2018 Audi Q3 design shown in first official video

In comparison, the Q2 measures 4190mm long and 1790mm wide, while the recently launched second-generation Q5 is 4660mm long and 1890mm wide.   

Based on the VW Group’s widely used MQB platform, the new Q3 is claimed to have shed up to 50kg over today’s model, which sits on older PQ35 underpinnings dating back to the second-generation A3 of 2003. This should bring the planned front-wheel-drive entry-level model, which is set to use a 128bhp 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, down to less than 1350kg, despite the Q3's growth in size.

Audi's engineers are also beginning to turn their attention to the hot SQ3 variant. That model is likely to arrive at the same time or very soon after the regular Q3. Spy photographers have captured the standard car during spells of winter testing and have also spotted the higher-specification version.

In typical Audi style, the SQ3's appearance is only lightly adjusted, with a lower ride height and larger wheels the clearest signals to its performance. It will serve as the range-topping model until the even hotter RS Q3 is produced.

As well as being lighter, the MQB architecture also provides the new Q3 with added structural integrity. Audi insiders cite a significant improvement in static and dynamic rigidity as being crucial to enhancements in the isolation of vibrations and the lowering of overall noise levels — factors that promise to make the Q3 a more adept long-distance proposition.

The car receives more distinctive styling than today’s six-year-old model, with a prominent eight-corner single-frame grille, thin angular headlights with LED graphics and a heavily structured bumper assembly dominating its front end.

Further back, there are larger wheelhouses, a more pronounced wheel arch flaring, door-mounted mirrors and a more defined shoulder line along the flanks. A longer wheelbase, which is said to have grown by 50mm to 2650mm, also allows the adoption of slightly longer doors. At the rear, the new Q3 appears to eschew the clamshell-style tailgate for a simpler (and cheaper-to-produce) aperture.  

Inside, the Q3 receives a newly designed interior with a dashboard heavily influenced by that already seen in the latest A3. With a longer wheelbase liberating rear leg room and added width providing greater front and rear shoulder room, the car is described as being significantly more spacious inside than its predecessor. A slightly longer rear overhang is also claimed to provide an added 20 litres of boot capacity, meaning a total of 440 litres.

Among the more upmarket features available for the new Q3 will be Audi’s Virtual Cockpit display with HD graphics, a head-up display unit, a 9.2in touchscreen infotainment system, wireless smartphone charging and a full suite of connectivity functions supporting Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring.

The new Q3 will offer a variety of driveline combinations, including front-wheel and four-wheel drive in combination with either a six-speed manual or seven-speed automatic dual-clutch gearbox.

The headline engine for the RS Q3 will be Audi’s recently revamped turbocharged 2.5-litre five-cylinder petrol unit developing up to 395bhp. It will be supported by an SQ3 model running a detuned version of the same engine at around 335bhp.

Other petrol engines will include a new turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder unit. This joins the Q3 line-up as a replacement for the turbocharged 1.4-litre four-cylinder engine, likely offering two states of tune at 128bhp and 148bhp. Also planned, although not expected to feature in every market, is an updated version of Audi’s turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine, delivering 248bhp.