Audi RS3 review

• Overview
• What is it?
• Did much change with the latest version? 
• What about the fancy tech stuff? 
• There’s a lot going on…
• Does sound a bit complicated…
• And is the car fun to drive? 
• Any bad things? 
• Our choice from the range
• What's the verdict?
• Mercedes-Benz AMG A45
• Driving
• What is it like to drive?
• How’s the engine?
• What’s this torque splitter all about?
• Litchfield Audi RS3 review: Brit-tuned 500bhp quattro driven
• Audi RS3 Sportback review: UK test of new 395bhp hatch
• Road Test: Audi RS3 2.5 TFSI RS 3 Quattro 5dr S Tronic
• Interior
• What is it like on the inside?
• Does it feel special?
• Is it still practical though? 
• Buying
• What should I be paying?
• Should we talk about value for money? 

Overview

What is it?

We’ve enjoyed four generations of Audi’s venerable A3 hatchback, but this is the third iteration of its monstrous RS-badged alter-ego, and only the second generation of the saloon variant of the car (which incidentally holds the lap record around the Nürburgring for compact cars if that floats your boat).

As ever, it mixes a blend of the same general ingredients – among which are the excellent 2.5-litre 5cyl turbocharged petrol engine that drives all four wheels through Audi’s quattro system and the highly respectable A3 base that makes it a practical everyday car.

Did much change with the latest version? 

At first, it does look like a bit of a massage – there’s no more power than before (394bhp) and slightly more torque (369lb ft), although both more accessible than they were. But just to look at the car on paper is to sell it a little short, you need to drive it of course.

The newest version of the RS3 has bigger intakes, wider tracks and impressively boxy arches. It’s also marginally longer, wider and taller than the previous RS3 Sportback, but with the same wheelbase, and comes equipped with less luggage space (by about 50 litres).

What about the fancy tech stuff? 

All cars in the UK get adaptive damping, plus what Audi calls the ‘RS torque splitter’ to distribute a maximum of 50 per cent of available torque between the two rear wheels. There are optional ceramic brakes (which save 10kg), an optional RS exhaust – standard on some models – and a new mVDC (vehicle dynamics controller) which is intended to allow better/faster integration of the chassis systems.

Oh, and there are configurable lights on some models (LEDs are standard) that can spell out ‘R… S… 3’ and then a chequered flag in 8-bit when you approach the car. Still not sure whether it’s genius or utterly appalling. You might want to blip the fob from behind a tree and make a run for the driver’s seat.

There’s a lot going on…

Yes, the RS3 is a busy little bee with lots to keep you engaged. Take the Audi Drive Select system for example, which features seven different settings (Auto, Comfort, Dynamic, Efficiency, RS Individual, RS Performance and RS Torque Rear). After that, the ‘RS Individual’ mode allows a triplet of adjustments to the drive system, suspension – where ‘Comfortable’ is a long-legged performance setting different to ‘Comfort’ – steering, engine sound, and stability control intervention thresholds.

Does sound a bit complicated…

If you want to put the time in you can get your own fine-tuned set-up out of the car, but it’s all a bit annoying at first. Worth persevering with though, the initial bit is a faff, you can programme your settings to be applied with a double press of the RS button on the steering wheel. The first jab gets you RS Performance mode.

And is the car fun to drive? 

Overall the RS3 is deeply impressive. The engine warbles away, grip is consistent and strong, body control just the right side of telling you what’s going on without leaning. But the best bit is the damping, because it makes all the systems feel remarkably natural – on a bumpy, unknown B-road, this would be the car to have. And we’d count supercars in there, too. You don’t get knocked off line, the steering is very accurate, even if it’s not the most chatty of systems – and nothing skips. If the tyres are in contact with the floor, they’re working, and they work hard for the RS3.

Any bad things? 

If we’re being very picky, the car can feel a little too front-wheel drive on very slick roads, although that’s probably the safest option, to be honest. But once you start to trust the car and give it more aggressive inputs, it becomes remarkably neutral. Weirdly, the Sportback hatch feels a bit keener on the twisty stuff, and the saloon a tad better at high speed stability, but that could be simply preconception – it’s the same gear underneath.

The good thing is that the high-quality ride translates when going slowly. Yes, the ride can nibble a little at bad surfaces, but you could absolutely have this as a daily driver without compromising your spinal integrity.

Our choice from the range

Audi

RS 3 TFSI Quattro Vorsprung 5dr S Tronic

£57,250

The best of the RS3 is buried under layers of customisable options, data and a capability in any conditions. The onus is on the driver to pick the right combination, which is a lot of pressure for both car and driver, but when you get there it’s brilliant. The RS3 is a really good car on the right kind of wrong road, and it’s usable for much more of the year than more exotic options.

So is this the best megahatch on the market? Well, the main competition comes from the Mercedes-AMG A45 S, a similarly speedy, similarly priced 400-ish bhp AWD hatchback. But they’re actually quite different. Where the Merc is angry and pointy and hard, the Audi is more cultured, better damped and much less aggressive. It’s certainly not slower though – and especially not on a bouncy B-road – this is probably as fast an A to B point car down an unknown road as you’re likely to get short of something with rally stickers and a roll cage.

It’s not as visceral as something like the Merc – despite being the same power and also AWD – but the fact that it feels like it’s more on your side makes it just as quick. You’ll feel like you’re going faster in the A45, but you probably aren’t. More than that though, the RS3 now feels like it’s starting to get really comfortable in its own skin; it’s a confident, worthwhile, capable car, with a side order of madness not far off. Just don’t spec it in Kyalami green.

Mercedes-Benz AMG A45

Continue reading: Driving

Driving

What is it like to drive?

Despite being capable of dispatching 0-62mph in 3.6 seconds (Audi claims 3.8 but we’ve clocked it quicker) and 180mph (with the optional Dynamic Pack installed), the RS3 is actually pretty amiable when you’re just trundling about town. Yes, it can be a bit fractious at low speed over an uneven road, but it’s not something that really stands out. It’s firm, but the damping makes it a more comfortable drive than even some mass market hatches.

The car manages the Jekyll and Hyde switch very well as you turn up the volume. It’s a great everyday option. It’s when the going gets tough that the RS3 really shines, though, because it maintains its damping excellence even over the roughest of surfaces. If the tyres are in contact with the road, the car is gripping – the all-wheel drive system that feels a bit front-wheel drive suddenly feels very four square and dependable, and there’s agility to spare, even on surface changes.

How’s the engine?

The turbo’d five-cylinder pulls hard, and although you can trigger some hesitancy from the gearbox if you surprise it, there’s plenty of torque to keep the RS3 rowing along at a startling rate. But more than that, it feels reliable and confident – an ally.

Add to that a set of decent brakes and it’s a heady combination – although we suspect the carbon-ceramic brake option is probably only strictly necessary for those who want to hammer track days. The standard brakes could do with a touch more feel though – modulation isn’t something the system does particularly well.

What’s this torque splitter all about?

It’s probably one of the main reasons that the RS3 feels so nimble. The torque splitter is essentially what it says on the tin – it uses a separate clutch on each side of the rear driveshaft to allow it to shove 100 per cent of the available torque to whichever wheel the system desires. That means 50 per cent of the total output, seeing as the front wheels are always driven, so this isn’t a total switch like in, say, an M5 or E63. When you’re going fast, the splitter electronically massages the drive to throw a bit more torque to the loaded outer rear wheel to kill understeer and make the car feel more agile. You’ll feel it happening too.

Another benefit is that the splitter can adapt – if you feel the need to make the car drift a little sideways, just stick it into RS Torque Rear mode and torque gets shoved unceremoniously at the loaded rear wheel, spinning it and causing the back end to kick out. The car then angrily oversteers (having wailed through some initial understeer), adopting postures that used to come only when there had been a recent diesel spill on a roundabout.

Bluntly, the fake drift mode is an interesting addition, but not a serious one. The car isn’t rear-wheel drive, so come off the throttle and try to adjust the line even slightly, and the car simply pulls straight. Be less than brutal, and the RS3 won’t realise what you want, and will just push the nose. It’s interesting and exciting to try with some space, but you’d never, ever use it on a public road, and it wouldn’t really be that much fun on a track, simply because it’s a bit inconsistent. A good ‘because we could’ moment.

Litchfield Audi RS3 review: Brit-tuned 500bhp quattro driven

£45,180

Audi RS3 Sportback review: UK test of new 395bhp hatch

£43,870

Road Test: Audi RS3 2.5 TFSI RS 3 Quattro 5dr S Tronic

£39,450

Previous: Overview

Continue reading: Interior

Interior

What is it like on the inside?

No real surprises here – the RS3 has a very nice interior, although UK-spec cars do lack a touch of extra pizzazz that would really make it feel special. All models get the 12.3-inch Audi virtual cockpit up front with various new screens and readouts, everything from torque split to a g-meter and lap timer. You’ll instantly want to change from the new ‘RS runway’ dial option though, it just comes off like it’s trying too hard to do something different.

Does it feel special?

All cars get a Nappa leather arrangement, with standard RS front seats, although you can have the eco-friendly Dinamica microfibre/pleather as a no-cost option. It all creates a suitable atmosphere that lifts the inside of the car over the humdrum everyday A3, although whoever thought that body colour inserts on the air vents in the cabin looked premium needs to have a good talk with themselves. It cheapens the entire thing.

It’s roomy and comfortable for front seat passengers, slightly less so in the rear, but nothing too extreme. Pretty much what you would expect from this class of car, and it’s all put together very nicely – as it should be.

Is it still practical though? 

The addition of the torque splitter on the rear axle means that the bootspace has shrunk by 50 litres compared with the older generation of the Sportback (although the saloon version is up by seven litres). Generally though it’s an easy car to get comfortable in, and therefore do all the usual stuff. That central infotainment screen is a 10.1-inch unit and connects to Apple CarPlay/Android Auto as you’d expect. You get a full bank of real climate control buttons too. Result.

Previous: Driving

Continue reading: Buying

Buying

What should I be paying?

For a car that starts at a mere £25k in its bog standard tiny petrol form, it has always been a little tough to think of this as the kind of car that’s worth a cool £54k and up. But then the RS3 is an A3 in the same way that a machete is a butter knife. And that’s the way it should really be considered – a completely different vehicle. But anyone buying one will probably already know that.

You get three options to choose from with the RS3, once you’ve decided whether to go for Sportback (hatch) or Saloon (saloon) – there’s standard RS3, Carbon Black (which adds a black styling pack, RS exhaust and the fancy headlights) and the range-topping Vorsprung trim, which chucks in everything, like a Bang and Olufsen sound kit, electric tailgate, higher top speed (174mph versus 155mph) and 360-degree parking cameras.

There is also the optional £5,500 Dynamic pack, which you can spec separately if you want some of the kit in a lesser spec, including Audi Drive select with the adaptive suspension, ceramic brakes, sports exhaust and a top speed increase to 180mph. In comparison the Vorsprung spec costs roughly £8k more than the next trim down, but packs the RS3 with pretty much all of the options you could ever need. Even though it makes the RS3 £63k, it’s actually pretty good value given what you get. The saloon pops up at £1,000 more across the board.

Should we talk about value for money? 

There’s only one flavour of Mercedes-AMG A45 S available, in hatch form and costing £63,140, so the Audi compares favourably there. If you’re considering other costs, then 30.7mpg and 208g/km CO2 emissions for the AMG car compares with 29.7mpg and 216g/km on the RS3.

The industry standard CAP measurement sees the RS3 retaining about 66 per cent of its value over three years and 60k miles, and that compares favourably with the Merc at 62 per cent, and whacking the warranty up to four years and 75k miles only costs £455 (£970 for five years and 90k), which will give peace of mind.

The new paint options for this version of the RS3 are Kemora Grey (a no-cost option) or Kyalami Green (£575 on the options list) by the way – with the latter being quite excellently eye-bleed and almost fluorescent. You wouldn’t miss it, although you probably would regret it after six months. But in terms of buying, the RS3 looks like a fairly predictable bet – not many surprises here again, which is exactly what you want.

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Continue reading: Specs & Prices

Keyword: Audi RS3 review