When the RS Q3 first appeared, the 306bhp power output of its 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbo petrol engine seemed little short of eye-watering.
Late in 2014, Audi announced that the whole Q3 range was to be revised, and the new cars started appearing in the UK in spring 2015. Among the alterations was a substantial boost to the RS Q3, which now produces no less than 335bhp. The top speed remains limited to 155mph, but the 0-62mph sprint time has fallen by four tenths to just 4.8 seconds.
If bald figures don't mean much to you, let's put it this way: on full throttle the RS Q3 simply roars towards the horizon in a quite unexpected way. For a crossover, it is extraordinarily fast. The original model didn't exactly hang about, but the new one is in a different league.
It's also a better car for different reasons. When I drove the first RS Q3, I wasn’t keen on it. It looked great, and onlookers I spoke to assumed it must therefore be great. However, it just couldn't take the power - a natural enough situation given that Audi has essentially taken a very meaty hot hatch (the Q3 is based on the same platform as hatchbacks including the Audi A3) and unhelpfully made it about six inches taller.
Dynamically, that didn't work first time round, and it doesn't really work now. The centre of gravity is still too high, and keeping control of the RS Q3 on a bumpy road remains something of a challenge.
But things have definitely improved. Nowadays there is a sense that the car is at least trying to do what you ask it to, rather than leap into the next field because it wants to gambol with the sheep.
It took some time to find a reason for this. Audi UK said there had been no suspension changes. Audi Germany said this too, but added that several improvements had been made to the steering. That makes sense - the RS Q3 doesn't feel noticeably different post-upgrade, but it's a lot more controllable.
Pricing starts at £45,540, £5,950 more than you're asked to pay for the closely related (but slightly more powerful and much lower) RS 3 Sportback. This is without question a lot of money for something that shares its platform with a SEAT Leon. But in return you get a beautifully made car with appropriately muscular brakes, leather upholstery, excellent sports seats, 20-inch alloy wheels and a powered tailgate, among many other features.
