Audi RS3 – AutoWeek Test

What’s new about the Audi RS 3?

Forget everything you’ve read and heard about the Audi RS 3. In its latest guise, the car has undergone a metamorphosis from its predecessors. Of course, they were very fast and growled dangerously, but they forgot that the driver wanted to be involved in the revelry. The new RS 3 now makes up for that. And how!

The new RS 3 is based on the fourth generation of Audi’s compact mid-sized car, which was unveiled in February 2020. In addition to the five-door Sportback, a four-door Saloon of the RS 3 is also available. The technology in particular received a thorough upgrade. That does not even apply to the 2.5-liter five-cylinder, because it delivers a power of 400 hp as usual. However, the torque improved by 20 Nm: that is now 500 newton meters.

No, the progress is mainly in the way the RS 3 displays its powers. The previous two generations were plagued by exasperating understeer. In addition, some tension was nowhere to be found. Not the sliding butt when letting go of the throttle like in the Honda Civic Type R or Renault Mégane RS, not the technology to be able to drift on power like in the Ford Focus RS or Mercedes A 45 AMG. But that’s all different now. Audi has finally realized that buyers of the RS 3 want to be treated to driving pleasure.

Still a five-cylinder, you won’t find that anywhere else!

Impressive appearance, that RS 3, but name some performance figures?

Every generation of Audi’s RS models gets fatter and thicker, and the RS 3 is no exception. Of course, the color of the test car does a lot (Kialamy green, at no extra cost), but apart from that, the car is considerably expanded. The thick grille looks even thicker than before and the RS front bumper, together with the bulging wheel arches, provides an impressive appearance in the interior mirror of every predecessor. At the back we find the well-known oval RS exhausts, which are unfortunately short and fake. Very nice: when you unlock the car, the LED lights on the front show the name RS 3 and a finish flag with the matrix pixels.

Take a look under the hood. There is little to see of the five-cylinder itself. The 2.5 TFSI engine has been the last five-cylinder on the market for some time now and is also in the TT RS and RS Q3. The turbo can just be seen and supplies all five cylinders with intake air with a maximum of 1.5 bar overpressure. The engine is mated to an S Tronic dual clutch transmission, which has seven forward gears and changes gears faster in the Sport program than in Comfort.

Quattro all-wheel drive is a matter of course in the RS versions of Audi. Despite the fine five-cylinder roll and the beautiful character of the engine, the years are starting to count for this powertrain. The turbo clearly needs to get up to speed and you notice that a lot of mass has to be started. Once in the mid-range rev range, the engine starts to smear its smoothness, proving once again that the impressive paper power doesn’t always tell the whole story.

Okay, the performance figures. The Audi RS 3 can reach 100 km/h in 3.7 seconds. This makes it two tenths of a second faster than the more powerful Mercedes-AMG A 45 S 4Matic. Audi has limited the top speed to 250 km/h, but for an additional fee you can have it increased to 280 km/h. The intermediate sprints are also impressive: if you floor the accelerator at 80 km/h, you are 2.3 seconds later at 120 km/h. During the test, we scored an average consumption of 1 to 9.9. Not bad at all, considering the engine’s explosiveness.

Sporty, but business-like interior.

And what do you notice about all that violence on the road?

There are hyperhatchbacks where the chassis is tuned more extreme, such as the Mercedes-AMG A 45. In the Comfort mode, the RS 3 even feels quite smooth suspension. But when you look for the limits, pure amazement takes over. When you take an exit at high speed, you feel how the rear cooperates to get the nose in the right direction. The rear starts to push outwards, pushing even more and the butt goes so hard that countersteer is needed to keep the nose on track. And all without a drop of sweat on your forehead or in your hands. Crazy!

In drift mode, with ESP switched off, you send so much power to a left or right rear wheel that you can turn donuts with the car or possibly put down some kind of drift in a long bend. Still, this is more of a gimmick to show what’s possible in theory than anything useful. It is better to switch on the Performance mode and let the technology do its job, with or without small trips from the rear to get the nose in the right direction.

With a push of the RS button, the RS 3 is immediately armed.

What else do you get for goodies when you buy the RS 3?

Nevertheless, the Audi RS 3 can be used as a daily car. Behind the wheel you are surrounded by luxury and high-tech. That is also allowed, because the price of the car runs with some tasty options hard towards the ton. For the same money you can buy a Porsche Macan … A competitor like the Volkswagen Golf R is a lot cheaper, the new BMW M2 Coupé (with rear-wheel drive and 460 hp strong six-cylinder) is even listed for 114,000 euros.

The equipment of the RS 3 is as you would expect from such an expensive sports car. You sit in a comfortable chair, in an environment that is beautifully finished and with a view of a digital set of instruments, the layout of which can be adjusted in many ways to your personal preferences. The safety equipment is also extensive: full-LED headlights, collision warning with recognition of pedestrians and cyclists, lane departure warning, an evasive assistant, traffic sign recognition and rear parking aid are all included in the price. Matrix LED headlights, adaptive cruise control and adaptive drive assist with emergency assist – which takes over the driver’s duties in an emergency – are optionally available.

If we look at the option price list, we see a lot of attractive accessories to upgrade the sportiness of the RS 3. Such as the RS-Dynamic package, which consists of carbon-ceramic brake discs, the RS sports suspension with adaptive damper control and a further 10 km/h more top speed than the optional 280 km/h option.

Optionally, you can replace these steel discs with carbon fiber ones.

The choice of AutoWeek test coordinator Marco Gorter

Do not think that the thickest A3 is immediately complete for almost a ton. You get the spectacular green color as a gift, but a number of performance-enhancing things are not. For example, the sports exhaust worth €1,210 is very tempting and the adaptive mufflers with the same value make the RS 3 more pleasant for everyday use. The latter are also included in the RS Dynamic package and then you have ceramic brake discs at the front. That will cost €7,865. Can you do 290 km/h from Audi?