Like most of the automotive world, Audi is heading into an electric future which makes cars like the new RS3 a dying breed.
To old-school petrolheads, a charismatic sound is an important part of the driving experience in a high-performance car. Thus, knowing the RS3’s successor in a few years’ will be battery-powered and silent, hearing the heady roar of its petrol engine took on special significance when I drove the new RS3 at its SA launch last week.
The five-cylinder howl has a unique character and gets louder in the RS Performance mode, a setting that brings out the car’s wilder, angrier side. Apart from eliciting a more aggressive war cry through the RS sports exhaust system, the RS Performance sharpens the transmission characteristics, steering assistance and optional adaptive dampers — and it significantly raises the car’s sporting vibe.
This mode also sets a racetrack-optimised mode for the RS torque splitter. This is used for the first time in an Audi and uses an electronically controlled multiple disc clutch for variable torque distribution between the rear wheels.
The splitter helps ensure neutral handling and its efficacy was proved when we drove the RS3 around the Zwartkops raceway near Pretoria. The car maintained a balanced pose, with minimal oversteering or understeering even when driven in extremis.
The six-piston steel brakes worked well and didn’t fade after being thrashed around the circuit, but customers can choose lighter and more powerful ceramic brakes as an extra-cost option.
In hard driving, the seven-speed S-tronic transmission (there’s no manual available) occasionally got flustered and wouldn’t change up. However, overall, I was impressed by how hard the RS3 could be pushed around the racetrack without getting unsettled and how early you can punch the power out of turns. It’s a devilishly quick but forgiving car and you really need to do something silly to get it out of shape.
For those who want to practise their drifting skills, an RS Torque Rear mode makes this possible by sending all the torque to one rear wheel.
The RS3 may be the junior member of the Audi RS tribe when compared to cars such as the 441kW RS6, but it’s one of the most satisfying to drive because it is compact, agile and approachable.
The car has plenty of shove without being intimidating. Behind the menacing new honeycomb radiator grille is the well-known 2.5l petrol-turbo that scored nine successive class wins in the international Engine of the Year awards. It gets a 20Nm torque boost to 500Nm and while it produces the same 294kW as before, it’s available over a slightly broader rev range for improved tractability.
The RS3 scorches from 0-100km/h in a claimed 3.8 seconds and tops out at a 250km/h — or 290km/h with the optional RS Dynamic package.
The RS3’s appeal also lies in how civilised it feels as a daily driver. It doesn’t rely on rock-hard suspension to attain its track-taming feats and delivers a relatively cushy ride on public roads, especially with Comfort mode selected in the optional Adaptive Chassis Control.
The car is available in four-door Sedan and five-door Sportback guises and both lay on athletic vibes with their aggressive bodywork and flared fenders, with a 33mm wider front-wheel track that makes them look more planted.
The sporting décor is carried over into their interior with RS sport seats, carbon fibre trim and a flat-bottomed RS steering wheel with gearshift paddles. The digital instrument panel can be set to different display modes and shows g-forces and lap times.
The Audi RS3 Sportback is priced at R1,215,000 and the Sedan is R1,245,000 (including a five-year Audi Freeway Plan) with standard niceties, including a premium Bang & Olufsen 3D sound system, Audi smartphone interface and rear-view camera. There’s a list of extra-cost options on offer, including Nappa leather upholstery, lane departure warning, navigation, head-up display, seat heaters and panoramic glass sunroof.
The first allocation of RS3s imported to SA is sold out.
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