Audi RS3 | Test Drive

10 October 2022 Redazione News, Tested

The RS3 has always been a fast hatchback, incredibly fast. Now it is way better than that, as it introduces a new driving involvement. It is not the entry level RS, but the best RS currently on the market.

Words Alessandro Marrone / Photos Bruno Serra

We are clinging with claws and teeth to creatures that, like the RS3, could be among the latest representing driving fun as we enthusiasts intend it. It’s a bit like when as a child you asked your mother for those extra five minutes before going to school. One more minute, give us time to savor this particular moment, because the fear of getting used to certain noises and certain situations is too much. The new RS3 – available both as a Sportback or hatchback version – will be the last Audi equipped with the glorious turbocharged in-line 5-cylinder and probably also the latest RS3, at least as we are used to know it. Give us time, this will be a painful goodbye.

The context is that of compact sports cars, of those with very high performance, given that the power of the 2.5-liter is 400 horsepower, exactly like the previous model. We are therefore not talking about a simple performance car, but rather a five-door, five-seater that aspires to be the only car in the garage, gaining the role of a practical hatchback for the most diverse uses and a fun pocket rocket to throw at mealtimes on some mountain road. Detractors have often clung to the understeer that some Audi models have had to file down over the years, trying to find the optimal balance between the grip offered by the Quattro all-wheel drive and the inability to deliver most of the power at disposal to the rear axle. Those detractors will have to change their mind, because after the clumsy Mercedes attempt (with the latest AMG A45), the house of the four rings has instead managed to introduce a traction management system that not only delete any hint of understeer, but blinks the eye at those who love driving sideways.

The more aggressive aesthetic hint offered by the S3 is here taken to extremes with wider wheel arches, ribs on every surface and a front grille that seems to devour the road below. While maintaining the dynamic ability to act as a perfect family car, at ease in traffic, with a large load compartment and five comfortable seats, leave all hope or you who hope to go unnoticed, since its style leaves no room for doubts: it is only a matter of when the RS3 will unleash hell on tarmac. But the real surprise is not limited to the expression of amazement that is drawn on my face the precise moment when, once I leave the city center, I drive for some isolated bit of road. The RS3 clings to the asphalt like an eagle clenches its claws into the soft flesh of its prey. At that point you realize that you have so much grip and traction at your disposal that you can take full advantage of the incredible power reserve.

We know the in-line 5-cylinder here pretty well: it is the 2.5-liter turbocharged that delivers 400 horsepower between 5,600 and 7,000 rpm. It is precisely midway that it becomes like a very violent elastic that allows you not to intervene on the gearbox and manage a maximum torque of 500 Nm (this in play between 2,250 and 5,600 rpm) resulting in an explosive readiness that works in unison with a superfine traction. Here comes the new secret ingredient, the torque splitter, that is a rear differential with two multi-disc clutches that is able to manage up to 50% of the input power on the rear axle, sorting up to 100% traction on the single wheel when needed. This and the fact of mounting narrower tires at the rear (245 behind and 265 at front) results in a precise front end capable of zeroing understeer and above all in a rear end capable of lightening and playing with power, thus widening out of corners as if you forgot for a moment what is usually the only mechanical limit imposed by hot-hatches.

Some cars dance through corners, the RS3 is like an advancing hurricane and brings with it a sense of total devastation. You feel it pressed to the ground and almost glued to the asphalt, while behind the steering wheel I fumble with the 7-speed dual clutch paddles, keeping the tachometer needle in the ideal area. Although it is one of the best engines out there, it is not exempt from a slight turbo lag at low ends, but when the fünf comes into torque, it is thrown from one curve to the other like a fireball just spat out by a catapult. The steering is precise and the perception of speed is directly proportional to the safety granted between the bends. I cannot realize where the mechanical grip limit is, except when coming out of the tightest hairpins, I push down the throttle and the rear tends to widen gently, allowing me to set the countersteer maneuver as if I were observing myself in third person, in slow motion. Pure pleasure.

Third, fourth gear and I have to sink my right foot on the brake, with 375 mm discs and a carbon-ceramic system only for the front wheels. The next blink, the RS3 launches into a tighter mixed section, showing how the 1,645 kg of weight it carries around are no problem at all. The only aspect that does not seem to be in line with the absurd performance of this hatchback is the sound, too muffled even in the most dynamic mode. From the right spoke of the steering wheel it is possible to recall the two RS driving modes, perfectly configurable and always ready to give smiles – or scares – to those who know how to make good use of them. In Comfort mode, or even Efficiency, the RS3 behaves like a normal A3, except for the showy armor that does not hide its warlike intentions.

The road opens in a more evident way and this means that I am about to keep the gas down and push my self-preservation instinct towards the red line. I have always thought that 400 horsepower is the ideal value for a road car, the perfect balance between power and usability. The RS3, which is rewriting every concept related to how fast you can really go with license plate and insurance, proves to be the most effective weapon for a b-road, even more than it has done in the past. The small size, the otherworldly cornering speed and a torque curve that allows you to use even just two gears where everything is more tortuous, make it the ultimate weapon in terms of performance, effectiveness and driving fun.

Do you want some numbers? Let’s start with the maximum speed, which, excluding the electronic limiter set at 250 per hour, becomes 287 kph. It accelerates from 0 to 100 per hour in just 3.8 seconds, reaches 200 in 13.8 and recovery from 80-120 kph is just 2.3 seconds. To these stratospheric values ​​- I repeat – add the fact that the RS3 knows how to make curves like a small supercar, probably the smallest, because after all this is the role it plays. A blue bullet launched in the middle of the curves with the sole obsession to explode every preconception linked to four-wheel drive, to the sobriety of an interior that, without some dedicated detail, does not even differ too much from the starting model. With a soundtrack that unfortunately does not reflect the skills of this car, in what will probably be the last 100% five-cylinder combustion engine of the four rings we have found not only the most incredible RS, the best and at the same time the least expensive (prices at starting from € 61.700), but one of the most complete sports cars ever.

The new RS3 is one of those cars that awaken the desire to drive aimlessly, to take the longest route on the journey back home. Its look takes your sleep away, leaving you to imagine yourself on some mountain road struggling with that mechanical jubilation capable of making everyone agree as soon as you are slapped at the first corner, rewriting the concept of high speed driving at the wheel of what once was a random hatchback, designed for the family and the grocery run. In this case, while not forgetting on road practicality of a car suitable for any use, it twists every kilometer by tattooing it in your mind, heart and spirit. It does that in a clear, almost diabolical way, and certainly does not ask for permission. It enters by arrogance with those muscles that do not allow space for a hypothetical future other than this one, which at least for us petrolheads represents the culmination of a motoring devotion that will never accept compromise. Probably, in the near future, we will be forced to do that and for this reason a car like this RS3 plays an even more important role, that of the last hero, a monster thirsty for curves, a legendary creature that made us dream with the scent of petrol and slaughtered tires. If this is the end of an era, get ready, you will miss it badly.

AUDI RS3 SPORTBACK

Engine 5 yilinder Turbo, 2.480 cc Power 400 hp @ 5.600-7.000 rpm Torque 500 Nm @ 2.250-5.600 rpm

Traction All-Wheel-Drive Transmission 7-Speed Automatic Gearbox Weight 1.645 kg

0-100 kph 3,8 sec Top Speed 250 kph (limit.) Price from €61.700