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2018 Audi Q3 Spied for the First Time

Introduced by Audi in 2011 and facelifted in 2014, the Audi Q3 is a pivotal model in the German automaker’s lineup. With the advent of the Q2 and the imminent arrival of the next-gen Audi Q5, the Q3 is also preparing to start again from square one.
2018 Audi Q3 9 photos
Photo: CarPix
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Expected to debut in late 2017 for the 2018 model year, the next-gen Q3 has been spied for the first time by our talented team of carparazzi. It remains to be seen if the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show will be the place of the unveiling, but then again, most German carmakers have a portfolio life cycle of 7 years.

Don’t be put off by the pre-production test mule featured in the following gallery. Even though it looks like it’s wearing a sack of potatoes on top, focus on what’s hiding underneath. The camouflage doesn’t let us focus on it to take all the visual details, but on the other hand, we can see that the Q3 has grown.

The current generation of the compact crossover measures 4.38 meters (172.7 inches) in length and 1.83 meters (72 inches) in width, making it larger than the Q2. As you can see from the side profile view of the spied mule, there’s room for improvement. This growth comes naturally because the future Q5 will grow in size and BMW X1 trumps the Audi Q3 facelift in terms of length (4.43 meters or 174.7 inches).

Under the skin, the 2018 Audi Q3 rides on the MQB platform. On the mechanical front, front-wheel-drive and a manual will be offered as standard. Quattro all-wheel-drive and an S tronic dual-clutch will be optional. As for the engine lineup, expect the Q3 to get an array of turbocharged mills with outputs ranging from 115 PS for the least powerful TDI to 367 PS or thereabout for the hell-bent for leather RS Q3 variant.

Since testing of the 2018 Audi Q3 has just started, we’re expecting to get more revealing pics soon enough.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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