I could hear it arrive. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I don’t recall the pre-facelift version of the Audi RS3 being quite this vocal. The five-cylinder until was making a statement from its quad exhausts. This was a good start to my week with the Audi RS3. Trying not to appear too keen, I sidled over to my living room window to confirm it was what I thought it was before stepping out to eagerly relieve the delivery driver of the key. The progressive red paintwork set against the 19” matt black alloys only furthered the appeal. As did the ice-cold AC in the midst of a heatwave. It was already more comfortable than my house.
There’s a lot to like before even setting off. The mid-life facelift of the third generation of Audi RS3 (there have been four generations of A3, but the RS was introduced to the lineup during the second) is mostly under the hood. The interior has had a nip and tuck, the chassis has been upgraded and there’s a new RS torque splitter. It’s the latter which transforms and elevates this car.
Audi’s RS models have never lacked potency or technological wizardry. At times, however, they have been guilty of being a bit too clinical. Impressive? Absolutely. Engaging? Not always on a par with their competitors.
With the revised underpinnings of this latest Audi RS3, can it bring that missing level of engagement that will bring up to the top of the hot hatch game? Can it move up to be mentioned in the same breath as the Toyota GR Yaris and Honda Civic Type R? One week and 450 miles would reveal all.
Living with the Audi RS3
It’s an Audi, so of course it’s comfortable and well appointed. The model tested is fitted with the optional RS3 bucket seats (£2500) which are really good. They’re manually adjustable, but I found a comfortable position straightaway and had no complaints, even on a day trip to Coventry to back, 200 miles return.
One point to note is that Audi has switched audio supplier. Pre-facelift RS3s were fitted with a Bang & Olufsen system. Now they come with a Sonos unit. It’s not quite as good but still does a good job of filling in the silence when you’re not revving the engine.
Another advantage of the Audi RS3 is that, at least by today’s standards, it’s a small car. This isn’t an everyday problem, but it was nice to drive through my local multi-storey without worrying about kerbing the wheels at every turn. You could even have a bit of fun on the higher levels. The Audi RS3 never misses an opportunity to draw from you a spot of hooliganism.
I question this frequently, but how big do you really need your car to be? At 4.4m long and 2m wide, the Audi RS3 is plenty big enough, with more than enough internal space for family life. You get Isofix so you can involve the kids in your playtime and the 282ltr boot will take your weekly shop or a couple of cricket bags.
There are other useful features such as park assist and 360 surround view camera which make the day-to-day easy. A 55ltr fuel tank perhaps isn’t another when you’re getting 23.2mpg. This crept up above 30mpg on a motorway run, but the Audi RS3 constantly goads you into giving it a bit of a prod.
What’s the Audi RS3 like to drive?
So, it functions as a car perfectly well, but that’s not why any of us are here. With 400PS and 500Nm of torque, it does 0-60mph in 3.8secs. This is exactly the same as before. The real changes are at the rear wheels.
The torque vectoring solution here is a game changer. Capable of braking the inside wheel and putting all the power sent to the rear axle to the outside wheel, it all but eliminates understeer and drags the car through corners with alarming speed. The only question the Audi RS3 asks you is: how big are your cajónes?
Not that big, in my case. You can pretty much drive as fast as you want through corners, it’s astonishing. The tyres never squeal, it never threatens to break traction and it just surges forwards purposefully.
You can feel it working in slower speed scenarios, too. Now, I mentioned that RS Audis have perhaps been a bit too clinical in the past, lacking a layer of engagement. That’s not the case here, it’s a genuine stride forward for Audi.
One drive through the Surrey Hills will live long in the memory, with the way it dealt with lumps and compressions, always found traction and spat me out of corners. It was like the Audi RS3 was tailor made for UK roads, our imperfections showing off its strength in depth. It’s the same scenario I put the Toyota GR Yaris through last year and the result was the same: swearing, laughter and disbelief.
The downsides are the steering and gearbox. The steering lacks any real sense of connection with the road and the gearbox is, understandably, keen to kick down. This means using manual is the preference, but the gear selector paddles are a real weakness.
Conclusion
The thin steering wheel is nice to interact with and I didn’t struggle with the buttons on it. It’s quite large, though, which means if you have smaller hands and shorter fingers, you’re going to struggle to reach the paddles if you drive in the ten-to-two position. Crap paddles are nothing new for Audi, but if feels like a continuing own goal when others in the VW Group have got it right.
You’ll quickly get over this, though. The rest of the package is astonishing and it’s a hugely entertaining car to drive. You can really appreciate the marriage of engineering ingenuity and driver engagement.
You should remember a great hatchback. The RS3 I reviewed previously, I can’t really remember, whereas the GR Yaris and Type R I can recall vividly. This latest RS3 moves firmly into that bracket after that one drive through the Surrey Hills. In a setting where it needed to, the RS3 comprehensively delivered.
At £65,000, you could reasonably expect that this should be a bloody good car. In a world where GR Yarises and Type Rs are north of £50,000, however, this is the cost of playing. There are no more TTs, SLKs, 718s or A110s and a Lotus Emira is £100,000. The hyperhatch is the new sportscar. It’s just one you can get your family around in, too.
I was sad to hear the five-pot started up one final time by the collection driver for I’d happily have kept the Audi RS3. In my eyes, it has very much moved firmly into the top bracket of hot hatches, discovering that certain je ne sais quois not every RS model has. Confidence inspiring, engaging and blisteringly fast, it’s a superb car.
