Audi RS Q3 Sportback | Test Drive

14 May 2021 Redazione News, Tested

Words Alessandro Marrone / Photos Gian Romero

You can’t say it goes unnoticed. Kyalami Green is a huge five-door magnet that serves as a preamble to what this car really stands for. Ok, it is logical that this is something that broadens its horizons towards a more civilized use, but when the Audi package presents itself to me by reciting a soliloquy joined by the unmistakable sound of an in-line 5-cylinder, my mind opens wide to the shape of that Sport Quattro that upset the world of rallying in the 1980s, four decades ago, when the Ingolstadt manufacturer gave birth to the first five-cylinder in its history, fitting it first on the Audi 100 and then on the quattro (yes, this time deliberately lowercase).

Now in its latest evolution, before giving way to the next generation RS3, can an engine that is not at all obvious actually be what we cannot miss in our lives? After all is what we call the soul of a machine and with the Sportback variant of the RS Q3, Audi has created the niche of a niche and for the occasion is dresses up with the craziest costume and packs 400 horses under the hood, released by that transversal 5 powering to all four wheels the desire to travel every road as if it were a hymn to what seems to be slowly getting out of hand: driving fun. And in the meantime we’re all harassed by hybrids, dozens of 100% electric models that to the sound of performance and promises of a better future are silently supplanting engines like this.

The new RS Q3 – here precisely in its Sportback counterpart – is a toy to always carry with you, less bulky and expensive than the explosive RS Q8, it is proposed as trait d’union between the RS3 and the RS4 Avant, gaining a few centimeters from the ground thus granting better visibility on traffic, still not penalizing cornering behaviors, keeping its 1,700 kg pressed to the ground thanks to the inevitable Haldex-type Quattro all-wheel drive, which despite preferring the front axle manages to better manage power and grip, distributing up to 50% of the traction on the rear wheels. This is understood more with facts than with words, especially when having customized the two individual settings available (RS1 and RS2), you will exploit the mighty power of the five cylinders and you will notice a practically non-existent body roll.

The unidentified green object proves once again that believing is the right thing. Believing in a future where engines like this can keep powering cars that do not disdain everyday life, offering space for five people, luggage and an interior embellished with those details that make this RS Q3 Sportback more focused on its performance habits. We have sports seats in leather and Alcantara with integrated headrests and a steering wheel with a squared lower part to hang on to while we decide to push hard, firing one after the other the 7 gears of the S tronic dual-clutch automatic transmission, which can obviously be operated via the paddles.

The absence of the carbon-ceramic braking system (optional) is not a trauma in the city, but once launched at speed on a mountain road, I realize that the steel brakes, despite the precision they have, do not offer the same confidence you get with ceramic discs, but this only because how incredibly easy you’re able to reach speeds ready to eat your driving license. Add to this the fact that the RS Q3 is literally glued to the ground and that regardless of the bends you’re about to attack it is possible to keep the gas down and feel the effort that happens underneath, with the wheels biting the asphalt and spitting you out with violence. To frame this excited and exciting driving moment, the particular order of ignition of the cylinders (1-2-4-5-3) tries in every way to emit a sound worthy of so much drama out from the double ovoid exhaust, in part throttled by the presence of the anti-particulate filter. The 2.5-liter is not just a great engine because of its specific architecture, but it is the tool that makes the handling of the car so engaging. We have a maximum power of 400 hp, a peak that increases in intensity in a very linear way and that pinches the red line at a rather high number of revs per minute, especially for being a turbocharged engine. At low speeds there is a very slight delay in delivery – the so-called turbo lag – but when you pinch 2,000 rpm and the 480 Nm of torque come into play, you are pressed to the seat and you can reach 100 kph in 4 and a half seconds, 160 in just 10.4 and a top speed that with the Dynamic package removes the electronic limiter and lets you run up to 280 per hour without problems. Something that reminds me hot-hatches from the golden days, but twice the speed. Question is, will you be brave enough?

If numbers and figures help us to universally understand how fast a car really is, the driving experience is able to consecrate its dynamic aspect, what counts more than anything else for a proper enthusiast. In this case the curves that appear in front of me are the providential fate intervention, ready to bless the less obvious model of the four rings. RS1 mode ready to ensure maximum incisiveness, gearbox in manual and right foot that sinks ignorantly on the throttle. The 5-cylinder loves to rant and the small size of the SUV (4.5 meters in length, 1.5 in height and 2.6 in step) allows you to jump across apexes acting like a surgeon tracing his own path with the sharpest scalpel. The considerable torque allows the possibility of not having to indulge too much with gear changes, especially in the narrowest sections, where the Quattro system bites well and almost cancels even the slightest hint of understeer. And then down again with the gas and the symphony of the fantastic five up front to accompany a red line hunted by the sense of speed offered by an engine that is legend and that maintains that indomitable racing character, today as forty years ago in the middle of a special stage.

All it takes is the push of a button, moving the gearshift (ok, that’s stylistically obsolete) into automatic and the RS Q3 Sportback changes its skin, becoming the ideal SUV for the good family guy that everyone expects when talking about a 5 doors, 5-seater. But that psychedelic green doesn’t hide its true intentions, it’s like a trickle of blood running down your sleeve and betraying your psychotic thirst for adrenaline and curves. The RS Q3 Sportback is undoubtedly a great car for going to the office during the week as well, but it will happen to take the longest road, the crossroads that everyone avoids because it is winding and lost in the belly of a hill – or if you are geographically lucky, that of a mountain – but this will mean that you’ll improve your mood in a natural way, letting each cylinder satisfy each respective sense and keep us united to that heroic past created and destroyed by the ravenous Group B, where dreaming was imperative. In the same way, the greatest hope is that engines like this are not destined to die out, but that they can continue to give chills to the generations to come.

The ticket for the ride is just over € 68,500, but we are talking about the traditional version. The Sportback is much more fascinating, has a sportier look and in this color it is a bit like a baby Urus, just way more clever. In this case we start at around € 72,000, to which you can then add the Dynamic package and other options that will sharpen your choice even more. What makes it great, however, is that it is a complete product, truly usable 365 days a year and capable of always making available a legacy kept under the hood. And if you are as fascinated as I am by its muscular look, by those widened fenders, the tail pointing up and by how the 21-inch light alloy wheels fill the wheel arches, then everything becomes easier. This could really be the car that checks all the fateful boxes that have remained empty for too long.

AUDI RS Q3 SPORTBACK

Engine 5 cylinder Turbo, 2.480 cc Power 400 hp @ 5.850-7.000 rpm Torque 480 Nm @ 1.950-5.850 rpm

Traction All-Wheel-Drive Transmission 7-Speed Automatic Gearbox Weight 1.700 kg

0-100 kph 4,5 sec Top Speed 280 kph Price from €72.600