Audi Q3 Launch // The Drive Day // Zurich

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Ahhhh, 27C and clear crisp blue skies! Just what the doc ordered after a reasonably heavy night slurping Zurich’s finest apple juice with the rest of the Middle Eastern press contingent. I was actually pretty surprised how much food I managed to eat that night after the rather self indulgent afternoon at the Lindt factory.  Mind you, it was nothing a little snooze and an hour or so’s wander car hunting around Zurich couldn’t fix.

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The plan was to move from the lovely inner city hotel and make our way up into the hills surrounding Lake Zurich, for the day of driving fun that lay ahead of us. So bright and sparky at 8am sharp we all met up outside the hotel, hoped into our minibuses and began the short journey through the early morning traffic.

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One aspect of Zurich and Switzerland as a whole that continually surprised me was the proliferation of heavy metal.  Whether it was sports cars…

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…classics…

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…or exec saloons, they seemed to be everywhere.

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Twenty minutes later and here we are: The Dolder Grand!

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The guys from Audi had their crack team of buffers and cleaners rocking and rolling as we turned up. In that white dress with those gorgeous wheels it looked superb.  The artificial lighting that took me ages to figure out the source of helped in the early morning; stage lighting hanging from the trees really had me fooled! And I should know better.

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See what I mean? The hessian wrap around the trees had me sniffing and then I spied the scaffolding, and then the lights! Told you it was a foggy night. Either way, it was exceptionally pleasant to sit and have a coffee while the Audi team buttoned up everything and got people sorted with hotel rooms and other such mundane things. Bring on the cars!

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Oh, hang tight! Before we got to play with the new Audi A3 it was press conference time. Never the most exciting of occasions and I’m pretty sure none of the guys around me listened, but it’s always great to get to meet the people behind the cars, the marketing campaigns and the money men.

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Press conference done. Countryside, you are mine!

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Brent Black from Virgin Radio Dubai dropping some stance mid photo/film.

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Speaking of Brent, without his much-loved Red Bull we would have been going nowhere.  Thankfully though he bagged a stash, chugged it and off we trotted. It’s always a godsend to pair up with someone you get on with on a press trip.  If you don’t, it’s fail time.

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First up on the drive rotation was the 2.0 oil burner; a great little car and one that drove exactly as expected.  A little numbness through the steering was the only thing that narked me, but other than that it was a great car to blat around. As always with an Audi, the interior integrity was truly mind blowing. I think I would be happy driving an Audi no matter what it looked like on the outside; there is something so perfect and well thought out about their cabins.

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Spot anything weird about this picture? Welcome to the world of Eco mode!  One of the coolest, yet strangest features on the Q3. Basically, whenever the car was either coasting down hill or off throttle, the DSG dropped the car into neutral and this saved on the go-go juice! Genius.

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An hour after driving away from the Hotel and we were back, ready to hit the next car. This time it was the one I’d been waiting for!!!

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Take one of the greatest engines of the modern era; the bahnstorming 2.5-litre five-pot out of a TT RS, via a Lamborghini (kinda) and drop it into any car. Result? Mental!

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The tractability, the sonorous noise and the sheer grunt across the whole rev range make this engine something that every person should try at least once!

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So what can we say?  The trip to Zurich was superb and the car was exactly as expected. Superbly well built, well thought out and, in 2.5 guise, bonkers!  It will more than likely be a raving success across Europe, where the desire to drive cars with lofty seating positions is still right up there. Competition however will undoubtedly be tough. Don’t forget this car will arrive in market just after the Range Rover Evoque and it already has the BMW X1 to contend with, not to mention the continuing world of the wagon and its own internal competition.

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Let’s wait for it to arrive in the Middle East and then at least we can put it up against a collection of like-minded cars and see how it fairs in the ever-competitive small SUV market. It’s going to be intense for sure.