# Q3 vs. X1...



## pjunk1 (May 13, 2010)

Just my 2 cents...

This all started over the weekend when my wife spotted a new BMW X1. She simply stated that it was a "cute" BMW that she could see herself driving. I didn't think much of it but then I took a closer look at it and thought, ehhhh...the exterior is kind of funky/odd looking SUV/Crossover and the interior looked like your usual BMW interior. I would NEVER buy it for myself but if she likes it or wants it, so be it.

I got home and did some research on the X1. To my surprise, the base engine offered is a 240hp/260lb-ft 4 cylinder turbo with some pretty nice reviews. Overall, most of the reviews and comments about the X1 were very positive for it's power, handling, interior space, etc. 

What surprised me even more is the base price (RWD) @ $30,800 and/or (AWD) @ $32,500. The X1 is the cheapest model in the BMW line-up.

I'm curious to see my wife's reaction to the Q3 when it comes here. Also, what the pricing will look like. I admit I don't know much about either car but initially, from my wife's comments and what I've read online, I think I would have to lean towards the X1. Just so you guys know I love my A3 and it's my second Audi. I purchased my first Audi back in 1997 (brand spank'n new B5 A4). 

Obviously, the Q3 and X1 are after the same target market. To me it seems like there is more value in the X1. I think the Q3 has it's work cut out for it. 

I'm curious to know other's opinions.

Thanks for the read.


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## SK VeeDubR (Apr 18, 2008)

pjunk1 said:


> Just my 2 cents...
> 
> This all started over the weekend when my wife spotted a new BMW X1. She simply stated that it was a "cute" BMW that she could see herself driving. I didn't think much of it but then I took a closer look at it and thought, ehhhh...the exterior is kind of funky/odd looking SUV/Crossover and the interior looked like your usual BMW interior. I would NEVER buy it for myself but if she likes it or wants it, so be it.
> 
> ...


Just like the Q5, the Q3 will take the marketplace by storm IMHO.

When the GLK first came out it was supposed to blow the doors off the competition, but instead it was dead in the water.. The Q5 on the other hand had waitlists over a year in many places in Canada!

The X1 is fugly. The Q3 is about as sexy as a car/SUV in this segment gets. If anything I say I would need even more power if I were to get the X1 as I'd want to drive so fast nobody would see me driving it.. I wonder if BMW provides paper bags with each purchase :laugh:


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## 006 (Jul 17, 2000)

pjunk1, the key thing you have to realize about both cars is that they are, well, old. Not old for North America, but the world. 


The Q3 is not MQB-based (which any buyer should absolutely want in any new VW / Audi purchase), but rather rides on architecture that is almost 10 years old. While not only being ridiculous for a 'new' car (the Q3 is getting here about 2 years too late), it's a little like buying a new computer with an outdated operating system. Why would you, regardless of how sexy the shell looks or what chip resides inside? The other thing about Audi / VW and the Q3 you have to be buyer-beware of: the Q3 _will_ be MQB-based in the next 3 or 4 years. So if you keep your cars for a long time, the new Q3 will either be over here in about half the time it should normally take for a new model release to be replaced, or you will, in long-standing VW / Audi tradition, be driving old technology while we wait forever and the rest of the world gets the new version. 

The x1 (which I will admit, I currently lease and enjoy) is in the same boat as the Q3 - it's old too. The car is good, but there are just certain things that remind you of a previous generation 3-series (exterior looks included). The difference between BMW and VW / Audi is that BMW doesn't _usually_make North America wait too long for new models. They did with the X1, I agree (again, at least a year too late due to supposed supply constraints), but I don't see that happening with the new generation due next year. For other models - they get them out over here pretty quick.

I love VW / Audi. I just hate looking around and seeing a dated fleet of cars to pick from when it comes time to buy. I would buy the new MK7 Golf Sportswagen in a heartbeat - of course it's not out until next year. And the Q3 - I desperately wanted that car five years ago (after having owned 2 A3's). Then I saw it in Europe when it was released fall 2011, and was like 'wow, it's _finally_ out!'. Now, well, I guess we'll get it in some form, face-lifted or not, this fall. 

If you want something that's new all-around, check out the GLA this fall from Mercedes.


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## VR6Now (Dec 31, 2000)

SK VeeDubR said:


> Just like the Q5, the Q3 will take the marketplace by storm IMHO.
> 
> When the GLK first came out it was supposed to blow the doors off the competition, but instead it was dead in the water.. The Q5 on the other hand had waitlists over a year in many places in Canada!
> 
> The X1 is fugly. The Q3 is about as sexy as a car/SUV in this segment gets. If anything I say I would need even more power if I were to get the X1 as I'd want to drive so fast nobody would see me driving it.. I wonder if BMW provides paper bags with each purchase :laugh:


Judging by the lack of activity on this particular forum, Quattroworld, and Audiworld, I have reasons to doubt the claim that the Q3 will be in any ways a grand success such as the Q5. 

The Q3 will come to the states with the old Gen I TSI engine and 6 speed slush box from the 2009 Tiguan and not the Gen III unit in the 2015 GTI and GLI. An old engine and transmission in a design that's been hanging around for a few years in the rest of the world doesn't smell like a hit to me. It will be a Tiguan with a sleeker body, a few additional features, and a higher price. Loaded Tiguans aren't flying off the shelf so I don't expect the Q3 to fair much better. It's old product that will even be outclassed by the Lincoln MKC, not to mention the Mercedes GLA. I don't think Mercedes has anything to worry about here because the GLA will have more power in a more modern platform. The GLA was still under development when the Q3 was on the road around the world. I wouldn't be surprised if the GLA gets to the states at about the same time frame as the Q3. 

VW takes way too long to bring product stateside compared to BMW and Mercedes. You can build up demand at car shows but if the product doesn't come or comes late, you're forgotten about. The X1 will also have advantages over the Q3 such as power and a market head start. I wouldn't plan for a Q3 sales domination over the GLA like the Q5 did over the GLK before taking a look at the GLA. It's the superior offering and I believe if the pricing is right, it will literally and figurative leave the Q3 in its wake.

Here's the big kicker; Mercedes' USA website has a page for the GLA. Where is the page on Audi's US website promoting the Q3? If the GLA beats the Q3 to the US market, Audi should be ashamed of themselves. They had years worth of a head start! Where's the @$!# product? How do they intend to promote the Q3...word of mouth! This is pathetic!


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## DasCC (Feb 24, 2009)

VR6Now said:


> Judging by the lack of activity on this particular forum, Quattroworld, and Audiworld, I have reasons to doubt the claim that the Q3 will be in any ways a grand success such as the Q5.
> 
> The *Q3 will come to the states with the old Gen I TSI engine and 6 speed slush box from the 2009 Tiguan and not the Gen III unit in the 2015 GTI and GLI. * An old engine and transmission in a design that's been hanging around for a few years in the rest of the world doesn't smell like a hit to me. It will be a Tiguan with a sleeker body, a few additional features, and a higher price. Loaded Tiguans aren't flying off the shelf so I don't expect the Q3 to fair much better. It's old product that will even be outclassed by the Lincoln MKC, not to mention the Mercedes GLA. I don't think Mercedes has anything to worry about here because the GLA will have more power in a more modern platform. The GLA was still under development when the Q3 was on the road around the world. I wouldn't be surprised if the GLA gets to the states at about the same time frame as the Q3.
> 
> ...




That is a deal breaker IMO


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## struTTer (Mar 7, 2007)

Yes, VAG does take entirely too much time to bring a product to the US. The MkVII golf has been out for over a year now and it is just coming out in the US now. The same story with the A3 and of course the Q3. The face-lifted Q3 will be shown at the Geneva auto show in March, just a few months when they release the "old" version in the US! This is unacceptable in the modern marketplace.

My wife really wants the Q3, but I'm doing my best to talk her out of it and into the new Golf wagon. Even the Golf wagon is quickly falling off of my list as they tease the 4Motion and then screw the US out of the good stuff again (thanks for no GTD).

I'm on my 3rd Audi in a row and have owned several VW's, but I'm getting sick of the slow roll-outs and dumbing down for the US market. I have no idea what VAG is thinking, but at this point they have probably lost a future customer.


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## VR6Now (Dec 31, 2000)

Even the less than handsome Lexus NX200t beat the Q3 to market. It was shown in concept form in Frankfurt in the fall of 2013 and will be on sale in November of this year. That's impossible to do by VW/Audi standards. What a novel concept. Show a car then bring it to market in a timely fashion. Maybe there is something VW/Audi can learn from Toyota. North America is just a hobby for VW AG; they've put the real time, resources, and money into China and Europe. We're just a distraction.


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## LM Spec (Jan 2, 2008)

006 said:


> The Q3 is not MQB-based (which any buyer should absolutely want in any new VW / Audi purchase), but rather rides on architecture that is almost 10 years old. While not only being ridiculous for a 'new' car (the Q3 is getting here about 2 years too late), it's a little like buying a new computer with an outdated operating system. Why would you, regardless of how sexy the shell looks or what chip resides inside? The other thing about Audi / VW and the Q3 you have to be buyer-beware of: the Q3 _will_ be MQB-based in the next 3 or 4 years. So if you keep your cars for a long time, the new Q3 will either be over here in about half the time it should normally take for a new model release to be replaced, or you will, in long-standing VW / Audi tradition, be driving old technology while we wait forever and the rest of the world gets the new version.


Interesting, I went to the Q3 driving event last night and they told us the Q3 is based on the new MQB Chassis


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## neci2020 (Mar 14, 2013)

If it isn't based on the MQB platform with the new 2.0 I wouldn't even consider it. So is it? I can't find a for sure answer.


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## SUVAGEN (Aug 13, 2011)

VR6Now said:


> Judging by the lack of activity on this particular forum, Quattroworld, and Audiworld, I have reasons to doubt the claim that the Q3 will be in any ways a grand success such as the Q5.
> 
> The Q3 will come to the states with the old Gen I TSI engine and 6 speed slush box from the 2009 Tiguan and not the Gen III unit in the 2015 GTI and GLI. An old engine and transmission in a design that's been hanging around for a few years in the rest of the world doesn't smell like a hit to me. It will be a Tiguan with a sleeker body, a few additional features, and a higher price. Loaded Tiguans aren't flying off the shelf so I don't expect the Q3 to fair much better. It's old product that will even be outclassed by the Lincoln MKC, not to mention the Mercedes GLA. I don't think Mercedes has anything to worry about here because the GLA will have more power in a more modern platform. The GLA was still under development when the Q3 was on the road around the world. I wouldn't be surprised if the GLA gets to the states at about the same time frame as the Q3.
> 
> ...


Very well said and very informative. VW has a similar issue with their website. The new Golf was not on their site even as the car was available! I watched it arrive on their site over the weekend; each day a little more information would be available (however, VW has completely ruined their website as far as being informative). I could build and price it on Edmunds but not on VW USA. Unacceptable. I think it is misguided fear of cannibalizing 2014 sales (although in the case of the Q3, that is not a valid supposition). Your post has further convinced me to fix my '08 Passat VR6 4mo wagon and wait for a new engine in the Q3. I'll check the GLA. I am all about sufficient interior space. The GLK blew it with the rear seat access and I assumed the GLA would be even tighter quarters; the Q3 has a reasonable back seat for two adults. The Q5 is just a bit more than I need.


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## DasCC (Feb 24, 2009)

neci2020 said:


> If it isn't based on the MQB platform with the new 2.0 I wouldn't even consider it. So is it? I can't find a for sure answer.


not sure about MQB but it is not using the new 2.0.... or the 8sp zf :thumbdown:


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## VR6Now (Dec 31, 2000)

neci2020 said:


> If it isn't based on the MQB platform with the new 2.0 I wouldn't even consider it. So is it? I can't find a for sure answer.


With certainty, the Q3 reaching the US this fall is *not* MQB. It is PQ35 and went on sale in Europe while MQB was still being developed so as you can guess, can't be MQB. There is no such thing as a released for sale MQB Q3.

Does this help: 
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audi_Q3

The MQB-based Q3, like the similar VW Tiguan hasn't even been shown in pre-released form. In fact, the MQB Tiguan is expected to hit first and it is a year away in Europe and probably two years away for the US. Therefore, you can expect the MQB Q3 to be more than two years out. They wouldn't go through the process of certifying the old PQ35 Q3 if the new one was on the immediate horizon.


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## 3G3T7I (Sep 30, 2005)

Not much to add to this thread but I test drove an xDrive 35i M sport and found it to be pretty cool. I was impressed with the handling, but can't say I'm a fan of the run flats. They seemed to lack resilence and made for a harsh ride. 300 HP moves it along quite nice. I do plan to test drive the Q3.


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## DasCC (Feb 24, 2009)

3G3T7I said:


> Not much to add to this thread but I test drove an xDrive 35i M sport and found it to be pretty cool. I was impressed with the handling, but can't say I'm a fan of the run flats. They seemed to lack resilence and made for a harsh ride. 300 HP moves it along quite nice. I do plan to test drive the Q3.


What was your impression of the interior? I've read that is a step below the 3ers, hard plastics etc.


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