Accessible News

Top storiesNew ZealandPoliticsBusinessEntertainmentSportsWorld

First drive review: Audi RS 3 Sportback

Wednesday, 26 January 2022

See exactly how Audi's new RS Torque Splitter system works.
Wider, lower and much, much faster, the RS 3 isn’t your ordinary A3.
Wider, lower and much, much faster, the RS 3 isn’t your ordinary A3.
The front of the RS 3 is roughly 90 per cent grille now. But it does look very tough.
The front of the RS 3 is roughly 90 per cent grille now. But it does look very tough.

The hottest of Audi’s hot hatches is almost here, but we got a special preview of a left-hook version of the new RS 3 a few months before the RHD models arrive here for lucky customers.

Make me an instant expert: what do I need to know?

Don’t worry – our ones will have the steering wheel on the proper side. This was a LHD pre-production example.
Don’t worry – our ones will have the steering wheel on the proper side. This was a LHD pre-production example.

The RS 3 is pretty much a legend these days. While not quite nudging over into “iconic” status like the RS 4 (yet, at least), just like the base Audi A3 launched the “premium hatch” segment when it first appeared back in 1996, the hot RS version led the charge into the current bonkers “hyper hatch” segment when it launched in 2011, quickly followed by other premium manufacturers.

That is how we get a small hatch with a frankly ridiculous 294kW of power and 500Nm of torque.

If the bulging wheel arches and massive grille weren’t enough of a giveaway, the gaping dual exhausts should let you know that the RS 3 is something special.
If the bulging wheel arches and massive grille weren’t enough of a giveaway, the gaping dual exhausts should let you know that the RS 3 is something special.

The RS 3 packs the same fantastic 2.5-litre five-cylinder engine that it always has, albeit a tweaked version that produces the same peak power as before, but lower down in the revs (now at 5600rpm), while bumping the torque up by 20Nm.

The RS 3 pumps all that power and torque through a seven-speed dual clutch transmission and a quattro AWD system that now features an “RS Torque Splitter” at the rear, replacing the rear axle differential. The torque splitter uses an electronically controlled multiple disc clutch on each of the drive shafts to ensure that “the right amount of torque is optimally distributed along the rear axle.”

The thoroughly superb inline five now produces its peak power lower in the revs, while packing more torque.
The thoroughly superb inline five now produces its peak power lower in the revs, while packing more torque.

Audi says that during “more dynamic driving”, the torque splitter increases the drive torque to the respective outer rear wheel with the higher wheel load, significantly reducing the tendency to understeer. But more importantly, the torque splitter can, in “RS Torque Rear” mode, direct all the power to the rear wheels for, you guessed it, a proper drift mode. Of course, as the car reminds you, this is for track use only…

The RS 3 is a $100,000-plus Audi, so naturally you get a superb interior packed with tech and some super-sexy RS sports seats. There is precious little of the standard A3’s tendency towards hard plastics, with the RS 3 boasting mainly soft touch and high quality surfaces throughout – there is a lot of carbon fibre too.

For the first time the RS 3 gets a valve in its exhaust system to make it sound angrier when you are feeling playful.
For the first time the RS 3 gets a valve in its exhaust system to make it sound angrier when you are feeling playful.

On the outside, the RS 3 is probably the most nicely-judged example of an RS car in Audi’s line up – not as wildly over-the-top as the RS 6, yet bristling with subtle menace and aggression thanks to its seriously wide stance (it’s 51mm wider than the standard A3 and packs a 33mm wider track).

Of course, the front is almost all grille, so it's not that subtle, but it still looks sensational.

Audi is also doing the RS 3 in sedan form, but it won’t be coming to New Zealand. The hatch is the cool one anyway...
Audi is also doing the RS 3 in sedan form, but it won’t be coming to New Zealand. The hatch is the cool one anyway...

Where did you drive it?

I had a brief drive in a single left-hand drive pre-production RS 3 Audi has bought into New Zealand for promotional purposes. It involved a mix of motorway and urban roads, so no chance to really stretch the RS 3’s legs, but easily enough to get a handle on how fantastically flexible the 2.5-litre five-cylinder engine is now.

While the five was always a wonderfully flexible thing, the changes made to it for the new model have made it noticeably more so, with a Porsche-like ability to be utterly docile and happy to lug along at low revs, and switch to utterly feral at the merest flex of your right ankle – the RS 3 will scamper to 100kmh from a standing start in just 3.8 seconds and, frankly, feels faster than that.

Like other German hyper hatches, the ferocious volleys of bangs and pops have been scaled back, but the brilliantly off-beat throaty five-cylinder warble is still front and centre, bellowing in a thoroughly charming way, without ever being unnecessarily intrusive or over-the-top.

Something else that is never intrusive is the ride, which is deeply impressive for such a sporty car. The standard RS sports suspension features newly developed shock absorbers and a valve system both specific to the RS 3. Audi says the valves ensure that the shock absorbers exhibit a “particularly sensitive response as part of the rebound and compression characteristics” allowing the suspension to respond to the respective driving situation even faster and more effectively.

And that is very true, with the RS 3 exhibiting a thoroughly refined ride, with impressive composure over road irregularities both small and large. While it also felt impressively well planted on the road during our brief drive, it will require more extensive testing on winding back roads to be sure of its ultimate capabilities. Much, much more testing, hopefully…

What stands out the most?

Even though it was a brief experience in a left-hook car, it left me truly excited about the RS 3’s proper arrival here.

Whereas my last experience with the Audi’s main rival – the Mercedes-AMG A 45 S – left me a bit cold, it certainly feels like Audi has done what AMG tried to do; namely civilise the RS 3 by making it more flexible and suitable to being a daily driver, but without diluting the ferocious performance they are both renowned for.

Whereas Mercedes went a bit too far and made the A 45 a bit mute and distant, the RS 3 feels mature, yet still ferociously capable and with an edge to its nature that suggests you will chicken out long before it does. And it’s still the most communicative and tactile fast Audi too.

Why would I buy it?

Because you want a seriously fast, wonderfully agile small hatch that can frighten supercars. Because you have always bought RS 3s and will until either you or the model dies. Or because you want to get what will likely be the last non-hybridised hyper hatch…

Why wouldn’t I buy it?

You don’t get the whole hyper hatch thing – damn near 300kW from a small five-door hatch seems like lunacy to you. But then, that is exactly the point!