Audi Q3 vs Holden Equinox

What's the difference?

I hate how this car has challenged my long-held belief that coupe SUVs are silly. Even more so than other notable examples I’ve driven, like Mercedes’ GLC 53.

It’s so sleek and stylish, drives beautifully, and is so packed with immersive technology that I had to triple check the price. The Sportback takes everything good about the Q3 and makes it even better looking with barely a penalty to practicality. Bravo.

Overlook the Holden Equinox LTZ-V and you could miss out on a practical, spacious and value-for-money mid-sized SUV. Concerned about Holden’s exit from Australia and how this affects servicing and parts? Well Holden has assured us that it will provide servicing support for 10 years following its closure at the end of 2020. If anything, you could be picking up a bargain and one of the last cars to wear a Holden badge.

This is the best-looking coupe SUV I’ve seen. Do you agree?

You could argue the Porsche Macan is up there alongside it, and I’d agree, but it’s also at least $20K more expensive.

Volvo’s XC40 maybe comes close in terms of exterior appeal, but it isn’t a coupe.

You can see elements of Lamborghini Urus (an Audi subsidiary) in the air dams and roofline, and there’s a complexity to it which hints at the tech within.

In fact, I’d say this Audi is so swish I kind of understand now. This is what coupe SUVs are meant to be about. Redefining the ‘SUV look’, inside and out.

Why pretend SUVs are about off-roading anymore? They’re really about comfort and convenience in the confines of a city.

Of course, the ‘inside’ bit comes naturally to the Q3, which has a swish, simplistic, but wonderfully advanced cockpit.

The design is upright, but not imposing, spacious, but not barren. The slight driver focus of the vents, touchscreen, and controls is noted and appreciated.

Both screens are ultra-high resolution, sharp and crisp to look at, and it adds so much to the lustre of everything you use, fitting seamlessly with the sharp and detailed lines in the dash. The fully adjustable LED interior ambient lighting is wholly unnecessary but does make it a nice place to be at night, and changing the colours entertained my family members no end.

Virtual Cockpit is still unrivalled for its aesthetics and ease of use, too. The wheel is even notable for its neat proportions and comfortable shape.

What don’t I like? The tall plasticky shift-knob still looks like it belongs in a base-model VW Polo, and some padding around the centre tunnel for the knees would be appreciated.

Big cheesy grin grille? Check. Flowing curves? Check. Sharp creases? Check. Irregular shapes? Check.

The Equinox is a bit of a mishmash of design elements which doesn't win this reviewer over.

The sloping, broad grille bears more than a passing resemblance to the Cadillac family face, and hints at the Equinox’s American origins. In the United States the SUV wears a Chevrolet badge, although ours is built in Mexico.

The shape of the rear-side window is also a little jarring to me. If you want to see something you’ll never be able to unsee, take a look at my video above where I turn this mid-sized SUV into a small sedan. That sounds ridiculous but, trust me, watch it and be amazed.

How big is the Equinox? Just when you thought the design of the Equinox couldn’t get any more peculiar it does. The Equinox is longer than most of its rivals at 4652mm end-to-end but about the same width at 1843mm across (2105mm to the ends of the wing mirrors).

Telling the LTZ and the LTZ-V apart is tricky, but you can spot the top-grade Equinox by its sunroof and a metallic window garnish around the widows of the rear doors.

Inside is a premium and modern cabin. There’s a high quality feel here from the materials used on the dash, seats and doors, to the display screen which sits at an angle that’s perfect for my reach, although others in the CarsGuide office aren’t quite as enamored with it.

Many cars are dressed up at the front of the cabin, but lack the same treatment in the rear, and the Equinox is a case in point, with hard plastics used around the window sills and the back of the console.

We like the practicality in the regular Q3, but is the Sportback too compromised? Let’s take a look

The front two passengers are treated to a spacious and airy cabin, with loads of glass and space for your elbows. You can adjust the height of the centre box to suit your driving position, and there are no complaints when it comes to leg- or headroom.

Tech spills out of the dash and into your hands. USB-A, USB-C and wireless connectivity are available to you. In fact, wireless Apple CarPlay is as revolutionary as keyless entry.

You set it up once and that’s it. Just turn the car on, leave the phone in your pocket and the media system does the rest. The cost is a slight input lag, but the payoff of just being able to throw your phone in the charging bay or simply leave it in your pocket and forget about it is well worth it.

Storage areas are abundant for front passengers with big cupholders with a large centre slot for a phone or wallet perhaps, the large wireless charging bay and a small but useful centre console box.

There are also small bottle holders in the doors and a decently-sized glove box.

A small annoyance comes from the high-resolution screen. Some items become too fine to accurately jab at without taking your eyes off the road, particularly in Apple CarPlay mode. Thankfully all essentials, like the climate and volume controls have physical dials.

Visibility out the front and sides for the driver is fantastic, although there’s no denying the smaller rear aperture in the Sportback’s design makes seeing out the rear a bit more difficult.

Rear passengers are treated to a customizable area. The rear seats are on rails, and I found my legroom to be more than adequate in the standard, furthest-back position. I could have moved the seat about 20 per cent further forward without running into issues.

Height is a different story. I’m 182cm (6.0ft) tall and fit okay with maybe a couple of centimetres space above my head. My slightly taller brother (around 185cm) had his head pretty much up against the roof. The standard Q3 had no such issues, but it’s worth considering if you plan to regularly transport taller family or friends.

The back of the rear seats are clad in plastic which looks nasty but will be good for those with kids, and rear passengers can make use of two USB-C ports, a 12V outlet and dual adjustable air vents on the back of the centre stack.

Boot space comes in at 530 litres (VDA) with all seats in their default positions which proved more than enough for our largest CarsGuide suitcase, some duffel bags, and camera equipment.

It can be adjusted up to 1400L with all the seats stowed. Apparently, this is no less than the regular Q3, which would make sense as the space is meant to be measured to the parcel shelf, before the more aggressive roofline starts to cut its shape.

The Equinox’s greatest strength is its spaciousness and much of that comes down to its wheelbase.

See, the longer a car’s wheelbase the more room there is for the passengers inside. The  Equinox’s wheelbase is longer than most of its rivals (25mm longer than a CX-5’s) and that goes some way to explaining how, at 191cm tall, I can sit behind my driving position with plenty of knee room.

The longer wheelbase also means the rear wheelarches don’t cut far into the back doors, which allows for a wider aperture and easier access.

So, if you have young kids like me, they’ll find it easy to climb in, but if they’re really little the large opening will make it easy for you to put them into their car seats.

Headroom, even with the LTZ-V’s sunroof, is good in the back seats, too.

Cabin storage is excellent: the centre console bin is enormous, the door pockets are large; there are four cupholders (two in the back and two up front),

Even with all this extra room, however, the Equinox is only a five-seater SUV. Still, that leaves you with a large boot with cargo capacity of 846L when the rear row is up and 1798L with the second-row seats folded.

The Equinox has power outlets galore: three 12-volt sockets, a 230-volt power point; five USB ports (including one type C); and a wireless charging bay. That’s more outlets than any mid-sized SUV I’ve tested.

A flat floor in the second row, large windows and comfortable seats complete a well-appointed and practical cabin.

Really, the only reasons the Equinox doesn't score 10-out-of-10 here is the lack of a third-row seat, and sunshades or privacy glass for the rear windows.

The Holden Equinox LTZ-V is the fanciest version you can buy with its list price of $46,290. That may sound expensive, but the standard features list is massive.

There’s an 8.0-inch screen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, sat nav, heated leather seats, dual-zone climate control, a Bose sound system with digital radio and also wireless charging.

Then there are the roof rails, the front fog lights and LED headlights, heated wing mirrors, and 19-inch alloy wheels.

But you get all that on the grade below it, too - the LTZ for $44,290. So, adding the V to LTZ along with an extra $2K adds the panoramic sunroof, ventilated seats up front, and a heated steering wheel. Still great value, but not as good as the LTZ.

Also, as Holden gets closer to the 2021 finish line you can expect the prices of it cars and SUVs to be heavily discounted - after all, everything must go

If you’re considering an Equinox, you could do a model comparison with the Mazda CX-5 or Honda CR-V. The Equinox is a five-seater, mid-sized SUV, so, if you’re looking for seven seats but roughly the same size and price there’s the Hyundai Santa Fe.

Powering 35 TFSI variants is a 1.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine, producing 110kW/250Nm. It’s mated to a six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and powers the front wheels only.

An all-wheel drive version with a 2.0-litre engine is available further up the range.

The Equinox LTZ-V has the most powerful engine in the Equinox line-up – a 188kW/353Nm 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine.

The only other grade in the line-up to have this engine is LTZ, although it doesn’t have the LTZ-V’s all-wheel drive system.

It’s a powerful engine, especially considering that it’s just a four cylinder. Only a bit more than a decade ago V8s were making less power.

The nine-speed automatic transmission shifts slowly, but I found it to be a smooth unit at all speeds.

The 35 TFSI has a claimed/combined fuel consumption figure of 7.3L/100km, against which I scored 8.4L/100km on my weekly test.

That number's very good for something this size, probably helped along by the 35 TFSI's relatively light 1545kg kerb weight.

Oddly, and unlike most VW Group vehicles with similar drivetrains, the Q3 35 TFSI does not have a stop/start system.

The 35 TFSI requires 95 RON premium unleaded petrol and has a 60-litre fuel tank.

Holden says the Equinox LTZ-V all-wheel drive with the 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder and nine-speed auto transmission will use 8.4L/100km over a combination of open and urban roads.

My fuel test covered 131.6km, with 65km of that being city and suburban roads, while 66.6km were on the motorway almost entirely at 110km/h.

At the end of that I brimmed the tank with 19.13L of 95 RON premium unleaded which works out to be 14.5L/100km.

The trip computer disagreed and reported 13.3L/100km. Either way that’s a thirsty mid-sized SUV and it hadn’t even been carrying a full load of people or cargo.

The Q3 offers a slick, modern, and comfortable drive, but not one without its flaws.

The ride is superb. A great balance of sportiness and damping, the Q3 keeps it stable in the corners, but comfortable over bumps. This was helped along by comfort-spec Hankook tyres on our car, and the 19-inch wheels proved to be a sensible size.

The only thing which seemed to transmit unpleasantness into the cabin was the dampers going out of frequency on rutted roads. I couldn’t help but note the similarity of the Q3’s ride characteristics to those of the new VW T-Roc, a size under.

Inside is quiet and refined, and all of the Q3’s features are ergonomic and easy to use to the point where you take it for granted. But with the Sportback’s cropped rear window, seeing out the rear isn’t as easy as it is in the regular Q3.

The engine has sufficient power when the boost, and subsequently peak torque, sets in, the trouble is this can all happen very suddenly.

There’s a delay when stomping on the go-pedal, which is replaced a full second thereafter with a surge of torque. It takes a bit of getting used to working in a moment of restraint while you wait for power to arrive.

Get impatient, and the Q3 will simply spin its wheels off the line. It’s not a problem isolated to this car, but one I also found in other VW Group vehicles with similar drivetrains. The Tiguan comes to mind.

A neat trick is setting the Q3 into the sportier ‘Dynamic’ mode and then switching the transmission from ‘S’ to the regular Drive. This gives you the best of a more responsive powertrain without having the transmission hang around in gears for too long.

The six-speed can still be caught out fairly easily as it tries to be ‘smart’ about its changes to a fault. I wonder how well its computer would go about learning your driving patterns long-term.

All up, the Q3 offers a nice balance of SUV comfort and hatch-like sportiness thanks to its light frame. The turbo engine has its small issues, but there are no red flags here for urban commuters.

The Equinox’s handling isn’t superb and the ride could be more comfortable, but this is an SUV with far more good points than bad.

Such as impressive power from that four cylinder engine, and an all-wheel drive system which provides excellent traction, to the good visibility, and a stack of safety features.

But while I can excuse the average dynamics, the 12.7m turning circle proved annoying in car parks. Not knowing you can make U-turns in the space provided is an anxiety you should only experience when driving a bus.

Five-point turns aside, the LTZ-V is easy to drive, with accurate steering providing good road feel.

The Holden Equinox was given the maximum five-star ANCAP rating when it was tested in 2017.

Coming standard is advanced safety technology such as AEB with pedestrian detection, blind spot warning, rear cross traffic alert, lane keeping assistance and adaptive cruise control.

For child seats there are two ISOFIX mounts and three top-tether points. There’s also a rear-seat alert to remind you there are children sitting in the back, when you park and switch off the vehicle. Don’t scoff… it’s happened to parents before.

Front and rear parking sensors are standard, but in the media menu you can swap the ‘beeps’ for ‘buzzes’ that vibrate the seat to let you know when you’re getting close to objects.

The driver’s seat that is, if everybody’s seat buzzed that’d be weird. Actually, who am I kidding – it’s weird that even the driver’s seat buzzes. 

The rear-view camera is good, and the LTZ-V comes with a 360-degree view, as well – great for when kids are running around the car.

A space saver spare wheel sits under the boot floor.

Audi’s standard warranty offer of three years and unlimited kilometres is annoyingly short, but not unexpected from a premium brand.

The pressure is on though, with Mercedes-Benz and newcomer, Genesis, now offering five years of warranty coverage, as well as Japanese stalwart Lexus offering four years.

Audi was even considering making a promotional five-year unlimited kilometre warranty permanent at the time of writing, so hopefully that has come to pass by the time you’re reading this review. Time will tell.

Where Audi makes ground back though is its very competitive service pricing. We’d strongly recommend bundling in an Audi ‘Genuine Care’ service plan at the time of purchase which will make your servicing much cheaper.

Three years of servicing for the Q3 under this scheme is $1610, while five years is $2630 it’s worth it. All Q3s require servicing once every 12 months or 15,000km.

The Holden Equinox is covered by a five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty. At the time this review was published Holden was offering seven years’ free scheduled servicing.

But normally, the Equinox is covered by a capped price servicing program which recommends servicing annually or every 12,000km and costs $259 for the first visit, $339 for the second, $259 for the third, $339 for the fourth and $349 for the fifth.

So, how will servicing work after Holden closes down? In Holden’s February 17, 2020, announcement that the company will cease trading by 2021 it said that it would support Australian and New Zealand customers in honouring all existing warranties and guarantees, while providing servicing and spare parts for at least 10 years. The current seven-year free servicing offer will also be honoured.