Audi A3 vs A4 vs Q3: Real-World Performance Comparison

The sedans have to be faster and frugal than the SUV. But by how much?

Instead of making a new engine for every new model, carmakers these days use a single engine for multiple vehicles across body styles. It is not only a more practical option considering the large of number of models they offer these days, but more economical as well. Audi also does the same thing with its entry level offerings - the A3, A4 and the Q3 - as all of them are powered by the same petrol engine, and that too in the same state of tune.

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The A3, Q3 and Q4 are all powered by a 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol engine that makes 150PS of maximum power and 250Nm of peak torque. This engine is offered with two transmissions: where the Q3 gets a 6-speed S tronic automatic gearbox, the A3 and the A4 are available with a 7-speed (DCT) S tronic automatic gearbox. Although all these cars are powered by the same engine they are bound to perform differently as the Q3 is an SUV, while the A3 and the A4 are sedans of different sizes. Let’s see how much of a difference body type can make in a car’s performance.

To know how much difference a roof can make in a car’s performance, check out our Audi A3 vs A3 Cabriolet performance comparison here.

Our tests returned expected results. The A3 is the quickest of the three Audi cars to reach 100kmph. It does it in 8.68s, followed by the A4 in second place at 8.94s. The Q3 is slowest to hit the 100kmph mark with a time of 10.91s, 1.91s slower than the A4 and 2.23s slower than the A3. The story remains the same in the quarter mile drag as well. The A3 comes first, followed by the A4 and the Q3 respectively. The results are not at all surprising as we can see the A3 has the highest power-to-weight ratio and the Q3 has the lowest.

Both the sedans should also be more aerodynamic than the Q3, the tallest car in this test, and that would help them accelerate faster. The dual-clutch automatic transmission available with both the A3 and A4 should also have quicker shift times compared to the Q3’s 6-speed torque converter.

Apart from the weight, ground clearance would also have played a major role in these tests, especially in the case of the Q3. Since it is a SUV it has higher ground clearance and thus higher centre of gravity than the sedans. As a result, the rate and amount of weight transfer during acceleration would be higher in the Q3 than the other two Audi sedans, making it slower off the mark.

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Braking Performance

All the three Audis are equipped with disc brakes at both front and rear, but since they have different body types they’re bound to perform differently. As expected, the Q3 covers the most distance before coming to a halt when braking from 100kmph, followed by the A4 and the A3 respectively.

So, from the above comparisons, it is confirmed that body type has a significant effect on the performance of a car. So much so, despite being powered by a same engine, all the three cars performed very differently in our tests.

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