#q3

Americans are crossover crazy; we just can’t get enough of these glorified station wagons. Whether it’s their all-season capability, generous cargo capacity or improved fuel economy they have distinct advantages over sedans and traditional SUVs, upsides that account for much of their appeal.

The Audi Q3 will be heading to the U.S. with updated styling for the 2016 model year.

Audi announced today that it will begin marketing its small Q3 crossover to the U.S. next fall following a North American debut at next week’s Detroit Auto Show.

The Audi Q3 was supposed to arrive Stateside this year, but that plan is now on hold.

The small crossover market isn’t very well explored yet, which makes it ripe for picking. Nissan already caught on to this with the Juke, but it seems Audi is smelling blood in the water too.

The past 20 years were pretty stable in the automotive industry. Mostly predictable releases with a steady rate for manufacturers to introduce new models that seemed like a consistant recipe for success.

Q3 or not Q3? That is the question. Audi is weighing the merits of bringing its trendy entry level compact crossover Q3 to the U.S. market. Putting economic feasibility into the highest consideration, Audi has to guarantee the Q3’s success by determining the size of its demand and price sensibility. Audi North America CEO Johan de Nysschen stresses Q3’s MSRP must be low enough to entice buyers yet high enough to gain profits.

The Q3 will be built in Martorell, Spain, in a plant normally reserved for SEAT. Volkswagen recently spent about 330 million Euros in upgrading the facility in anticipation, and is betting big on the Q3: hopefully it can reclaim the crown of Europe’s favorite premium SUV away from the BMW X1.

Audi has finally unveiled the Q3, the compact SUV ready to do battle against the BMW X1.