New Audi Q3 vs New Volvo XC40

Buying and owning

Costs, equipment, reliability, safety and security

At the time of writing, our Target Price mystery shoppers couldn’t get a discount on the new Audi Q3, whereas Volvo dealers were happy to knock more than £1400 off the list price of the Volvo XC40. The latter also works out cheaper on PCP finance, costing £7 per month less than the Q3 on the same three-year, 10,000-miles-per-year term with a £3400 deposit.

Despite the fact that the XC40 is expected to depreciate at a slower rate, it will be the more expensive to run over three years if you’re a private buyer, because it’s significantly thirstier than the Q3, it’s more expensive to service and it sits in a higher insurance group.

There’s mixed news for company car drivers, too. Your fleet manager might offer you the XC40 only, given that it’s £88 per month cheaper to lease, but it will cost you around £70 more in benefit-in-kind tax each year.

Although you’ll almost certainly want to add a few options to both, standard kit is still good. Dual-zone climate control, ambient lighting, cruise control, automatic lights and wipers, an auto-dimming rear-view mirror and big alloy wheels (18in on the XC40, 19in on the Q3) are all included.

On the safety front, both cars get a five-star rating from Euro NCAP and come with automatic emergency braking (AEB) and lane-keeping assistance as standard. 

However, should you find yourself in an incident, the XC40 will protect adults and children inside a little better than the Q3.

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