2011 audi q3
The 2011 Audi Q3 should be dimensionally similar to the Cross Coupe Concept, which is shown here. See pictures of the 2010 Audi Q5.

Consumer Guide's Impressions of the 2011 Audi Q3

Audi does a premium take on parent VW's Tiguan SUV to create a second compact crossover. With sporty style and available turbodiesel economy, the Q3 should be as much a timely recession-fighter as bigger-brother Q5.

What We Know About the 2011 Audi Q3

The 2008 election has come and gone, but the bad economic news keeps rolling in. An Election Day headline in the New York Times aptly summed up the auto industry's worsening woes: "Steep Decline in October Auto Sales Leaves No Seller Immune." Well, almost. BMW's Mini was up a dramatic 56 percent from October 2007, and Volkswagen's premium Audi division eeked out a 0.3-percent year-to-year gain in U.S. sales. Audi said in a press release that its 2008 deliveries through October were "down only 3.5 percent [despite] a double-digit decline in the luxury market due to the softening economy."

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    OK, homeland rivals BMW and Mercedes-Benz still lead by 4-to-1 margins. But the fact that Audi is showing some upside, however modest, should not be underestimated in a market hobbled by fear and uncertainty. As in politics, momentum means a lot in the car business.

    New products usually help sustain that momentum and bolster sales. That's why Audi is forging ahead with the new-model offensive it began a couple years ago. Prime among the latest hoped-for successes are the redesigned version of Audi's top U.S. seller, the 2009 A4 premium compact car, and a pair of five-seat compact crossover SUVs, the 2009 Q5 and the 2011 Audi Q3.

    The 2011 Audi Q3 follows Q5 to market by about a year as a sportier, somewhat trimmer running mate, much as Audi's A3 hatchback now supplements the A4 line. Q3 should also cost a bit less than Q5, as the nomenclature hints, but will be no less well equipped, or so say the spies. Both models add to the growing field of premium-compact SUVs inhabited by the Acura RDX, BMW X3 (being redesigned for a calendar-2010 U.S. arrival), and the Infiniti EX35 from Nissan's upscale brand. By the way, it appears the Q3 will indeed be called that. Infiniti raised doubts in claiming dibs on Q-names, but we understand the companies have settled this dispute.


    For more inside information on hundreds of new cars of today and tomorrow, check out:
    • C­onsumer Guide New Car Reviews and Prices: Road test results, photos, specifications, and prices for hundreds of new cars, trucks, minivans, and SUVs from the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide.
    • Audi: Read Consumer Guide's full reports, including ratings, prices, specifications, and fuel economy.
    • Premium Compact SUVs: The 2011 Audi Q3 will compete in the premium compact SUV class. Here's Consumer Guide's roundup of all the premium compact SUVs on sale today.
    • 2008 Consumer Guide Best Buy and Recommended Award Winners:
      Check out which cars won our Best Buy and Recommended awards for 2008.
    • Future Cars: Step into the automotive showroom of tomorrow with reviews, analysis, pictures, prices, and preliminary specifications on scores of vehicles that will be appearing next year and beyond.