You can count on your fingers the number of
luxury cars from the German big three (sold in India) that have sported a
manual transmission. Mercedes-Benz briefly sold the C-Class (W203) with a
manual 'box. Audi offered the R8 coupe, powered by the 4.2 V8 with a rower.
Heck, even Nissan offered the 370Z with a manual gearbox.
I may be missing out on some cars, but you
get the point. Luxury car manufacturers find Indians 'manual-averse', so the Q3
S was a bit of a surprise when it was launched last year, with a six-speed
manual, of all things. It also doesn't get the usual raft of Q3 features – no
sunroof, a manually-operated air-con, no daytime LEDs and a couple of other
missing features. Most importantly, it's offered minus quattro, which helps
pare down the price tag.
In
spite of being an entry-level Audi, the Q3 S is a very fun to drive vehicle
So, to find out if there's a world of
difference between the 'regular' Q3 and the 5, I borrowed it for a 2,500 km
drive through Maharashtra, Karnataka and Goa. A couple of things became evident
within the first few kilometres - the manual transmission is pretty slick, with
crisp throws, the lever is located high up and is convenient, but the clutch
action is heavy, with a fair amount of resistance. It's just a tad lighter than
the one on the Skoda Yeti, but that doesn't take away the fact that in town,
the S will present a challenge for some.
Lack
of LED in the headlights immediately differentiate the Q3S from regular models
Driving on NH-8 to Bangalore, the Q3 S
seemed very much at home. While the roads in Maharashtra vary from
'disconcerting' to ' absolute joy', the ones in Karnataka have a certain
predictability to them, thanks largely to the fact that traffic levels are
lower and the surface is better paved and well maintained. Leave it in sixth
and the Q3 S keeps chomping away at the miles, the engine barely ticking over
at 2,200 rpm. Its pace isn't slow; the 32.1 kgm of peak torque keeps the
proceedings simple. As a highway car, the Q3 S doesn't feel like it's lost out
on 35 bhp and a few kgm of torque, over its regular sibling, and it doesn't
feel much slower in the real world.
The
interior gets a black theme to go with the sporty positioning of the Q3 S
Its braking was assured, and general grip
levels in a straight line or around fast corners didn't feel too different from
a car with quattro. Fully commit around a tight corner, though, and there is a
fair share of understeer. Being in the right gear is critical to reduce the effect
of understeer, so you have to drive it with a degree of commitment that you
don't have to with quattro. This is also because the front wheels have to bear
the weight of the motor, and are the driven wheels too. Our test car came with
larger, 18-inch Pirelli Scorpion wheels as an option, with very little impact
on ride quality.
The
rear seat has decent space but is best for two
Over the six days that I spent with it, the
Q3 S swallowed luggage for two people, a folding chair and some other items
with ease, though there wasn't much space for anything else. So if four of you
decide to head out on a long drive in a Q3, you've got to rationalise your
luggage a bit. The seats up front are comfy and provide good support, but those
at the rear are a bit tight on space and don't have as much under-thigh
support. Fuel economy is pretty good, with 14 kpl throughout – 80 per cent of
it on the highway and 20 per cent in mad Mumbai and Bangalore.
So, is the $83,930 (ex-showroom) saving
over the base TDI worth going for? Quite frankly, the car's pace isn't too
different, though the convenience of the autobox in urban conditions and
quattro on highways can't be discounted. As far as features go, there isn't
much of a difference, so to put it simply, if you do a lot of highway driving,
the Q3 S may be the car for you; as an urban runabout, you may want to stick to
the regular Q3.
