Compare the2025 Audi Q3VS 2024 GMC Terrain

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Brakes and Stopping
Tires and Wheels
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Cargo Capacity
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 Terrain doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Audi Q3 are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The GMC Terrain doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

Both the Q3 and Terrain 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 Terrain’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 Terrain doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The Q3 has a standard Secondary Collision Brake Assist, which automatically applies the brakes in the event of a crash to help prevent secondary collisions and prevent further injuries. The Terrain doesn’t offer a post collision braking system: in the event of a collision that triggers the airbags, more collisions are possible without the protection of airbags that may have already deployed.

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

The Q3 has a standard blind spot warning system that 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 Terrain’s blind spot costs extra.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Q3 has standard Rear Cross-Traffic Assist and Automatic Brake Activation automatically engages the brakes to help avoid a collision. GMC charges extra for Rear Cross Traffic Alert on the Terrain and the Terrain’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert does not include automatic braking.

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

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 GMC Terrain:

	Q3	Terrain
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	88	109
Chest Movement	.7 inches	1.1 inches
Abdominal Force	95 lbs.	195 lbs.
Hip Force	333 lbs.	357 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	159	288
Spine Acceleration	43 G’s	55 G’s
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Max Damage Depth	13 inches	13 inches
Hip Force	485 lbs.	730 lbs.

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

Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Audi Q3 is safer than the Terrain:

	Q3	Terrain
Overall Evaluation	ACCEPTABLE	MARGINAL
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Neck Compression	67 lbs.	112 lbs.
Torso	ACCEPTABLE	MARGINAL
Shoulder Deflection	1.06 in	1.73 in
Shoulder Force	290 lbs.	312 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	1.22 in	1.69 in
Torso Deflection Rate	6 MPH	8 MPH
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD
	Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Head Injury Criterion	329	733
Head Peak Forces	no contact	101 G’s
Neck Compression	67 lbs.	491 lbs.
Torso	ACCEPTABLE	ACCEPTABLE
Shoulder Force	379 lbs.	402 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	MARGINAL

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 Terrain’s 3-year/36,000-mile basic warranty expires 1 year or 14,000 miles sooner.

The Q3’s corrosion warranty is 6 years and unlimited miles longer than the Terrain’s (12/unlimited vs. 6/100,000).

Reliability

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

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2024 Auto Issue reports that Audi vehicles are more reliable than GMC vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Audi 5 places higher in reliability than GMC.

Engine

The Q3 40 TFSI’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 9 more horsepower (184 vs. 175) and 18 lbs.-ft. more torque (221 vs. 203) than the Terrain’s 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder. The Q3 45 TFSI’s standard 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder produces 53 more horsepower (228 vs. 175) and 48 lbs.-ft. more torque (251 vs. 203) than the Terrain’s 1.5 turbo 4-cylinder.

Fuel Economy and Range

The Q3 has a gallon more fuel capacity than the Terrain FWD’s standard fuel tank (15.9 vs. 14.9 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups.

The Q3 has a standard locking fuel door which locks and unlocks with the power locks. The fuel filler door is not lockable on the Terrain. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank.

Brakes and Stopping

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

	Q3	Terrain
Front Rotors	13.4 inches	11.8 inches
Rear Rotors	11.8 inches	11.3 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 Terrain are solid, not vented.

Tires and Wheels

For better traction, the Q3 has larger standard tires than the Terrain (235/55R18 vs. 225/65R17). The Q3’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Terrain (255/45R19 vs. 235/50R19).

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 Terrain SLE/AT4’s standard 65 series tires. The Q3’s optional tires have a lower 40 series profile than the Terrain’s optional 50 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Q3 has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Terrain SLE/AT4. The Q3’s optional 20-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels optional on the Terrain.

Suspension and Handling

The Q3 has standard front and rear stabilizer bars, which help keep the Q3 flat and controlled during cornering. The Terrain’s suspension doesn’t offer a rear stabilizer bar.

Chassis

The Q3 is 5.7 inches shorter than the Terrain, making the Q3 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

Cargo Capacity

A standard locking glovebox keeps your small valuables safer in the Q3. The Terrain doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

Servicing Ease

The Q3 uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The Terrain 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.

Ergonomics

The Q3’s front and rear power windows all open or close with one touch of the switches, making it more convenient at drive-up windows and toll booths, or when talking with someone outside of the car. The Terrain’s passenger windows don’t close automatically.

If the windows are left open on the Q3 the driver can close them all at the outside door handle or from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can lower the windows from a distance using the keyless remote. The driver of the Terrain can only close the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

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 Terrain’s manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

Heated windshield washer nozzles are standard on the Q3 to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The Terrain doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

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 Terrain doesn’t offer cornering lights.

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 Terrain has an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

Both the Audi Q3 and GMC Terrain offer exterior mirrors that can be folded to provide convenience. The Q3 offers optional power folding mirrors, which allow for easy, one-touch folding or unfolding at the driver’s discretion. This provides added convenience when maneuvering or parking, as well as when walking past the parked vehicle. In comparison, the Terrain’s foldable mirrors are manual, requiring the driver to get out and physically fold them once parked and unfold them before getting in.

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 costs extra on the Terrain.

Economic Advantages

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Q3 is less expensive to operate than the Terrain because it costs $309 less to do the manufacturer’s suggested maintenance for 50,000 miles. Typical repairs cost much less on the Q3 than the Terrain, including $669 less for a muffler, $132 less for front brake pads, $66 less for fuel injection, $430 less for a fuel pump and $55 less for a timing belt/chain.

Recommendations

Consumer Reports® recommends the Audi Q3, based on reliability, safety and performance. The GMC Terrain isn't recommended.

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