• Audi Q3 won’t cost the earth to run
• Diesels more consistently economical than petrols
• PHEV has reasonable EV range and good real-world economy

What are the running costs?

Thanks to a selection of excellent VW Group engines, the Q3 is unusually economical in real-world driving. Let’s look at the TFSI petrol engines first. According to the official WLTP figures, the 35 can return around 43mpg, the 40 does 34mpg and the 45 hits the 32mpg mark. In our experience, you can knock a few miles-per-gallon off those numbers in the real world, though you can far exceed them in gentle motorway driving.

Then there are the diesels. The 35 TDI can run at 51mpg, while the 40 TDI manages 42mpg (thank its four-wheel-drive for that) on the WLTP cycle. Again, real-world average economy will be a bit behind those numbers, but you can do better under certain circumstances.

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The official figures show the plug-in hybrid Q3 TFSIe is good for over 170mpg, but ignore that. Our testing shows you can achieve over 100mpg if you regularly recharge the battery, and 45mpg when the battery has drained. Expect to do around 20 miles on battery power alone; CO2 emissions of under 40g/km are useful for reducing company car drivers’ BIK bills.

On the subject of tax, the CO2 emissions produced by the 40 and 45 engines (both petrol and diesel) are on the high side, which jacks up the first-year VED bill you pay when you buy new. And the price of a new Q3 can easily pass £40,000, which adds to the VED burden in later years.

Servicing and warranty

Audi provides a bog-standard three-year, 60,000-mile warranty. Which is a bit stingy when BMW doesn’t put a mileage cap on the same period and there’s up to 10 years of coverage on a Lexus UX.

Being a premium brand, Audi’s servicing charges are a bit steep, but you can spread the cost by taking out a multi-year, fixed-price service plan.

Reliability

• Middling reliability from Audi
• Q3 scores better than larger models
• But several recalls issued

The Audi Q3 shares a multitude of structural, mechanical and electrical components as the A3 hatchback and a vast number of other VW Group vehicles. In theory, everything is tried and tested but Audi has been coasting on its reputation for reliability and recent surveys suggest its been lagging of late.

Underlining the point, a number of recalls have been issued (the first-gen Q3 only had two); rectification work should have been carried out on all affected cars. The details are available on the government’s vehicle recall check website. Check the service history and/or contact a dealer to find out if any recall work has been done on any used Q3 you’re interested in buying. Outstanding recalls are listed on a car’s MOT certificate, as well.

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