2026 Audi Q3 revealed – 3rd gen gets micro-LED headlights, new stalks, PHEV with 119 km EV range

With over two million sold in more than a decade, the Audi Q3 has become one of Ingolstadt’s most reliable best-sellers. As such, there’s a lot riding on the new third generation, which has just been revealed with a all-new design and a swathe of the latest technologies – most of which have been lifted from other models in the lineup. No pressure, then.

Built on an evolved version of the outgoing car’s MQB architecture (MQB Evo), the Q3 adopts Audi’s latest, more rounded design language, drawing plenty of inspiration from the Q5. As per that car, you get a wider but slimmer version of the trademark Singleframe grille, flanked by segmented “digital” (i.e. customisable) daytime running light strips and massive fake side air intakes – here housing the main headlights.

Along the side, you’ll find the usual “quattro” blistered front and rear fenders, along with a window line that dips downwards at the A-pillars before rising up to form the kinked D-pillars. A cut at the top of the latter accentuates the gently-sweeping roofline and creates the in-vogue “floating roof” aesthetic.

Similar to the new A6, the Q3 features dual-tier taillights, with the full-width lower strip leading towards vertical indicators, forming an L shape of sorts. More fakery can be found in the huge rear bumper “vent” on the S line model seen here, sitting above a diffuser.

As with other Audis, the Q3 can be optioned with matrix LED headlights, here featuring the brand’s first use of micro LED technology. The lamps incorporate a whopping 25,600 individual diodes, providing not just higher-resolution adaptive high beam but also the ability to display information such as lane lines, blind spot warnings and even an ice symbol to warn of slippery conditions ahead.

Plus, you can spec the car with customisable OLED taillights, along with wheels measuring between 17 and 20 inches in diameter. The drag coefficient is a decent if not spectacular 0.30, and for the first time in a compact Audi, the Q3 comes with acoustic front side windows to improve refinement.

Inside, the car continues to carry over cues from larger new Audis, including a curved “digital stage” widescreen display panel housing an 11.9-inch digital instrument cluster and a 12.8-inch MMI infotainment touchscreen. Predictably, you can’t get a passenger screen like you can the others, but there is a head-up display, a 15-watt cooled Qi wireless charger and even large areas of ambient lighting in the doors, created by laser-cutting the fabric panel 300 times.

The latest MMI interface is based on the Android Automotive OS – with apps like YouTube available through the built-in MMI connect store, plus generative AI built in – and is able to pump music through an optional 12-speaker, 420-watt Sonos sound system.

New for Audi are the column stalks, typically the least talked-about aspect of a car. Taking a page from Mercedes-Benz, Tesla and a growing number of Chinese cars, the right stalk is the gear selector, while the left stalk combines the functions of the lights, indicators and wipers – with separate knobs and buttons for the latter and the washers, it looks mighty complicated to operate.

This was done to free up more storage space in the centre console, although it still only houses the aforementioned wireless charger and twin cupholders. The boot space is not much more impressive – at 488 litres, it’s actually nearly 50 litres less than before, although you can slide the rear seats forward to boost capacity to 575 litres. Folding down those pews will net you a maximum of 1,386 litres.

The smaller boot is likely the consequence of having to fit a battery underneath, because the Q3 comes with a brace of mild hybrid powertrains. The range starts with a 150 PS 1.5 litre TFSI turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine, equipped with cylinder deactivation and a seven-speed S tronic dual-clutch transmission.

Moving up the ladder, you’ll find a 2.0 litre TFSI mill that sends 265 PS and 400 Nm of torque through a standard-fit quattro all-wheel-drive system, while a front-wheel-drive 2.0 litre TDI turbodiesel is also available, churning out 150 PS and 360 Nm.

At the top of the lineup sits the plug-in hybrid Q3 e-hybrid, which pairs an undisclosed engine with a 116 PS/330 Nm electric motor for a total system output of 272 PS and 400 Nm. Compared to the outgoing Q3 TFSI e, the e-hybrid’s 25.7 kWh battery has almost twice the capacity, boosting pure electric range to up to 119 km (up from just 50 km before) on the WLTP cycle. The car supports up to 50 kW of DC fast charging, taking less than half an hour to charge from 10 to 80%.

In terms of suspension, Audi offers a choice between standard or sports setups, as well as optional twin-valve adaptive dampers. The company has worked to improve steering response and feel, the latter thanks to reduced friction; there’s also available variable-ratio steering to provide the sensation of added agility.

Driver assistance systems include standard autonomous emergency braking, evasive steering assist, lane keeping assist, front cross traffic alert, traffic sign recognition and driver attention monitoring. You can, of course, get more support through the adaptive driving assistant plus that provides Level 2 semi-autonomous driving, as well as automated lane changes.

For the first time, the system’s emergency stop assist is able to drive the car to the emergency lane before stopping if it detects the driver is incapacitated. There’s also a trained parking feature for the park assist that can automatically perform parking manoeuvres in carports or garages after being taught, plus a reversing assistant.

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