Audi Q3

The Q3 is one of the few Audis where front-wheel drive genuinely appears in the stock — sunbelt states send FWD examples. Even so, quattro clearly dominates; front-drive is a minority, but a premium crossover on front-drive alone loses value here, so run the VIN. The quattro uses a 5th-gen Haldex — its oil needs changing every 40,000 km or the electronics burn out.

The hidden bonus is the gearbox. Where Europe suffers en masse with the dual-clutch S-Tronic/DSG, the US Q3 on both generations (8U and F3) runs classic torque-converter automatics (a 6-speed Aisin on the old, an 8-speed on the new) — brutally durable, smooth, without the costly mechatronic and clutch problems.

The engine is the 2.0 TFSI (EA888): up to 2018 it is Gen 2 (200 hp) — watch the chain and oil use; from 2019 it is Gen 3/Gen 4 ('40 TFSI' 184 hp, '45 TFSI' 228 hp) — cleaned up and lively.

The body is identical to the European car, apart from the headlamps (no 'E' mark) and the red turn signals, which are converted before the roadworthiness inspection.