From the Apex · Launch Mode · 2026-09-08

New-gen Audi Q3 to launch with a bold new look. Enough to spoil BMW and Mercedes's party?

Bookings open at ₹1 lakh, launch on 16 October. Audi India has confirmed a 2.0 petrol and quattro, and not much else.

• The third-generation Q3 launches in India on 16 October 2026. Bookings are open at ₹1 lakh.
• Audi India has confirmed two things about it: a 2.0-litre TFSI petrol and quattro. No power figure, no variant list, no price.
• Reports expect 204 hp, 320 Nm and a seven-speed S tronic.
• Expected price between ₹55 to 60 lakh ex-showroom. The outgoing Q3 runs ₹43.67 to ₹53.00 lakh.

Audi opened the order book on 25 August. What the car actually is arrives on 16 October.

Audi India previewed the third-generation Q3 on 25 August 2026 and has since opened bookings at ₹1 lakh, ahead of a launch on 16 October. What it has confirmed about the car is short: a 2.0-litre TFSI turbo-petrol, and quattro all-wheel drive. No power figure, no variant list, no price.

Everything else in circulation is expectation. Reports put the engine at 204 hp and 320 Nm with a seven-speed S tronic dual-clutch, none of it confirmed for the India car. Audi's global material describes a bigger Singleframe grille and split headlights front and rear, a curved panoramic display pairing an 11.9-inch virtual cockpit with a 12.8-inch MMI touchscreen, a body 40 mm longer at 4,531 mm on a 2,681 mm wheelbase, and a 488-litre boot. Whether the India car matches the global one, and on which variants, is what 16 October is for.

The price is the part everyone is waiting on. The expectation is ₹55 to 60 lakh ex-showroom. The outgoing Q3 spans ₹43.67 to ₹53.00 lakh, so on that estimate the new car starts about where the old one's top trim finished.

Its rivals have already chosen their positions. BMW stretched the X1 and gave the extra length to the rear seat at ₹49.90 lakh, front-wheel drive only. Mercedes-Benz sells the GLA from ₹51.80 lakh, front-wheel drive unless you pay for the 4Matic diesel. Audi has confirmed quattro on the Q3, which is more than either rival offers as standard, though it has not said whether every Q3 variant gets it.

The order book is open on a car Audi has not finished describing.