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Spyshots: 2018 Audi Q3 Has Significantly Less Camo On Production-Ready Body

We have nothing but ourselves to blame for the fact that every second spied model we get is an SUV, a crossover, or something in between that people still haven't found a name for.
2018 Audi Q3 17 photos
Photo: S. Baldauf/SB-Medien
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The market dictates, and right now it says it wants SUVs more than anything. Their size depends on which side of the Atlantic you find yourself on, but smaller 4x4s are beginning to grip the American public with each passing day.

Audi's Q3 was not a particular success story for the brand, and just by looking at it, you could partly identify the problem. Yes, it looked like a stuffed pig, and things didn't get any better once you stepped inside. It was actually less roomy than the A3 hatchback, making the reasons for buying it all the more obscure (especially since the hatch could be had with the quattro all-wheel-drive system).

We've just gotten hold of a new set of spy images of the second-gen Q3, and there is good news for anyone interested in Audi's crossover. By switching over to the MQB platform, the 2018 Audi Q3 now has the right dimensions to stand a chance in a comparison against the BMW X1, while probably dwarfing the Mercedes-Benz GLA.

Bear in mind we're still talking about small crossovers, so any difference would be measured in just a few inches at best. And it's not just the competition that forced Audi to expand the Q3's body: it was also the arrival of the Q2 model.

These are the first pictures that show the car without the extra blanket that was placed over the camouflage the previous time, so we can get a better idea of what's to be expected. Well, the Q3 will sacrifice some of that (porky) personality it had and fall in line with the design of the rest of the Audi range. That's another way of saying it will look like a mini Q5.

The interior will provide extra room on all axes garnished with the usual Audi build quality and premium materials. It should also receive enhanced safety features as well the latest gizmos such as the virtual cockpit, if anyone really is willing to invest that kind of money in a Q3.

On the engine front, you'd better be ok with downsizing because the second generation of the Q3 is very likely to get a 1.0-liter TFSI engine as its most basic power plant. Larger units will also be available - as well as diesels, depending on the market - culminating with the SQ3 and RSQ3 models, which will employ the 2.5-liter five-cylinder TFSI engine. A hybrid is also expected.

Our spy photographers apologized for the quality of the images, suggesting the catch took them by surprise, but a bunch of hasty photos is much better than no photos at all, so we're just happy we can show you the very elusive Q3 as it is. Whether the new Audi crossover makes a debut next month in Frankfurt is still unclear, but it's what previous reports suggested. Deliveries would follow before the end of 2017, making the Q3 a 2018 model year.
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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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