Entering its third and final generation with combustion engines, the Audi Q3 has been caught testing on the streets of Germany. To our surprise, the compact crossover already seemed to have all the production body panels in place, not to mention the final lights. In keeping with design trends, the BMW X1 rival has split headlights with an upper strip for the DRLs and turn signals while the rectangular cutout in the bumper contains the low and high beams.
On the same note, the 2025 Audi Q3 appears to have a light bar interconnecting the taillights, with a strip positioned above the license plate while having just about the same length. The more we look at the prototype, the more details we notice. For example, there’s a charging port on the front fender on the driver’s side, revealing the test vehicle had a plug-in hybrid powertrain.
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The exhaust tip is tucked away underneath the bumper, so we might be dealing with a lesser trim level. Audi’s corporate Singleframe grille is a tad smaller now since there’s more plastic around the area separating the grille from the lower air intake. Overall, it looks as though the Q3 will borrow styling cues from Ingolstadt’s EVs, specifically the Q4 E-Tron.
Logic tells us the new Q3 will transition to the MQB Evo platform to echo the forthcoming Volkswagen Tiguan. It’s getting a Spanish equivalent in the form of the Cupra Terramar for which the VW Group has already released preliminary technical specifications. To be built alongside the next-gen Q3 at the Györ plant in Hungary, the newcomer in Cupra’s lineup will be around 177.1 inches (4.5 meters) long, which suggests the Audi counterpart is going to be slightly larger than the outgoing model.
Since these spy shots are showing the PHEV, it’s worth noting the Terramar has already been confirmed to have a charging port and an electric range of around 62 miles (100 kilometers) in the WLTP cycle. As for the combustion engines, we’re expecting a wide adoption of mild hybridization and tweaks to the ICE themselves to comply with the upcoming Euro 7 standard.
Both the Audi Q3 and Cupra Terramar will be unveiled in 2024. We should point out that the Q3 will inevitably become the company’s entry-level crossover since the Q2 is going away after a single generation. As for the Terramar, it’s likely to serve as Cupra’s final model with ICE power.
