At this level, practically midway by a decade wherein electrification is accelerating at a speedy tempo, most inner combustion engines are fairly comparable configurations, particularly relating to efficiency automobiles. There’s a lot of single-turbo inline-fours, turbo’d six-cylinders, twin-turbo V8s which might be normally 4 liters in displacement… And that’s about it, at the least till you get into supercar territory.
There’s one automotive that bucks that pattern, although, and it’s in a stunning phase. The Audi RS3 has a mega-powerful turbocharged inline-5 that’s one of the vital characterful and fascinating engines you should purchase, made much more fulfilling by the truth that it’s in a compact sedan. In a world of great-yet-too-similar engines and EVs that greatest their efficiency figures, the RS3 stands out for the appropriate causes, making the case for inner combustion.
Full disclosure: Audi dropped off an RS3 at my condominium with a full tank of fuel and let me drive it round for every week. My mortgage was earlier this yr and I’ve had this evaluate in my backlog, and am lastly getting it printed forward of my first-drive of the up to date 2025 RS3 that’s coming subsequent weekend.
Audi has a protracted historical past of five-cylinder engines, and this explicit motor has been round for the reason that second generations of each TT RS and RS3. Within the 2024 RS3 the turbocharged 2.5-liter inline-5 produces 401 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque, making it one of the vital {powerful} compact automobiles ever made. That’s double the ability of the usual A3, and a rise of 95 hp and 74 lb-ft over the four-cylinder S3. Audi pairs the five-cyl with a 7-speed dual-clutch computerized transmission mated to its Quattro all-wheel-drive system.
And my God, is it speedy. Audi says the RS3 will go from 0 to 60 mph in a mere 3.6 seconds, and even with out utilizing launch management that feels underrated. (Automobile And Driver obtained one to 60 in 3.3 seconds.) In accordance with Audi’s numbers that makes it faster to 60 than an RS5 coupe, and only some tenths off an RS6 Avant. It’s not simply fast from a cease, both. Flooring it at 30 mph and the RS3 rockets ahead with ferocity; do the identical at freeway speeds and also you get EV-esque response and velocity positive factors. Even in Consolation mode the RS3 promptly reacts to a squeeze of the appropriate pedal. That quickness is a bit sudden given how max torque doesn’t are available till 3,500 rpm, and max energy isn’t reached till 6,500 rpm, 500 shy of the redline. Serving to the RS3’s acceleration is the dual-clutch transmission that fires off punchy shifts, reacting rapidly to throttle inputs and instantly downshifting even within the less-intense drive modes.
The five-cylinder engine feels extra particular to wring out than your typical turbocharged four-cylinders, and it sounds far more characterful besides. My take a look at automotive has the $1,000 RS sport exhaust system that makes the RS3 sound like a classic rally automotive, emitting sharp barks and burbles with a pronounced warble at idle. It’s simply begging to be pushed onerous, and it’s powerful to not punch it from each stoplight.
Being an Audi, and a less expensive small one at that, the RS3 does generally tend to understeer, however it’s much more enjoyable to drive than most of its siblings. In most conditions it stays impartial by corners, solely beginning to push after I actually get on it. That is helped by a trick torque splitter on the rear driveshaft that makes use of a pair of multi-disc clutches to ship as much as 100% of the out there torque (50 p.c of the whole) to both rear wheel as wanted. Come right into a nook too sizzling, and the RS3 is ready to pull itself out of the apex with ease because it shuffles torque round. This isn’t a automotive that requires a fragile contact; it’s extra of a steak knife than a scalpel, the place the reply is normally to simply use extra energy. It helps that the RS3’s metal brakes are nice, with 6-piston calipers and 14.8-inch discs up entrance and single-piston calipers with 12.2-inch discs within the rear that present a pleasant chunk and barely any fade on a quick canyon run.
Its steering is fast and exact however too gentle for my tastes, an issue I’ve with most Audis. The Bridgestone Potenza summer time tires on my take a look at automotive present quite a lot of grip whereas emitting nary a peep, and the RS3’s entrance monitor is wider than the rear, measuring 265/30 within the entrance and 245/35 out again. It additionally rides fairly effectively, by no means getting unsettled even with the hydraulically adjustable dampers in Dynamic mode, although the softest setting remains to be fairly agency. Audi quotes a curb weight of
For those who don’t wish to rip round like a rally driver, the RS3’s Consolation mode makes it really feel principally as comfy and quiet as a traditional A3, or you possibly can put it in Dynamic for sportier on a regular basis driving. A extremely configurable Particular person mode may be introduced up with an RS button on the steering wheel, which might additionally toggle on the RS Efficiency mode that gives probably the most aggressive powertrain and chassis setup with a looser stability management tune. It’s much less fussy than quite a lot of different automobiles’ efficiency modes, and clicking by every setting yields genuinely noticeable variations.
The RS3 seems to be correctly cool, too. This era of A3 sedan is already extra muscular than the earlier mannequin, with the boxy flared fenders doing quite a lot of that work. The RS3 has a good higher stance because of a 1.3-inch-wider entrance monitor and actual vents added to the entrance fenders simply forward of the doorways. The grille and entrance intakes are even larger, the headlights have a candy checkered flag motif, the aspect skirts are extra pronounced, and the rear bumper has a full-width fake vent aspect above a diffuser that homes an enormous oval exhaust tip on either side. You may even purchase the RS3 in actual colours, just like the $595 Python Yellow of my take a look at automotive or a searing no-cost Kyalami Inexperienced, and the $250 black is a pleasant accent.
It’s simply too dangerous the inside isn’t as engaging. Positive, the entrance seats are aggressively bolstered, the perforated leather-based steering wheel is grippy, and there are many suede and carbon-fiber accents, however there’s not a lot character. Audi’s angular inside design language has been rising on me, however completed in all black it’s simply not an thrilling place to be. (No less than you possibly can spec shiny inexperienced or crimson stitching to liven it up.) I’m glad the RS3 doesn’t get the dual-screen MMI setup, counting on a ten.1-inch touchscreen with a pair rows of bodily buttons for issues like local weather controls. Audi’s digital cockpit 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster stays nice, particularly within the sporty drive modes the place it will get race-inspired graphics, and each screens are in a position to present quite a lot of efficiency data.
The 2024 RS3 begins at $63,395 together with vacation spot, a 63-percent improve from a base A3 sedan. That’s quite a lot of scratch for a compact automotive… Or is it? The most affordable BMW M2 is $66,075, the Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing begins at $62,890, and you’ll’t get a Mercedes-AMG CLA45 for lower than $68,200 now that the S model is the one one out there. With objects just like the $2,500 RS Expertise bundle (navigation, a 3D Bang & Olufsen sound system, a head-up show and site visitors signal recognition) and the $500 Black Optic Plus bundle (matte black wheels with summer time tires and black badges and different accents) added on, my nearly-loaded RS3 take a look at automotive got here out to $68,590, fairly a bit lower than its opponents could be with all of the packing containers ticked.
For those who can abdomen spending that a lot on a Volkswagen Golf–based mostly sedan, you received’t be dissatisfied. The RS3 is a particular little automotive that stands out amongst its efficiency automotive friends, and it’s a dying breed. Following the loss of life of the TT it’s the one Audi within the U.S. to make use of the inline-5, and there aren’t any different manufacturers producing five-cylinders. As Audi heads towards electrification we’d not get a next-gen RS3 with this motor both, so we must be particularly glad it nonetheless exists for now.
