Audi, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group has relieved the hopes of customers eagerly waiting to catch a glimpse of it’s much talked about Q3 premium crossover.

The car which is designed to contend with likes of BMW X1 and Range Rover Evoque is Audi’s first entry into the ever-growing compact crossover market.

Styled in line with Audi brand slogan Vorsprung Durch Technik, meaning ‘Innovation through Technology’ the new Q3 is sporty and progressive SUV for active, modern and urban lifestyles with predisposition for elegance, comfort and individualization.

Mr. Anurag Shah, Head of Sales and Marketing, Audi Centre recently gave this insights at the media presentation in Lagos saying “the new Q3 receives the same wedge-shaped headlights, single frame radiator grille with vertical element and large air inlets from either direction you view the car.”

He also noted that the Q3 is the outcome of Audi’s pledge in 2007 at the Shanghai Motor Show to design an intriguing crossover that looks much like a scaled-down version of the Q5 and larger Q7 .

It would be recalled Audi, at the show, unveiled the Cross Coupe Quattro concept from where the Q3 took most of its design elements.

Built on the same A5 (PQ35) platform as the Volkswagen Tiguan, the Q3 is aside being a multifunctional SUV, specifically designed to serve the requirements of three different target groups; the younger singles, younger couples or best agers.

The Audi Q3 would ostensibly be pitched against rival Land Rover Evoque and BMW X1 though the Q3 could from all indication outsmart contenders by its functionality, dynamism and individualization.

“Suffice to say of the two competitors that undercut the baby Range Rover, the Audi Q3 is arguably the most stylish, handily compact and finely finished,” Mr. Shah boasted.

Mr. Shah said the Q3 is available in four choice engines: two TFSI units and two TDI engines but only the TFSI petrol engine variables will be offered in Nigeria.

The base 2.0-liter TSFI engine mated to either a standard six-speed manual transmission or top-level 2.0 TSFI seven-speed dual-clutch automatic S-tronic transmission with stop-start mechanism (to cut the engine when the car is idling) delivers a total of 211 horsepower and 221 pound feet of torque and the manual transmission delivers a total of 170 horsepower and 206 pound-feet of torque between 1,700 and 4,200 rpm.

While the manual transmission is capable of sprinting the Q3 from 0 to 62 mph in 8.2 seconds and up to a top speed of 131 mph or 260kmph and yet deliver an average fuel consumption 32.22 mpg, the top-level 2.0 TSFI delivers between 1,800 and 4,900 rpm in combination with standard seven-speed ‘S’ tronic, that accelerates the four-cylinder unit Audi Q3 from 0 to 62 mph in 6.9 seconds and up to a top speed of 142 mph. The fuel consumption of this version is just 7.7 liters per 100 km (30.55 mpg).