Compare the2026 Audi Q3VS 2025 Dodge Hornet

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 Hornet doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

Both the Q3 and Hornet 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 Hornet’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.

In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Q3 are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The Hornet doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Q3 has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Hornet doesn’t offer front seat center 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 Hornet 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.

The Audi Q3 offers an optional Top View Camera System and it also offers an optional rear camera washer to make backing always safe, regardless of road dirt or grime, while the Dodge Hornet doesn’t offer a camera washer, requiring manual cleaning.

Both the Q3 and Hornet have rear cross-traffic warning, but the Q3 has Automatic Brake Activation (automatically applies the brakes) to better prevent a collision when backing near traffic. The Hornet’s Rear Cross Traffic Alert doesn’t automatically brake.

Both the Q3 and the Hornet have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, all wheel drive, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available around view monitors.

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 Hornet’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 Hornet’s (12 vs. 5 years).

Audi pays for scheduled maintenance on the Q3 for 3 years and 30,000 miles. Audi will pay for oil changes, tire rotations, air filter replacements, brake fluid replacement, inspections, and any other required maintenance. Dodge doesn’t pay scheduled maintenance for the Hornet.

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

On the EPA test cycle the Q3 gets better fuel mileage than the Hornet GT running its gasoline engine (22 city/29 hwy vs. 21 city/29 hwy).

The Q3 has 5.2 gallons more fuel capacity than the Hornet R/T’s standard fuel tank (16.4 vs. 11.2 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Q3 has 2.9 gallons more fuel capacity than the Hornet GT’s standard fuel tank (16.4 vs. 13.5 gallons).

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Audi Q3 higher (6 out of 10) than the Dodge Hornet (5 to 6). This means the Q3 produces up to 6.9 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the Hornet every 15,000 miles.

The Q3 offers an available sequential manual gearbox (SMG). With no clutch pedal to worry about and a fully automatic mode, an SMG is much more efficient than a conventional automatic but just as easy to drive. The Hornet doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

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

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 Hornet are solid, not vented.

For better traction, the Q3 has larger standard tires than the Hornet (235/55R18 vs. 215/60R17). The Q3’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Hornet (255/45R19 vs. 235/40R20).

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 Hornet GT’s standard 60 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Q3 has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Hornet GT.

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 Hornet doesn’t offer variable-assist power steering.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Q3’s wheelbase is 1.8 inches longer than on the Hornet (105.6 inches vs. 103.8 inches).

The front grille of the Q3 uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The Hornet doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Q3 has 1 inch more front shoulder room and .3 inches more rear shoulder room than the Hornet.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Q3’s rear seats recline. The Hornet’s rear seats don’t recline.

The front step up height for the Q3 is 2.3 inches lower than the Hornet (17.5” vs. 19.8”). The Q3’s rear step up height is 1.7 inches lower than the Hornet’s (18” vs. 19.7”).

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the Q3 easier. The Q3’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 27.8 inches, while the Hornet’s liftover is 31.8 inches.

The Q3’s cargo area is larger than the Hornet’s in every dimension:

A standard locking glovebox (which can’t be accessed with the valet key) keeps your small valuables safer in the Q3. The Hornet doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

The Q3’s standard easy entry system glides the driver’s seat back, making it easier for the driver to get in and out. The Hornet doesn’t offer an easy entry system.

The Q3 offers an optional heads-up display that projects speed and driver assistance information readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Hornet doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

The Q3’s standard Audi Advanced Key allows you to unlock the doors from any outside door handle, open the cargo door, and start the engine, all without removing the key from the pocket or purse. Keyless Enter-N-Go standard on the Hornet doesn’t offer a sensor on the rear doors, so you’ll have to reach a front handle to unlock the rear door.

In poor weather, headlights can lose their effectiveness as grime builds up on their lenses. This can reduce visibility without the driver realizing. The Q3 has standard headlight washers to keep headlight output high. The Hornet doesn’t offer headlight washers.

When the Q3 is put in reverse, the passenger rearview mirror tilts from its original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirror into its original position. The Hornet’s mirror doesn’t automatically adjust for backing.

The Q3’s standard 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 Hornet offers an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The Audi Q3 has a standard Homelink wireless remote control system for garage door operation and device management, conveniently located on the rear view mirror. Homelink® eliminates the need for separate garage door openers and associated risks of losing, breaking, or having dead batteries. Dodge charges extra for Homelink® on the Hornet.

To quickly and conveniently keep personal devices charged without cables tangling and wearing out, the Audi Q3 has a standard wireless phone charging system (Qi) in the center console. Wireless charging costs extra on the Hornet.

The Q3’s optional Park Assist Plus can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. Park Assist Plus will park and retrieve your car remotely: press a button and watch it park itself. This is ideal for tight locations. The Hornet’s automatic parking system requires operating the brakes and transmission to safely park and it doesn’t offer remote control parking.

The Audi Q3 outsold the Dodge Hornet by almost three to one during 2025.