Audi RS3
Audi RS3 £45,000 (est.) WE SAY:
THE RS3 NEEDED A REBOOT. AUDI CHOSE TO BOLT ON A BOOT AS WELL
What’s new here, then?
The Audi RS3 has been refreshed. The headlines are a boost for its 2.5-litre 5cyl turbo engine, taking its power figure to 395bhp (now more than the 381bhp Merc-AMG A45, note), and a new saloon version. It’s less practical but better looking than the 5dr Sportback, and will open up the RS3 to brand-new markets, including America and the Middle East.
Bet it’s fast.
Oh God, yes. Tick the right options box and you get a 174mph top speed. Its 0–62mph time is 0.2sec down on the old RS3, at 4.1secs. The standard 7spd paddleshift is linked to a launch-control system that makes such senior performance laughably, dangerously attainable, too. Pace is bombastic from 2,500rpm up to the 7,000rpm red line. So rapid is the RS3, I’d argue it’s hard to fully savour the howl of its five cylinders as you accelerate.
Have they made it fun, though?
Yes. In a world of drifting Focus RSes and brawny BMW M2s, the RS3 was short on charisma. While its quattro 4WD system is similar to before, Audi has given it some new software, which allows power to be sent to the rear wheels quicker and more assertively. A 26kg lighter engine also helps the front end turn more incisively. In tight corners there’s a willingness from the back end to move around to fight loss of grip up front. Which is fun. In higherspeed corners it grips like crazy.
More interesting to drive, then. What’s it like inside?
As well as Audi’s familiar plushness, there’s stuff for the driver to geek out on, with a big central rev-counter and Alcantara on the correct bits of the steering wheel. Full judgment is reserved for a UK drive, but we suspect the standard steel suspension will feel firm. You might want to spec the optional magnetic dampers.
Won’t they make it expensive?
This won’t be a cheap car anyway. And its price will surge with options; you can even order carbon-ceramic brakes. Yep, on a small hatch. Which happens to do 174mph. It’s bonkers and classy all in one go, the RS3. I suspect as a one-car-fits-all solution, it would be a fine one. STEPHEN DOBIE