum with the good news that we
are seriously considering ordering a Q3. Having test driven several vehicles of
this type (including a Hyundai ix35 - what
was I thinking?) the Q3 was head and shoulders above them all.

So, following relatively brief test drive a couple of weeks
ago, we (it will mainly be my partner's daily drive) are picking up a demo Q3 today
for an extended test drive until Monday.

I'm pretty certain we will place an order, but look forward
to doing a couple of hundred miles this weekend to finally seal the deal!

I guess we will have to come to terms with the enormous
option list – but I'm pretty sure we know what we want. One thing that surprises me looking around
this forum is no one seems to have gone for the keyless entry. I have it on my
car and I absolutely would not be without it so it is presently top of the
options list for the Q3. It's one of those things that once you have had it
there is no going back. In fact the test drive was somewhat marred by the
rather odd feeling of a) having to turn a key to start the car and b) a **** key
dangling and a jangling from the steering column.

So hopefully this will be my first of many posting – most of
which will no doubt be seeking advice and answers to my dumb questions!

 

[Bambi]

The key thing is something that my OH and I discussed when ordering

I currently have a Renault Scenic which isn't keyless (although I did have the option) but has a plastic 'card' instead of a key and a push-button start. My OH's VW has a conventional key. The discussion didn't go far as it costs £425 which we felt was much better spent on other things

I hope the Audi version is better than the Renault 'card' system as it is possible to take the key out of the slot, lock the doors and walk off with the engine still running .............

 

[Tommy K]

Well I've used both systems and to me it was strange to press a button to stop a car. Plus i do like the idea i know where my keys are.... hanging by my right leg.
At the end of the day it depends what you get use to. Having gone back to a car with no steering wheel controls, it seems very wrong!

Audi let us have a Q3 for 2hrs..... but after just 30mins we came back and did the deal. We to had driven lots of cars and I'm pleased this was the last as it had a very hard time!

Sport seats are really good option on the SE, sat nav is expensive but works well with the pop up screen.

Let us know what speck your thinking & im sure we will all give you our opinions on it

 

[Malph]

Hi nickkr.

Fairly new to the Q3 myself. Mine was a 6 month old ex Audi car, so the purchase involved a couple of compromises regarding the spec. The deal I got made me willing to make the compromises, mainly the absence of folding door mirrors and keyless start/entry, both of which I had on my previous 2 cars. Granted it's taking a bit of getting used to putting a key in the steering column again, but the number of times I've sat there with the keys in my pocket looking for a button to press is slowly getting less

But the quality and driving experience of the Q3 is more than making up for the little bits and pieces. This car was bought to replace a BMW 125i and a Ford Kuga and it's done that better than I could have hoped. It pretty much has the performance and equal the quality of the BMW and the raised driving position and AWD of the Kuga.
So, a happy bunny up to now.
Enjoy your extended test drive and let us know what you think.Edited by: Malph

 

[Gromit]

I'm with Bambi on this - keyless is nice but not £400+ worth of nice (like a lot of the options). If your budget will run to it, fine but in my case there were more worthwhile and necessary options to go for.

 

[nickkr]

Thanks for the replies so far. Horses for courses - but the keyless thing is worth it for me. Maybe just one too many times stood in the rain waiting for the other half to find a key in the bottom of her huge hand bag!Nothing comes quite as close to the feeling of sliding into the drivers seat , pressing a big START button an whizzing off!!! Maybe childish but after over a year of having a car with keyless entry/start I still get a buzz out of it!Subsequently I will ALWAYS regret it If I don't get it on the Q3. In relation to the total price of the car we are arguing about a relatively insignificant 400 quid to make me smile (even more) every morning as I fire up the Quattro (Sorry I'll probably get a banned from the forum for that)

Edited by: nickkr

 

[Malph]

To be honest nickkr, I'm with you. Had I been ordering a new car, keyless would have been on my options list. One other thing I'm starting to miss on this car is cruise control. But as it's available as a retro fit for around £200, I'll probably get that done in the not too distant future.

 

[Samoanjoe]

Sat Nav was a must for me - do you really want to pay 30K+ for a car and end up with a Tom-Tom posted onto the screen? Of course there are options using a smart phone as a Sat Nav (discussed elsewhere on the forum), but the way the whole Audi system integrates with the other services in the car gives the in-house solution the edge for me.

 

[Gromit]

...to make me smile (even more) every morning as I fire up the Quattro (Sorry I'll probably get a banned from the forum for that)

Nah, you'll probably get promoted.

 

[Phill-uk]

I have they keyless, worth every penny as I had it on my last car (Kuga) and couldn't get used to using a key again!

 

[reilsab]

I had the keyless on my last car (3 series), i do miss it sometimes but you get nothing back for the options so i stopped lining audi's pockets

The Q3 is the quietest most comfortable car i've ever owned, soaks up the miles and i get out feeling fresh. If you like a sporty drive then you may be a little dissapointed as that's not what the car is all about.

 

[nickkr]

Well, my partner just arrived home in the demo Q3 S line
13 plate, Amalfi white, full leather, DVD Sat nav .... nice.Awefully nice man at thedealer said we should try to keep under 300 miles a day and don't take it out of the country.
It'll try. I really will.

Edited by: nickkr

 

[reilsab]

Well enjoy your weekend and every mile of the 299 every day

 

[nickkr]

Well, a fantastic test drive so far. We did 250 miles yesterday on a good mix of Motorway A & B roads , country lanes and even some grass!I think the dealer has an order

There is just one thing that yesterday's test drive has muddied the water on . Both my partner and I spent all day saying how much power the Q3 had and more or less decided that it must be the more powerful 177 model. But no. DVLA says it's CO2 is 149 which , if I am correct means it's the 140 model ( the tax discsays £135)So we looked at the spec for the more powerful version and the mpg seems (on paper) better- so we are a bit confused over which model would suit us best,=.Any advice gratefully received.P.S The only negative was those **** keys jangling all day and having to find which jacket pocket/ coat pocket /my jacket/your jacket/my bag/your bagthe keys werein to get in the car !! so keyless is still very much on the list

 

[Jules]

The 140 has quite sufficient oomph when the loss in power is compensated for by the weight saved by not having the Quattro drive-train - not sure how the 140 with Quattro compares?

 

[Bambi]

P.S The only negative was those **** keys jangling all day and having to find which jacket pocket/ coat pocket /my jacket/your jacket/my bag/your bagthe keys werein to get in the car !! so keyless is still very much on the list

Do you have a keyless door to your house too ???

 

[nickkr]

P.S The only negative was those **** keys jangling all day and having to find which jacket pocket/ coat pocket /my jacket/your jacket/my bag/your bag the keys were in  to get in the car  !! so keyless is still very much on the list

 Do you have a keyless door to your house too ???

Ha ha ha ..... good point. If only!

Sadly no big button on the house that says START

 

[Royleblue]

So we looked at the spec for the more powerful version and the mpg seems (on paper) better- so we are a bit confused over which model would suit us best,=. Any advice gratefully received.

I had a test drive in a 177 bhp s-Tronic yesterday which didn't feel that much faster than my current Tiguan with 140 bhp which I have never felt could do with more power. On paper the Q3 is a little quicker to 60 than the Tig so I think I will spend the difference on some nice options and stick with the 140 bhp engine but I will be going for the s-Tronic version.

 

[SETIG]

I had the Tiguan 2.0TDI automatic (one of the first versions) and always felt it was adequate.

When the Q3 was released the 140bhp version was not available, so went with the 177TDi. Glad I did as it is much more responsive and the acceleration when making progress is impressive- no regrets at all.

 

[nickkr]

Now the dust has settled we have more or less decided that
we will get a Q3. Maybenaivelythinking
we could jump the waiting queue, we asked our local dealer to see if anything
was in group stock for immediate delivery. Up to a point we were even prepared to be flexible
on the spec/colour etc. (So much for my “must have” keyless entry!!)

They had one, a Quattro 177 SE in Phantom Black. It doesn't
have ANY of the options we preferred and had the black /brown seats that my
partner (who's car it will be) particularly dislikes. We may have a bit of trawl
around a few West Country dealers just to see if there is anything available that
appeals. I guess there isn't an Audi web page that shows UK stock is there? Failing that we are resigned for to wait to
get what we want – Which is frankly what most people do I guess.