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2015 Audi Q3

There are two ways to approach a brand-new segment in the auto industry. First, an automaker can take a gamble and introduce a completely new vehicle, catering to the specific demands of the marketplace(s) in question. In the compact, premium CUV segment, we've seen Buick do this with the Encore, and Mercedes-Benz with the GLA-Class. The other option is to introduce a vehicle already sold in another market. Considering the amount of time it takes to bring a new vehicle from paper to production, there is plenty to gain in the short-term with this approach. It's not without its downsides, though, as we found after a week behind the wheel of the 2015 Audi Q3, a vehicle that was initially launched in 2011. Cute though it may be – it was referred to at least once by a passerby during our testing as "totes adorbs" – Ingolstadt's decision to introduce a vehicle that's already been on sale for four years, and is effectively approaching the last half of its lifecycle, leaves the Q3 at a significant disadvantage relative to the newer competition. Despite crossing its first auto show stage four years ago, the Q3 remains a handsome little bugger. Audi's designs, while conservative, tend to age very well, and the compact Q3 is no exception. It's like a scaled-down Q5 in most respects, although certain design pieces, like its more aggressively raked rear window and shorter front and rear overhangs, belie the significantly smaller Q3's figure. Due to its age, the Q3 was, fortunately, designed before the current A3 hit the market. That means it avoids the unattractive, minimalist dash of the A3, opting for a more traditional Audi design, with a strip of brushed aluminum on the passenger's side, a user-friendly center stack and a suitably large nav screen front and center. While the overall layout is attractive, the material quality is not what we'd expect of a newer Audi. There's nothing that feels exceedingly cheap – the plastics just feel old and too familiar. It's difficult to describe, but as soon as you climb in the Q3, things like the switchgear for the HVAC controls immediately remind you that this is a vehicle that's been on sale since 2011. While our definition of interior quality has evolved over the years, our idea of a driver-friendly cabin has not. The Q3 scores highly in this regard, featuring the elevated seating position that makes CUVs so popular with the general public.

2014 Audi S3 Cabriolet

Drivers are either droptop people or they're not. As most usually aren't - at least as far as the willingness to buy one is concerned - all convertibles tend to remain strictly niche cars. Thus, automakers must ask a noticeably higher price for them.
The Audi S3 Cabriolet is about as niche as you can get in the open daylight of mainstream automaking. Of course, the S3 cab doesn't really need to sell in big volumes; it exists because it's an easy and not too costly bit of flair for the company. In the US, this model would probably base out at around $44,000 if it were to join our fleet, which is problematic, as I'll soon explore.
In what may be a sign that Audi is essentially okay with all this, it had me up to central Sweden to twist around on the snow and ice in the open S3. The grounds ended up offering precious little ice and snow, so I drove the two-door ragtop on dusty, thawing Scandinavian roads. This was a blessing really, since ice driving in a cabrio - even a Quattro one - doesn't really reveal much of anything about such a car in its typical day-to-day life.

Next Audi Q7 to debut with electric turbocharger?

For years, the concept of an electric turbocharger was essentially a joke sold on eBay to boost power in your slammed Civic, but in the last five years it has moved from an idea on a piece of paper to a feasible reality. Audi has already toyed with a showcase of the cutting-edge tech in road cars with the RS5 TDI concept. Now, reports suggest an electric turbo may make it to the streets as soon as next year in the next-gen Q7 (spy shot pictured above).
"I can confirm we are working on the development of the e-boost definitely," said Ulrich Weiss, Audi's diesel engine boss, to Australia-based Drive. He didn't give an exact timeframe but hinted at sometime next year, possibly in the Q7. He also suggested the chance of an RS-branded diesel model in the vein of the RS5 TDI concept on the horizon, as well.
This tech isn't entirely new for the folks in Ingolstadt. Audi's R18 endurance racer already uses such a system to capture waste heat from the engine, converting it to electric power to further power the hybrid car. The RS5 TDI concept employs a similar idea with a 3.0-liter, twin-turbocharged V6 with an electric supercharger to make up for the turbo lag. It's able to pump out 385 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque and allegedly sprint to 62 miles per hour in four seconds.