Volvo V40 Cross Country, Mercedes Benz B Class diesel, the latest A Class, and the upcoming BMW 1 Series, are set to give the compact SUV or entry level niche segment (of Indian automotive industry) a good toss of the competition amongst the leading rivals, where to be true the Audi seems to have started feeling the contours of same at an early stage of the long battling saga.
Well, not much of the encrypted texts furthermore, let us detail it, the Ingolstadt based carmaker had decided to roll out the cheaper version of compact SUV Audi Q3 by mid-August. Not to get anguished the first timers, it will be the same to that of the ongoing sibling but will hold the downsized quality equipments to make the cost lower as per the competitive context. However, some of the test mules had also been caught testing without any camouflage a lot of times on our shores yet, but there aren’t any official words by the automaker on this topic.
Naming the changes, list comes exciting in the way as: a detuned 2.0L TDI engine producing 140PS and 320Nm against the previous state of tune of 175PS and 380Nm, a six speed manual transmission instead of the 7 speed dual-clutch automatic, and traction only on front wheels instead of four wheels in that of the earlier Audi’s Quattro. Well, above said notations are of the technicalities, the cosmetic changes explains, exclusion of electrically powered front seats, rear-view camera and the very regarded daytime-running LEDs trademarked for the stallions of Audi. Meanwhile, the customer can still avail the premiumness of leather seats, climate control, 18-inch alloy wheels, cruise-control and Audi’s MMI infotainment system with Bluetooth connectivity in the upcoming trimmed down Q3.
Though, as we said the quantity conscious Q3 will compete the entry level of niche car segment, it is expected to hit the showrooms with a speculated price tag of Rs. 25 lakh, which will be slotted as the cheapest Audi in India at present.
Courtesy: OnCars