Out of habit, I kept putting the automatic car in neutral whenever I stopped (SOP for Kia Seltos DCT).
BHPian biplab3110 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
Back from the first somewhat long drive to Lonavala and Amby Valley. The ODO reads 499km. Here are my first impressions:
- The first thing that comes to my mind is the reassuring feeling of the AWD. Be it on the long curves of the expressway, or the sharp hairpin bends towards Amby Valley, the Q3 seemed to be hugging the road. No screams, no squeals, but a very composed drive up the slopes and turns. Having driven FWDs all along, I could immediately make out the difference.
- My drives were with two or three people in the back seat. Everyone praised the suspension setup. The independent four link suspensions kept the people in the backseat in reasonable comfort.
- On the way up, the car returned an average of 11.8kmpl over a little more than 100km, with four people in the cabin and a somewhat full boot. On the way down, it returned 13.8kmpl with five people in the cabin and packed full boot. I don’t know if XP95 that I filled up on the expressway, made a difference.
- NVH levels were very good. The Pirelli Scorpion Verde tyres are reasonably silent. The engine, road and wind noise were low enough to have chit chats in a normal voice all along.
- Had to try really hard not to exceed the speed limit of 100kmph. The acceleration is so smooth, you don’t even feel that the car has reached triple-digit speeds. The audible ding kept on reminding me whenever I exceeded 80kmph.
- Couldn’t control myself on a straight stretch of road and touched 132 kmph. No one in the car felt the speed.
- Out of habit, I kept putting the car in N whenever I stopped (SOP for Seltos DCT).
I wish the Q3 had:
- Seat memory. Every time I had to ask people not to adjust the seating.
- Auto Hold. Felt the need every time I stopped in traffic.
- Charging points in the rear seat – I don’t know why AUDI did such penny-pinching in the Indian version.
There is a faint yet irritating squeaking noise coming from the passenger seat. Need to get the car to a service center. I hope there is an easy fix to this.
Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.
