Compare the2024 Audi Q3VS 2024 Lincoln Corsair

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 Corsair doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the Q3 and Corsair 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 Corsair’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.

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

When descending a steep, off-road slope, the Q3’s standard Hill Descent Control allows you to creep down safely. The Corsair doesn’t offer Hill Descent Control.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Q3 has standard Rear Cross-Traffic Assist with Automatic Brake Activation, systems which detect vehicles approaching from the sides and can automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. Rear Cross Traffic Braking costs extra on the Corsair.

Both the Q3 and the Corsair have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning 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, results indicate that the Audi Q3 is safer than the Lincoln Corsair:

	Q3	Corsair
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	88	197
Chest Movement	.7 inches	.9 inches
Abdominal Force	95 lbs.	191 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Hip Force	632 lbs.	816 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 Corsair:

	Q3	Corsair
Overall Evaluation	ACCEPTABLE	MARGINAL
Structure	ACCEPTABLE	ACCEPTABLE
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	190	391
Head Peak Forces	no contact	93 G’s
Neck Tension	335 lbs.	379 lbs.
Torso	ACCEPTABLE	MARGINAL
Shoulder Deflection	1.06 in	1.1 in
Torso Max Deflection	1.22 in	1.77 in
Torso Deflection Rate	6 MPH	8 MPH
Head Protection	GOOD	MARGINAL
	Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Neck Tension	112 lbs.	201 lbs.
Torso	ACCEPTABLE	ACCEPTABLE
Pelvis	ACCEPTABLE	ACCEPTABLE
Pelvis Force	1049 lbs.	1093 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD

For its top level performance in IIHS driver and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, side impact, roof strength and head restraint tests, its standard front crash prevention system, and its headlight’s “Good” rating, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Q3 its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2019, a rating granted to only 127 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The Corsair is only a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2019.

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

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

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Q3 first among small premium suvs in their 2023 Initial Quality Study. The Corsair isn’t in the top three in its category.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Audi vehicles are more reliable than Lincoln vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Audi 4 places higher in reliability than Lincoln.

On the EPA test cycle the Q3 40 TFSI gets better fuel mileage than the Corsair 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder AWD running its gasoline engine (22 city/29 hwy vs. 21 city/28 hwy).

The Q3 has 4.8 gallons more fuel capacity than the Corsair Grand Touring’s standard fuel tank (15.9 vs. 11.1 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 Corsair. A locking fuel door helps prevent fuel theft and vandalism, such as sugar in the tank.

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

	Q3	Corsair
Front Rotors	13.4 inches	12.1 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 Corsair are solid, not vented.

The Q3 stops much shorter than the Corsair:

	Q3	Corsair
70 to 0 MPH	160 feet	179 feet	Car and Driver
60 to 0 MPH	126 feet	128 feet	Consumer Reports
60 to 0 MPH (Wet)	135 feet	139 feet	Consumer Reports

For better traction, the Q3 has larger standard tires than the Corsair (235/55R18 vs. 225/60R18). The Q3’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Corsair (255/45R19 vs. 245/45R20).

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 Corsair Premiere’s standard 60 series tires. The Q3’s optional tires have a lower 40 series profile than the Corsair’s optional 45 series tires.

The Q3 handles at .91 G’s, while the Corsair Reserve AWD pulls only .83 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Q3 is 4.8 inches shorter than the Corsair, making the Q3 easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

J.D. Power and Associates surveys of service recipients show that Audi service is better than Lincoln. J.D. Power ranks Audi 8th in service department satisfaction (above the industry average). With a 11% lower rating, Lincoln is ranked 12th.

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 Corsair’s standard intermittent wipers change speed with vehicle speed, but can’t turn on and off or change speed based on changing rainfall.

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 Corsair doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) conducts detailed tests on headlights for their range both straight ahead and in curves and to be certain they don’t exceed acceptable amounts of glare to oncoming drivers. The Q3’s available headlights were rated “Good” by the IIHS, while the Corsair’s headlights are rated “Acceptable” to “Poor.”

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Q3 is less expensive to operate than the Corsair because it costs $272 less to do the manufacturer’s suggested maintenance for 50,000 miles. Typical repairs cost much less on the Q3 than the Corsair, including $341 less for a muffler, $68 less for front brake pads, $271 less for a fuel pump, $206 less for a timing belt/chain and $110 less for a power steering pump.

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