As a souped up version of the RS3 SUV, this model was first launched in 2013 with its nearest rival being the Mercedes-AMG GLA45. 

Before you comment on the colour of the Audi RS Q3 sportback, Kyalami Green, let me tell you that this car is so sought after that before it was backed off the transporter at an Auckland dealership a person wanted to buy it.

And that person isn’t the only one; Audi has been so inundated with demand for it that it’s been pulled off the press fleet (where it gets sent around the country for motoring writers to review) so it can be sold.

But yes, it’s a bright colour – and it wakes you up in the morning when you see it! And you won’t lose it in a crowded car park. 

Around Auckland it turned heads, so imagine the reception when three friends and I headed to Te Awamutu to visit another pal. That Waikato town has never seen the likes of something like that and the locals are probably still talking about it!

The five-door RS Q3 is 4410mm long, 2019mm wide and 1580mm high and has a 2.5-litre petrol engine. That engine has been updated to be cleaner (thanks to a petrol particulate filter), lighter (an aluminium crankcase saves 18kg) and more powerful than ever before, producing 294kW of power and 480Nm of torque. 

It goes from 0-100km/h in 4.1 seconds and a top speed of 250km/h.

It comes with quattro (Audi’s four-wheel-drive system) as standard and  has a seven speed S Tronic transmission.

As a souped up version of the RS3 SUV, this model was first launched in 2013 with its nearest rival being the Mercedes-AMG GLA45. 

Priced from $114,900, the RS Q3 rides 10mm lower than a regular Q3, and has RS-tuned suspension. When it comes to looks, it gets new bumpers and skirts, flared wheel arches and big wheels with 19in alloys as standard. It also has a dual-exit exhaust, in place of the old RSQ3’s single tailpipe.

Inside there are some comfortable seats and a flat-bottomed steering wheel. The boot had cargo netting that was ideal for securing supermarket shopping bags, or in the case of our road trip, some goodies for our friend.

Originally I wasn’t going to take the RS Q3 on the road trip as two of my friends are around 1.75m tall and I was worried they’d feel cramped. Nope, not one complaint and instead compliments during the four hour-plus return trip. They said there was plenty of head and leg room, and even when our Te Awamutu friend squeezed into the back seat for a short trip into town for lunch, there were no complaints.

It’s a great test of a vehicle to see how a small SUV copes with front and backseat passengers, rather than just me driving the vehicle alone. 

Turning off SH1 near Rangiri, I took the back roads alongside the Waikato river through Huntley and Ngaruawahia, then wound my way through the country to Te Awamutu (or TA as the locals call it).

These roads are great to test the RS mode (with a tap of a button on the steering wheel) with the dynamic engine superb for the country roads. When I needed to overtake a pottering local, I just tapped on the accelerator and off we went with a little snort from the engine.

Even on the return journey when we were stuck in Sunday evening traffic on the Southern motorway, delaying our home trip, the RS Q3 sportback was a comfortable space to be in.

While the Audi proved ideal for a road trip, it’s also at home in the city, as it’s small enough to park in most spots, nimble to manoeuvre around chicanes and with that sporty pep needed when taking off at traffic lights.

The price puts it up against BMW M235i xDrive (AutoMuse review on this car will be up soon), and when it gets here, the new Mercedes-AMG GLA 45.