Audi Q3 vs Maserati Levante
What's the difference?

Audi Q3

$58,700 - $84,327

2026 price

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Maserati Levante

—

2021 price

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Summary

2026 Audi Q3

2021 Maserati Levante

By Stephen Ottley

By Stephen Corby

Safety Rating

Engine Type

Turbo 4, 1.5L

Twin Turbo V8, 3.8L

Fuel Type

Premium Unleaded Petrol

Fuel Efficiency

5.8L/100km (combined)

0.0L/100km (combined)

Seating

Likes

Stylish, premium looks
Well-integrated technology
Good active safety calibration

That engine
Surprisingly capable on track
Rear-biased AWD

Dislikes

No PHEV option (yet)
A few rattles in our test car
Small back seat

Not the prettiest Maserati
Seems strange to want to track one
Expensive

2026 Audi Q3 Summary

Replacing a popular model is fraught with danger. Existing customers will tell you they love it, while focus groups of non-customers will tell you why they hate it and sometimes carmakers get caught trying to appease both groups.

Sometimes they’ll make it too big or change too much in the search for more sales and ultimately end up removing the elements that made it popular in the first place.

Which is why Audi has been extra careful with some subtle evolution for this new-generation Q3 SUV and Sportback. This isn’t just a popular model for Audi Australia, it has been the best-selling model for the German brand for more than five years, so getting it wrong would be a disaster.

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2021 Maserati Levante Summary

Driving a whopping great SUV down the straight on a race track at more than 200km/h sounds like fun, but it actually feels a bit wrong, like entering a baby elephant in a dog show.

These are strange times, of course, and the Maserati Trofeo Levante is a suitably strange vehicle - stylish, classy, expensively appointed family hauler that also has the heart and soul of a race car.

Indeed, while performance SUVs are an increasingly commonplace vehicle, the Levante - which was actually getting along in the tooth as a model before this significant upgrade - has higher performance credibility than most.

That's because it has a big Ferrari V8 driving all four of its wheels and delivering a properly supercar-like 433kW and 730Nm.

It's not what you might call a typical Maserati buyer's car, but then only those who know what the Trofeo badge stands for - shouty insanity, basically - will be interested in this end of town. It is a lot of car, but is it worth the large load of money on the sticker ($330,000)?

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Deep dive comparison

2026 Audi Q3 2021 Maserati Levante

Verdict

So is this new Q3 good enough to remain Audi’s number one choice? In a word, yes.

Audi has resisted the temptation that some brands fall into by making too many changes to a proven sales performer. This new Q3 isn’t radically different from the old Q3, but it has improved in almost every way.

It isn’t different enough to widely expand its appeal to a new wave of customers, but there’s no reason it won’t remain Audi’s most popular choice for the foreseeable future.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with travel, accommodation and meals provided.

Verdict

Maseratis are built for a fairly specific niche buyer; someone with a lot of money, someone slightly older and certainly someone who likes the finer things in life and appreciates Italian style, quality and heritage.

They are not, typically, the kind of buyers who want to tear around race tracks like fiends in big, shouty SUVs. But apparently there is a niche within the niche of Maserati fans who do, and they are willing to invest big dollars in vehicles wearing the Trofeo badge, like this Levante.

It might seem a slightly strange creation, a track-mad SUV with a screaming Ferrari engine, but surprisingly, it really does work.

Audi Q3 vs Maserati Levante What's the difference?

Summary

Deep dive comparison

Verdict

Verdict

Audi Q3 vs Maserati Levante
What's the difference?