Hi all,

I just wanted to share my opinion regarding the 3 cars and also get some feedback/suggestions. I have test-driven all the 3 and surprisingly the one which I liked the most is probably the oldest of them all, the Q3. The way it drives is simply amazing! I tried Auto-transmissions on all of them and have got deals on paper for both GLA and X1. I will get figures from my local Audi dealer about the Q3 later on today.

These are my thoughts are about each:

BMW X1:

The newest of them all, looks great, grat interior, the auto-grearbox is amazing and drives well too. Its brand new so there are no offers at all on this one! My local dealer was ready to give a cracking offer on the similarly priced 3 series, but no discounts on this on at all. Plus, the X1 doesnt come in low powered petrols. For my usage, which involves 4 cold-start-stops every day, I dont think Diesel is a good idea. I can sure work it every weekend, but it will be like an additional task which I have to accommodate only because I have a Diesel car!

Mercedes GLA:

Looks great from outside, the cabin quality is excellent, not that high driving position, but still good and very comfortable in the front. Things do down-hill after that. The seats have integrated head-rests so the backseats feel really narrow and closed! You need to go for a pano sun-roof if you want to make the cabin lighter/brighter. The boot is shockingly small, I almost felt it is similar to a hatchback. Good thing is Mercedes is ready to give about 4000£ off...but the issue is there are no low-end models available in the UK. And there is a 5-6 month wait if you want one with your exact specifications. So the one which they offered is the high-end Diesel with 180BHP, 4-wheel drive with premium pack (which gives Part assist, sensors, folded mirrors, heated seats). This looks really good value when you see the kit which you get on this one, but it probably is too much for my requirement. I am perfectly happy with entry trim, front-wheel drive with a few optional extras.

Audi Q3:

I wasn't sure about this one as it is the oldest of the lot, it looks great from the front but ok from the rear. But I wanted to test drive as it had a face-lift recently and they introduced the 1.4 Petrol engine with 150BHP. I read really some great reviews about this engine on other sites. So I went for a test drive and simply loved it. It drives way better than the above two. The way the steering feels and responds is brilliant. It totally took the effort out of driving, especially when combined with the S-Tronic gearbox! I totally recommend test-driving this before deciding. Less impressive things on this one were the cabin, I mean it really feels premium and every button/click-wheel feels Audi-tastic but the layout feels dated now. Especially compared to the GLA or X1. You do not get a nice center click-wheel, instead the wheel is mounted on the dash, the air-vents design looks dated plus, the infotainment screen doesn't popup in a cool-swish like gesture as in the A3 Saloon. You can to manually push to open/close like you do on the dashboards. The boot is decent size and the rear passenger room is also quite good. But what really trumps for me is the way it rides, the amazing Auto transmission and the 1.4 Petrol engine. Standard kit also feels a little spa*** especially on the SE trim, you get auto lights/wipers, 17 inch alloys, rear parking sensors...think that's about it. Things like Sat Nav, Power Tail-gate, Cruise Control which are standard on newer cars are optional extras here. And the Panoramic sunroof costs about 1400£ (because you need to combine it with LED interior lights package!!!????)

So, that's what I found on these 3 cars, from similar class. Hope this is useful and it would really help if anyone has comments regarding the Q3 (especially from owners).

Oh by the way, one thing which is constant from all these dealers, like I mentioned above is that the model with the kit which you want will not be available, unless you are prepared to wait for a long time!! It is really fun configuring your models on their websites, but ya, sorry to let you down, there will be a huge wait if you want the exact same one. Mercedes dealer said that he will not be able to find a front-wheel version in the whole country. BMW had just 2 vehicles which were entry level 2 wheel drive with folding mirrors!! And they did not have a single one with sunroof.

Cheers :)