A summary of the 2024 Audi RS Q3 would tell you just the basics.  It’s an SUV with five seats, a petrol engine, automatic transmission and front wheel drive.  However, that same summary could apply to quite a lot of cars on Australia’s roads these days.  This could be all that you need to know, especially if you’re one of the many who appreciates this well-known German marque and you’re looking for a five-door five-seat SUV powered by petrol that isn’t enormous.  However, if you’re just at the browsing and researching stage, then you probably want to know what makes the 2024 Audi RS Q3 distinct.

Well, you certainly can’t go past the RS badging.  Audi doesn’t stick this on just any SUV or any vehicle at all, for that matter.  This badging means that the vehicle in question is tuned for high performance, and that’s certainly what you’re going to get.  The engine may have a displacement of only 2.5 L, but it’s not size that matters but what you can do with that size (that’s what she said).  In the power department, this five-cylinder unit pumps out a juicy 294 kW at an engine speed of 5850–7000 rpm, but it’s the torque department that really made me look twice: 480 Nm at 1950–5850 rpm.  That flat torque curve promising so much low-down twist made me double-check the fuel type, as this is the sort of figure you’d traditionally see with a diesel engine.  However, the 2024 Audi RS Q3 is powered by unleaded petrol and it’s turbocharged.  And can we all pause to appreciate how the designers have got things so precise that the torque curve drops off just as the power picks up.  It’s not for nothing that the 2024 Audi RS Q3 does the 0–100 km/h sprint in a breathtaking 4.5 seconds, with the seven-speed S-tronic transmission doing its part.In some ways, it’s a shame that they’ve limited the speed to 250 km/h, as it would be interesting to find out what would be possible without the limit (legally, of course!).

The ride while you’re having fun in the 2024 Audi RS Q3 is kept just right thanks to the unique RS electronically controlled sports suspension, which you can set to dynamic or comfort mode, depending on your driving style and preferences.

If you’ve got that much fun tucked away under the bonnet of what is technically a family vehicle, albeit a very sporty one (and why not?), then it’s got to be balanced by good stopping power and plenty of safety features.  Needless to say, it’s got them. The electronic stability package has a full alphabet soup of components: ABS, ASR, EDL and brake assistance with wheel-selective torque control and autonomous emergency braking.  These work alongside the autonomous emergency braking, the adaptive cruise control (my favourite modern driver aid!), and a host of warning systems for things like attention, lane departure, lane change (aka blind spot warnings), seat belt reminders and cross-traffic rear assistance.  And the calipers are red, just for the fun of it.  These feature all mean that you’re unlikely to need the front, side and curtain airbags, but it’s good to know that they’re there.  Throw in a few features such as hill hold assistance, 360-degree cameras (including a virtual top view option) and hill descent control and driving the 2024 Audi RS Q3 gets even easier.

The 2024 Audi RS Q3 may be an SUV at the smaller end of the spectrum SUV but it’s still got plenty of attitude.  Despite its size (it’s no taller than 1602 mm high, or 1567 for the closely related RS Q3 Sportback version), it still has an imposing presence, with plenty of gloss black accentuating the grille, air intakes and roof rails as it stands ready on its 21-inch tyres.  That stance gives it nice ground clearance, adequate for most obstacles likely to be encountered on a rough bit of road heading towards your favourite fishing spot – and has the oomph to tow your fishing boat while it’s at it.  The 2024 Audi RS Q3 has six no-cost paint options, including two modern medium greys (one pearl finish, the other nonmetallic) and classic metallic red, white and black; however, the one that catches my eye and will stand out from the ground is the vivid Kyalami Green.

While we’re on the topic of the exterior, I’d like to pause and notice the technology and precision that’s gone into the headlights.  The days of simple full and dip are long gone, and on the 2024 Audi RS Q3, the makers have provided Audi’s Matrix LED lighting system with adaptive light distribution.  If the 2024 Audi RS Q3 detects another vehicle up ahead, it will mask the area of light where the other vehicle is, leaving the rest of the road illuminated (handy if you want to know if there are any random roos waiting at the side of the road).  They also have dynamic headlight range control.  The future of headlights is bright, metaphorically and literally.

Open the doors and hop inside, and you’ll find more to enjoy.  The clean lines of the interior are focused on the multifunction steering wheel, proudly displaying Audi’s logo. The clearly laid out digital dashboard and centre console screen with crisp graphics let you know what’s going on, and give you full command of the 15-speaker 3D sound system, whether you want to grab the input for this system via USB auxiliary input or via Bluetooth.  Navigation and compatibility with either Apple CarPlay or Android Auto come as standard, as does voice control. That’s if you don’t want to control things via the multifunction leather-wrapped RS sports steering wheel.

The nicely supportive seats trimmed in attractive Nappa leather with cushy honeycomb stitching ant the RS logo embossed onto the leather.  The front seats have four-way electric lumbar support and heating, as well as being adjustable every way you can think of.  The rear passengers haven’t been forgotten, as there are two USB charging ports in the rear as well as two in the front, and triple-zone climate control allows those in the back to have the temperature the way they like it.  If those USB charging ports weren’t enough, there’s also wireless charging for compatible devices.  So you’ve got no excuse for your devices to run out of charge!

Behind the rear bench seats, you’ll find some generous boot space that will give you at least 530 L with all the seats occupied.  Take some passengers out of the equation and you can get up to 1525 L. This is accessible via the tailgate with its gesture-controlled handsfree opening. To keep things organized, the 2024 Audi RS Q3 has a storage package that includes nets, a light specifically for the luggage compartment and an extra 12-volt outlet in the luggage area. 

When it comes to extras, it’s good to know that the majority are related to styling and trim, rather than performance.  The most striking would have to be the red-themed interior (if you don’t go with this extra, then you still get to play around with the ambient lighting to find something that suits your mood), although my pick of optional extras would be the panoramic sunroof.

The new 2024 Audi RS Q3 models include the:

• 2024 Audi RS Q3
• 2024 Audi RS Q3 Sportback

For any more information on the new 2024 Audi RS Q3, for that matter any other new car, contact one of our friendly consultants on 1300 303 181.  If you’d like some fleet discount pricing (yes even for private buyers!), we can submit vehicle quote requests out to our national network of Audi dealers and come back with pricing within 24 hours.  Private Fleet – car buying made easy!