► New Audi Q3 Sportback revealed
► High-selling SUV’s sleeker variant
► Features long-range PHEV; £1500 more than SUV
Yeesh – Audi’s latest Q3 Sportback has been revealed, launching with all of the new tech and the long-range plug-in hybrid offering the SUV version has. Albeit with a rather iffy-looking backside.
The look is ‘more emotional’ apparently, with a big Singleframe grille and shallow headlights that look like frowny eyebrows, as well as (optional) OLED rear lights with an animated lighting effect for the DRLs.
Inside, the Q3 Sportback has been given the same refresh as the regular SUV version – as well as plenty of other cars like the A5, A6, Q5 and Q6 e-Tron. That means big digital screens, lots of black gloss panelling (thankfully accented with lighter metals this time) and a wider range of technology offered.
The new Sportback also comes with Audi’s new combined indicator and wiper stalk on the left-hand side of the steering column, freeing up space in the centre console for more storage. The rear seats can be slid forward and backwards, allowing you to prioritise passenger or boot space; the boot area is rated to 375 litres for the e-hybrid, 488 litre for all other versions and up to 575 litres with the rear seats slid as forward as possible.
The Q3 Sportback has the same engine range as the normal SUV, which entirely consists of four-cylinder engines with or without electrical assistance. The range starts with a 148bhp petrol or diesel with front-wheel drive or a 201bhp petrol or 262bhp petrol model with all-wheel drive. The flagship plug-in hybrid includes 268bhp and claims up to 72 miles of e-range.
Audi’s Q3 Sportback range is priced from £39,800 – effectively £1500 more expensive than the SUV version.
Jake has been an automotive journalist since 2015, joining CAR as Staff Writer in 2017. With a decade of car news and reviews writing under his belt, he became CAR's Deputy News Editor in 2020 and then News Editor in 2025. Jake's day-to-day role includes co-ordinating CAR's news content across its print, digital and social media channels. When he's not out interviewing an executive, driving a new car for review or on a photoshoot for a CAR feature, he's usually found geeking out on the latest video game, buying yet another pair of wildly-coloured trainers or figuring out where he can put another car-shaped Lego set in his already-full house.
By Jake Groves
CAR's news editor; gamer, trainer freak and serial Lego-ist
