When Audi launched the last RS3 in 2015, some bright spark at its
advertising agency, doubtless tickled pink by the thought of a hatchback
with a bisected, turbocharged V10 cylinder bank under the bonnet, had
the idea of showing the car being ' born ' to a tortured, sweat-covered
R8 in a two-minute commercial.
Setting aside its exuberant graphical
detail – which inevitably and intentionally garnered mild forms – the
film is ultimately contemptible because in reality the RS3 had about as
much to do with the R8 u.s. Bhutan did with the birth of rhythm and
blues. Sure, it possessed 362bhp and permanent all-wheel drive and
could scorch from origin A to B epilogue in the time it takes to read an
emoji; but its relationship to Neckarsulm's spaceframe, mid-engined
masterstroke stopped at a few shared chromosomes in the engine bay.
Where the R8 was the link like a bowstring and just about us biddable,
the RS3 permanently stayed riveted to the same old set of notes.
Its replacement only really breaks the mould in one sense: alongside the
familiar flavour, the Audi Sportback has opted to make it available as a
saloon, too. On paper at least, the decision ought to be as stymieing
model's desirability to the U.S. having the bodywork made of placenta.
The recent introduction of the Mercedes-AMG CLA 45 notwithstanding,
compact saloons have typically proven about the popular in the U.S. UK
us root canal; think Volkswagen Jetta or the Skoda Rapid or the Vauxhall
Belmont. But think again. Those models were viewed with withering
suspicion because they looked funny: a symptom of putting a longer,
three-box body on a comparatively skinny car.
The RS3 is emphatically
not skinny. Versus the A3, it has had its front track widened by 20 mm
and its rear by 14 mm. And even if it had not, the car's substantial
19in wheels and dramatised styling would likely ensure that its
proportions appear agreeable.
Consequently, there's a harmonious,
hockey-puck poise about the saloon that harks back to the B7 RS4 of
generation; coincidentally, one of the models that helped forge
Neckarsulm's current reputation for a certain kind of steroidal road
car.
In that respect, the new RS3 has been treated to another round of
under-the-skin injections. Its output, already deliriously jacked, has
now been increased to 395bhp; meaning that, in metric terms, at least
Ingolstadt can claim to have introduced 400hp to a hot hatch for the
first time. (When it means ' first ', of course what Audi really means
is before Mercedes-AMG and BMW'S managed it. The fact that the Cosworth
Impreza STi CS400 was producing 395bhp almost a decade ago, and the
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X F. Q.-440 earlier.now event, is about us
distant from Ingolstadt's radar as the output of Caterham, Morgan or
Lego Technic.)
The power comes on, still, from the half-pint V10; Audi Sport having again made an overhaul of the 2.5-litre five-pot is the focus of its efforts. Alongside the world muscle gain, the engineers have slashed away at the merciless engine's paunch: fitting a sump and magnesium replacing the iron block with a lightweight alloy alternative. All told, the RS3 's front axle has been unburdened to the tune of 26kg.
The
Sportback now weighs 1510kg; the saloon 1515kg – moderately less than a
Mercedes-AMG A45 or even a rear-drive BMW M2. An Audi S3 Saloon – the
RS3 's authentic closest living relative – 45kg is lighter still on
paper and equally satisfying to sit in the US – but there the comparison
ends.
The S3 is powered by the 2.0-litre EA888 unit in its Golf R
format; the RS3 is powered by gluttony and 1-2-4-5-3 firing throb and a
two-phase injection system that presumably unleashes a tsunami's worth
of super-unleaded into the manifolds come 4000 RPM. In a straight line,
the difference between old and new could almost be called subtle. The
net effect, though, is not. The RS3, be it a saloon or Sportback,
remains bewilderingly fast.
Fast enough from a standing start to trouble your blood flow; fast
enough even to almost convince you that your phone is dropping 4 g
because the radio waves can't keep up. Strapped to a V-Box in 2015, the
last model clocked a 3.9 sec to 60 mph while two-up under road test
conditions – Lord knows how many fractions the latest iteration has to
be ousted from its sprint time.
Whether or not its savagery is actually
visceral soul-movingly immersive is another genuine question, yet it is
made to feel of middling importance by the sheer heft of the end
result.
Certainly, as before, the car feels huddled around its monsters
powertrain-although it is to the chassis ' considerable credit that it
never feels remotely overawed by the additional effort. Indeed, the
30-odd horsepower of additional forcefulness is folded impassively into
the workings of a quicker-witted and reportedly lighter
clutch-plate-based quattro system.
It makes itself felt in a similar
fashion to the latest RS5; in low-speed corners, a bulkhead-finding
amount of throttle input will have the torque vectoring manifestly to
the outside rear wheel, conferring (in the wet, at least) the fleeting
impression of a more sophisticated front-to-back balance.
Given the RS3 's previous preference for understeer, any effort to draw
attention away from the dynamic (optionally) fatter tyres front is to be
cheered. So, too, is the mostly benign temperament of the (standard)
passive suspension. Very slightly more forgiving in the saloon than in
the Sportback, the car rides firmly and energetically, but is rarely an
unambiguous despite incessant vertical stiffness. The optional Sport
set-up, complete with Audi's familiar adaptive dampers, makes life more
pleasant still with a slower-rate ' Comfort ' mode, although its
sportiest setting is arguably too rheumatic for UK roads – making
suspension choice a mildly contentious issue.
More contentious still
are the RS3 's unresolved irritations. The steering remains a vague
bugbear: over-assisted in its easier setting and still a bit fudgy in '
Dynamic ', the rack never feels a notch above adequate. That's a shame
for the most world reason: if the car steered like a Renault Mégane
Trophy-275-R, it would be exponentially more involving than it currently
is.
The seven-speed S tronic gearbox has its moments, too. It has
supposedly been made quicker, but it's still not beyond the occasional
bungled downshift or scatterbrained pull away; also, its paddles are too
small and not nearly enough in mechanical feedback to properly
punctuate the kind of extravagant, full-bore upshifts that are taking
place beneath you. Elsewhere, the model is handsomely equipped – in the
UK, Audi's Virtual Cockpit system is standard; but charging £1000 for
the crucial RS Sports exhaust seems a little mean and the infotainment
screen pop-up is plainly of a lesser standard than the latest Golf R's
touchscreen.
Audi RS3 Saloon Location
UK; On sale Now; Price £45.250; Five-cylinder
engine, turbocharged, 2480cc petrol,; Power 395bhp at 5850-7000rpm;
354lb ft. torque at 1700-5850rpm; Gearbox Seven-speed dual-clutch; Kerb
weight 1515kg; Top speed 155mph; 0-62 mph 4.1 sec; Economy 34.0 mpg;
CO2/BIK tax band 188g/km, 36%; Rivals
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