Compare the2023 Audi Q3VS 2023 Toyota Rav4

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Servicing Ease
Ergonomics
Economic Advantages
Recommendations

Safety

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The Q3’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Rav4 doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the Q3 and Rav4 have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Q3 has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The Rav4’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Audi Q3 has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Rav4 doesn’t offer a front passenger side knee airbag.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Q3. But it costs extra on the Rav4.

The Q3 has a standard blind spot warning system which uses sensors to alert the driver to objects in the vehicle’s blind spots where the side view mirrors don’t reveal them. A system to reveal vehicles in the Rav4’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Q3 has a standard rear cross-path warning system, which uses sensors in the rear bumper to alert the driver to vehicles approaching from the side, helping the driver avoid collisions. Rear cross-path warning costs extra on the Rav4.

Both the Q3 and the Rav4 have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras and available around view monitors.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Audi Q3 is safer than the Toyota Rav4:

	Q3	Rav4
	Driver
STARS	4 Stars	4 Stars
Neck Compression	35 lbs.	56 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	235/363 lbs.	400/388 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Audi Q3 is safer than the Toyota Rav4:

	Q3	Rav4
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Abdominal Force	95 lbs.	138 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Spine Acceleration	43 G’s	49 G’s
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	13 inches	14 inches
Hip Force	485 lbs.	835 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Warranty

The Q3 comes with a full 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire truck and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Rav4’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

The Q3’s corrosion warranty is 7 years longer than the Rav4’s (12 vs. 5 years).

Reliability

The Audi Q3’s engine uses a cast iron block for durability, while the Rav4’s engine uses an aluminum block. Aluminum engine blocks are much more prone to warp and crack at high temperatures than cast iron.

To reliably power the ignition and other systems and to recharge the battery, the Q3 has a 140-amp alternator. The Rav4’s standard 100-amp alternator isn’t as powerful.

Engine

The Q3’s 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 25 more horsepower (228 vs. 203) and 74 lbs.-ft. more torque (258 vs. 184) than the Rav4’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Car and Driver the Audi Q3 is faster than the Toyota Rav4:

	Q3	Rav4
Zero to 60 MPH	7.4 sec	8.2 sec
Zero to 100 MPH	19.3 sec	22.9 sec
5 to 60 MPH Rolling Start	8.3 sec	8.7 sec
Quarter Mile	15.7 sec	16.4 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	91 MPH	87 MPH
Top Speed	130 MPH	122 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

The Q3 has 1.4 gallons more fuel capacity than the Rav4 (15.9 vs. 14.5 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Audi Q3 higher (7 out of 10) than the Toyota Rav4 (6). This means the Q3 produces up to 1.1 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Rav4 every 15,000 miles.

Brakes and Stopping

For better stopping power the Q3’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Rav4:

	Q3	Rav4
Front Rotors	13.4 inches	12 inches
Rear Rotors	11.8 inches	11.1 inches
Opt Rear Rotors	12.2 inches

The Q3’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Rav4 are solid, not vented.

The Q3 stops shorter than the Rav4:

	Q3	Rav4
70 to 0 MPH	160 feet	168 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	125 feet	134 feet	Motor Trend
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	135 feet	140 feet	Consumer Reports

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Q3 has larger standard tires than the Rav4 (235/55R18 vs. 225/65R17). The Q3’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Rav4 (255/45R19 vs. 235/55R19).

The Q3’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Rav4 LE/XLE’s standard 65 series tires. The Q3’s optional tires have a lower 40 series profile than the Rav4 XLE Premium/Adventure/Limited’s 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Q3 has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Rav4 LE/XLE. The Q3’s optional 20-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels on the Rav4 XLE Premium/Adventure/Limited.

Suspension and Handling

The Q3 has vehicle speed sensitive variable-assist power steering, for low-effort parking, better control at highway speeds and during hard cornering, and a better feel of the road. The Rav4 doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

The Q3 handles at .91 G’s, while the Rav4 Limited 4WD pulls only .81 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Q3 executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the Rav4 Limited (28.4 seconds @ .65 average G’s vs. 28.9 seconds @ .57 average G’s).

Chassis

The Q3 is 4.3 inches shorter than the Rav4, making the Q3 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Servicing Ease

The Q3 uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Rav4 uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Audi service is better than Toyota. J.D. Power ranks Audi 8th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 17% lower rating, Toyota is ranked 20th.

Ergonomics

The Q3’s power window, power lock and power mirror switches are lit from behind, making them plainly visible and easier to operate at night. The Rav4’s power window (except driver window), power lock and power mirror switches are unlit, making them difficult to find at night and operate safely.

The Q3’s rain-sensitive wipers adjust their speed and turn on and off automatically based on the amount of rainfall on the windshield. This allows the driver to concentrate on driving without constantly adjusting the wipers. The Rav4 LE’s standard fixed intermittent wipers only have one fixed delay setting, so the driver will have to manually switch them between slow and intermittent.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the Q3 Premium Plus has standard cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The Rav4 doesn’t offer cornering lights.

The Q3’s standard outside mirrors include heating elements to clear off the mirrors for better visibility. Toyota charges extra for heated mirrors on the Rav4.

The Q3’s optional rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Rav4 offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The Q3 has a standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. Dual zone air conditioning is only available on the Rav4 XLE/Adventure/Limited/TRD Off-Road.

Economic Advantages

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Q3 is less expensive to operate than the Rav4 because typical repairs cost much less on the Q3 than the Rav4, including $3 less for front brake pads, $269 less for a fuel pump and $323 less for a timing belt/chain.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Audi Q3 and the Toyota Rav4, based on reliability, safety and performance.

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