This is what SUVs have now come to. We buy expensive, capable and huge SUVs and test their water-wading abilities by attacking potholes and evaluate their approach-breakover-departure angles on mere speedbreakers. What a waste. So (ha, ha) don’t buy the Q7, the X5, the Q5 or the X3. Buy one of these two SUVs. Which one? Ahh, now you’re talking.
Which one turns heads?
Let’s start with the newer of the two cars here. The Q3 came wearing that very attractive shade of metallic orange, so it really didn’t require a sticker that exclaimed ‘LOOK AT ME.’ Had the Q3 come in one of those shades that its bigger sibling the Q5 is seen in, perhaps it wouldn’t have turned that many heads. The Q3 is well-proportioned and looks like a miniature Q5 or Q7, unlike the X1 which is more car-like than SUV-like. Though
it is the winner of this round, I’d rather criticise its appearance than praise it. Hear me out. Why should the Q3 look like a reduction photocopy of its bigger siblings? If it is targetted at an all-new audience, shouldn’t it look different? Just because the ‘Q’ is there in its name, should it follow the family look? The Range Rover Evoque, for instance, is radical, but you can’t mistake it for a Mercedes, right? Audi designers have taken the easy way out with the Q3; their new AQR programme promises a prominent design departure but that’s well into the future. As of now, the Q3 is all right as it is, especially with the sharply raked tail-gate and distinctive headlamps and tail-lamps.
MORE ON PAGE 2>>
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| TECH SPECS |
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| Audi Q3 2.0 TDi |
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Engine |
1968cc, I-4, diesel |
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0-100 kph |
8.67 secs |
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Max Power |
177 bhp@4200 rpm |
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Top Speed |
207 kph (achieved) |
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Max Torque |
38.74 kgm@1750 - 2500 rpm |
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Price |
Rs 26 to 32 lakh |
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Transmission |
7-speed auto |
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Fuel efficiency |
13.4 kpl |
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| BMW X1 20d sDrive |
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Engine |
1995cc, I-4, diesel |
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0-100 kph |
9.22 secs |
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Max Power |
174.2 bhp@4200 rpm |
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Top Speed |
205 kph (achieved) |
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Max Torque |
35.69 kgm@1750 - 3000 rpm |
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Price |
Rs 27.73 lakh, ex-showroom Mumbai |
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Transmission |
6-speed auto |
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Fuel efficiency |
12.8 kpl |
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