2026 Audi Q3 First Drive: The Q3 Finally Grows Up, but Has America Been Cheated?

More power and a new cabin strengthen the Q3’s appeal, despite the loss of some European features.

We are fond of the Audi brand, but the outgoing version of the subcompact Q3 was never a MotorTrend favorite. Although it offered generous space in the rear seats, it was poky, bouncy, and adorned with some chintzy interior bits. Audi has launched a new Q3 for 2026, and it sure looks like a nicer car—but then again, the old one looked nice, too. Are there real improvements, or is this another pretty SUV you should avoid?

Our First Crawl-Around in “Our” Q3

We previously had a chance to drive the Q3 in its European configuration and came away impressed, but the U.S.-spec model that is the subject of this review has some significant differences. While Europe gets a variety of powertrains, America gets just one, an upgraded version of the old car’s 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder. The Euro-spec Q3 we drove featured an adjustable air suspension, but the U.S.-market Q3, like most SUVs in this class, is sprung with steel. U.S.-bound Q3s also get different seats and interior trim. Audi invited us to San Luis Obispo, California, to drive the American version, and we had to wonder if the PR reps hoped the breathtaking Central Coast scenery would distract us from the U.S. car’s shortcomings.

We’ve written about the updates to the 2026 Q3 here, here, and here, so we’ll spare you a rehash. Suffice it to say the new Q3 is slightly bigger than the old one, with the primary goal of increasing cargo space. It’s a better-looking SUV, too, with styling brought up to the design standards we’ve seen in the Q5. Older Q3s looked like they wanted to be real Audis when they grew up; with the 2026 Q3, that day has come.

So let’s move on to the U.S.-spec interior, which right away feels far posher than the outgoing Q3’s duds. Compared to the European model, we get front seats with less restrictive side bolstering (perhaps when Germans think of us, they think of our cheeseburgers). We don’t get the extendable thigh bolster of the Euro-spec seats, which is too bad because the short bottom cushions on the U.S.-bound seats don’t offer much thigh support, even for shorter drivers. We do get leather upholstery as standard, an upgrade over Europe’s cloth, but there is no non-animal option. Oh, and that big swath of gray/beige you see on the dash? That’s tulipwood with a nice natural texture to it, as opposed to the aluminum inlay we saw in the European model we drove.

Inside the Q3: New, Better, but Not Best

We’ve already talked about the new screens in our drive of the Euro Q3, and our opinion has not changed. The screens look great, and the head-up display is a nice (optional) feature. The new touchscreen interface looks good. It’s easy enough to use, but we can’t say it’s particularly intuitive; we found lots of functions we wanted to access buried in menus. It’s not a bad system, but we’re not raving about it, either. We do, however, think the new turn signal and shifter stalks, which are fixed in place and have a small moving rocker at the end, are cool. They look strange but feel perfectly normal to use and allow more space for buttons and switches than a traditional stalk.

Rear comfort is quite good; the outboard positions, unlike the front seats, provide adequate thigh support, and there’s sufficient room under the front seats for a person’s toes. Rear-seaters get not only their own air vents but also their own temperature control as standard equipment, as well as two high-wattage USB ports. The seat itself slides back and forth, allowing cargo space to be increased from 25.0 to 29.0 cubic feet, and the 40/20/40 split-fold back seat makes the Q3 about as flexible as an SUV can be.

One of our complaints about the old Q3 was the cheap-looking door panels. The new Q3’s doors still have great swaths of plastic, which is more obvious on the back doors than the fronts. We turned up our nose but then reminded ourselves this is, after all, Audi’s entry-level SUV. The rest of the cabin is so nice, it’s easy to lose sight of that.

More Power, but Is This the Right Transmission Choice?

This was our first go-round with the U.S. powertrain, now backed by a seven-speed twin-clutch transmission in place of last year’s eight-speed torque-converter automatic. Peak output is 255 hp and 273 lb-ft of torque, a nice bump from the old car’s 228 hp and 251 lb-ft. (The old Q3 also offered a 184-hp/221-lb-ft version, but apparently it didn’t sell well.) All-wheel drive is standard. Audi estimates the new powertrain will knock 1.6 seconds of the 0–60 time, taking it down to 5.5 seconds, but we think that’s optimistic; the best we could get out of the old Q3 was 7.8, and the 2026 Q3 we drove felt more like six and change. Still, that’s plenty of scoot for short freeway on-ramps and should make the new Q3 one of the quicker SUVs in its competitive set.

We do take some issue with the transmission swap. The twin-clutch is a great performance transmission, delivering snappier shifts than a torque-converter automatic, but it’s also a little more persnickety in its behavior. For example, if you take your foot off the brake and don’t touch the accelerator, the clutch closes and the Q3 takes off quite abruptly, which can make slow maneuvers like parking into herky-jerky affairs. Torque converters let the engine “slip” and build more power when you accelerate, which is important in a turbocharged engine, which doesn’t really start to cook until the revs rise. Give the accelerator a quick stab, and the 2026 Audi Q3 takes a second to get its ducks in a row and start pulling. Switching to Sport mode alleviates the lag, but do you really want to change modes just so you can nab a gap in fast-moving traffic? Audi told us the typical Q3 buyer is not looking for a sports car, and we think the eight-speed automatic would have been a better choice.

Twin-clutch gearboxes do deliver better fuel economy, and the new Q3 delivers the same EPA numbers (22/29 mpg city/highway) as the outgoing 228-hp Q3. The new Q3 also runs on regular 87-octane fuel, as opposed to the pricier premium gas some of its luxury-class competitors require. Still, fuel economy falls well short of rivals like the Acura ADX. We’d love to see more efficient options—note that in Europe, the Q3 offers several mild hybrid powertrains—but that’s not the way the political breezes are blowing here in the Land of the Free.

Other things to note: Adaptive cruise control is standard, but lane centering is part of an option bundle. It works well, though we couldn’t get the new automated lane change feature (which is supposed to change lanes at the flick of the turn signal) to work properly (and yes, Audi PR folks; we turned it on and accepted the legal disclaimer).

Are We Missing Out on the Good Suspension?

Air suspensions like the one in the Euro-spec Q3 provide the best combination of great handling and a smooth ride, but the cheaper steel-sprung setup in U.S. Q3s does the job so well that we don’t miss the air springs. The Q3 was engineered for a sporty demeanor, and the chassis gives excellent road feel with no compromise in ride comfort. Even with the optional 20-inch wheels, which have lower-profile tires that stiffen the ride, the Q3 never felt harsh or uncomfortable (and if you disagree, the standard-fit 18-inch wheels or optional 19s should soften the ride even further). Body motions are kept well under control, with little noticeable roll in the corners. It’s an outstanding setup and a reminder that German automakers are still the masters at suspension design. Our biggest “comfort”-related complaint about the Q3 is road noise, which feels excessive for a luxury-brand vehicle, but again we must remind ourselves this is Audi’s cheapest SUV.

Audi’s vehicles have long been known for their light steering effort, which has divided opinions around here. Some prefer the lower effort, which allows the driver to keep a light touch on the wheel. (You can’t feel the feedback if you’re gripping the helm too hard.) Many drivers (wrongly) associate heavier steering with a sportier feel, and it seems enough of them complained that Audi gave in to the pressure. The Q3’s variable-ratio steering loads up noticeably—and to a greater degree than we’re accustomed to in Audis—as the steering angle increases. Audi has three selectable levels of steering effort, and we found Dynamic mode to be too heavy to hear what the steering system was telling us. We stayed with the softest level (Comfort) for most of our drive.

More Money, and More for Your Money

We must talk about the $3,900 price increase over the 2025 model, because that’s not couch change. Audi says most of the increase is accounted for by the increase in standard equipment, much of which was optional on the old Q3—useful stuff like wireless charging, keyless ignition, driver’s seat memory, rear airbags, three years of prepaid maintenance, and other goodies. On the 2025 Q3, Audi says, all those extras would cost $3,700, plus you get bigger screens, a more powerful engine, and … well, you can imagine the sales pitch.

What it comes down to is that the Audi Q3 is now a $45,000 SUV for starters (unless you want a paint color other than white, in which case it’s a $45,600 SUV). Audi will sell the Q3 in a single trim level, with options bundled into a few packages. The Q3s we drove had all of ’em, which brought the sticker up to $51,790. That’s not a bad deal for German mini-luxe; a heavy hand with the options will get a BMW X1 xDrive28i up to more than $55,000 and a Mercedes-Benz GLA 250 4Matic close to $58,000. The Acura ADX tops out for less than $50,000, but it’s slower and has smaller screens. That said, since we’re talking about competitors, we must mention the new Mazda CX-5. No, Mazda’s not a luxury brand, but Mazda has chased Audi for some years now, and the new CX-5 is pretty darn competitive and has a much better infotainment system to boot.

Bottom line: Audi did a great job with the new Q3. It’s a better-looking car with a better cabin, better electronics, more power, and the excellent driving characteristics buyers look for in a German SUV. We’d love to have those Euro-spec seats, and with gas prices on the rise, we’d appreciate a more efficient powerplant. Still, this new Q3 is a huge improvement and much more in line with what we expect from Audi. If you’re looking for a vest-pocket luxury SUV, put the Q3 on your list.