Ordinarily, buying a coupe version of a car means a significant decrease in its practicality, but with the Q3 Sportback many of the drawbacks simply don’t exist. Some will claim that to be a coupe a car can’t have rear doors – this isn’t the case. The word is derived from the French to cut, as in the height of the roof, not the number of access points. And, with a 16mm lower roof than the SUV, it has been cut.
Sure, other Audi Sportback signatures are missing, though – the doors are framed, whereas those on an A5 Sportback aren’t – so it does smack a little of pfennig-pinching in that regard, but essentially it remains an easy car to get in and out of, with the elevated SUV stance meaning reaching in to install little ones into car seats is a doddle, too.
It has five seats, but in reality it works best as a four-seater, whether those aforementioned child seats or adults are in the back. Taller folk will find their heads brush against the tapered roof, but it’s not going to be an issue for many. Elbow-, leg- and foot-room are all fine for a compact car, albeit one that is a tad longer than the SUV version. As with its more upright sibling, the backrest angle can be adjusted and the seat itself will slide to and fro by 130mm allowing a useful degree of flexibility depending upon the occupants needs.
Storage spaces are plentiful with usefully sized door bins and cubbies, with a number of USB charging points dotted about for additional convenience.
Boot remains spacious
Similarly, there’s a small compromise to pay with regards to the Sportback’s bootspace. With the rear seats up there’s 530 litres of usable volume, the same as the SUV version, doubtless aided by the Sportback’s longer tail. This easily allows a few large holdalls to slot in, or a couple of big suitcases. Loaded beneath the load cover, it’s a very square and useful shape.
Fold the 40:20:40-split rear seats over and the overall cargo space increases to 1,400 litres, a bit shy of the SUV’s 1,525-litre tally, thanks to the more aggressive slope to the tailgate, but still one of the most practical compact crossovers on sale. High marks for packaging, here with figures that trounce all of its rivals barring the Range Rover Evoque.
Although much of the Q3 Sportback’s bodywork is different from the conventional SUV version, it is fundamentally an alternative bodystyle of the same car. As such, it’s unlikely to be subjected to a separate crash-test by the safety experts at Euro NCAP and consequently is a five-star car.
Its safety systems are closely alighted with its more upright sibling, meaning kits such as a 360-degree parking camera, a suite of six airbags, autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane-departure warning and LED lighting are all standard.
Progress up the trim level hierarchy and additional features such as adaptive matrix LED headlamps and adaptive cruise control also come as part of the package, along with self-parking functions.
Audi Q3 Euro NCAP crash test
Basic equipment
The basic equipment list includes equipment that is standard across all versions of the Audi Q3 Sportback.
3x3 point rear seat belts
ABS
Alarm
Driver`s airbag
Electric mirrors
Heated mirrors
Height adjustable drivers seat
Isofix child seat anchor points
Parking sensors
PAS
Passenger`s airbag
Sat Nav
Side airbags
Equipment by trim level
To view equipment options for a specific trim level, please select from the following list:
Equipment included on some trim levels
Alloy wheels
Audio remote
Body coloured bumpers
CD
Climate control
Cloth seat trim
Cruise control
DVD
Electric driver`s seat
Electric passenger`s seat
Electric sunroof
Folding rear seats
Front electric windows
Front fog lights
Headlight washers
Heated seats
Leather seat trim
Lumbar support
Partial leather seat trim
Rear electric windows
Remote locking
Roof rails
Service indicator
Sports seats
Steering wheel rake adjustment
Steering wheel reach adjustment
Standard Trim equipment
Standard Trim standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Climate control
Cruise control
Electric driver`s seat
Electric passenger`s seat
Headlight washers
Heated seats
Leather seat trim
Lumbar support
Sports seats
Standard Trim optional equipment
None available
Audi Sport Edition equipment
Audi Sport Edition standard equipment
Climate control
Cruise control
Electric driver`s seat
Electric passenger`s seat
Electric sunroof
Headlight washers
Heated seats
Leather seat trim
Lumbar support
Sports seats
Audi Sport Edition optional equipment
None available
Black Edition equipment
Black Edition standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Audio remote
Climate control
Cruise control
Folding rear seats
Front electric windows
Front fog lights
Partial leather seat trim
Rear electric windows
Remote locking
Service indicator
Steering wheel rake adjustment
Steering wheel reach adjustment
Black Edition optional equipment
Heated seats
Edition 1 equipment
Edition 1 standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Audio remote
Climate control
Cruise control
Electric driver`s seat
Electric passenger`s seat
Folding rear seats
Front electric windows
Front fog lights
Headlight washers
Heated seats
Leather seat trim
Lumbar support
Rear electric windows
Remote locking
Service indicator
Sports seats
Steering wheel rake adjustment
Steering wheel reach adjustment
Edition 1 optional equipment
Body coloured bumpers
CD
Cloth seat trim
DVD
Partial leather seat trim
Roof rails
S Line equipment
S Line standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Audio remote
Climate control
Cruise control
Folding rear seats
Front electric windows
Front fog lights
Partial leather seat trim
Rear electric windows
Remote locking
Service indicator
Steering wheel rake adjustment
Steering wheel reach adjustment
S Line optional equipment
Heated seats
Sport equipment
Sport standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Audio remote
Climate control
Cloth seat trim
Cruise control
Folding rear seats
Front electric windows
Front fog lights
Rear electric windows
Remote locking
Service indicator
Sports seats
Steering wheel rake adjustment
Steering wheel reach adjustment
Sport optional equipment
Heated seats
Vorsprung equipment
Vorsprung standard equipment
Alloy wheels
Electric driver`s seat
Electric passenger`s seat
Headlight washers
Heated seats
Leather seat trim
Lumbar support
Sports seats
Vorsprung optional equipment
Audio remote
Climate control
Electric sunroof
Folding rear seats
Front electric windows
Front fog lights
Partial leather seat trim
Rear electric windows
Remote locking
Service indicator
Steering wheel rake adjustment
Steering wheel reach adjustment
Euro NCAP Rating – 5 stars
The Audi Q3 Sportback was tested by Euro NCAP in 2018 and was awarded a 5 star overall rating.
This overall rating is calculated from the following individual ratings:
Euro NCAP provides motoring consumers with a realistic and independent assessment of the safety performance of some of the most popular cars sold in Europe.
The safety ratings are determined from a series of vehicle tests, designed and carried out by Euro NCAP.
These tests represent, in a simplified way, important real life accident scenarios that could result in injured or killed car occupants or other road users.