Audi’s new performance RS 3 model is now available in Australia. Available in two forms – a sedan or sportback hatch – the RS 3 brings plenty of punch and tech to a local sector that recently lost the Ford Focus ST.

Powered by an upgraded five-cylinder 2.5 TFSI engine which delivers 294kW and 500Nm, the new RS 3 models sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds and top out at 250km/h – enough to keep even the most hardened hot-hatch enthusiast happy.

Along with the uprated engine, the RS 3 has a new exhaust system which features a fully variable flap control system for a wider soundscape that can be experienced in the various modes offered by the Audi drive select dynamic handling system. There’s also a new RS torque splitter. It replaces the previous rear axle differential with an upstream multiple disc clutch package. The electronically controlled multiple disc clutch is used on each of the drive shafts that distributes torque between the rear wheels in a fully variable manner.

A new RS Performance mode is designed specifically for the racetrack with its own engine and transmission setup, and there’s also an RS Torque Rear mode which makes drifting possible and works by transmitting up to 100 per cent of the engine power to just one of the rear wheels – up to a maximum of 1,750 Nm of torque.

In the new RS 3 Sedan and RS 3 Sportback, adaptive damper control supersedes the magnetic ride control of its predecessor, and the driver can choose between several suspension settings in the Audi drive select system. That system can be used to adapt the engine and transmission characteristics, the torque splitter, steering assistance, the adaptive dampers, and the exhaust flaps.

There’s a sporty flavour to the interior of the RS 3. The standard-equipped 12.3-inch Audi virtual cockpit plus displays the revolutions per minute in the ‘RS Runway’ design. The virtual cockpit plus includes displays for g-forces, lap times, and acceleration from 0-100 km/h, 0- 200 km/h, quarter mile, and eighth of a mile.

The RS-specific blinking shift indicator in manual transmission mode changes the rpm display from green to yellow to red, blinking in a manner identical to that used in motorsports, to indicate the ideal time to change gears. It is also integrated into the head-up display.

The 10.1-inch display in the instrument panel also displays the coolant, engine, and transmission oil temperatures, as well as the g-forces and the tyre pressures.

The trim of the interior is pointedly sporty too – with carbon fibre in the instrument panel, and RS sport seats with RS embossing and contrast stitching.
The seat upholstery is in Nappa leather with RS honeycomb stitching. An RS design package plus is also available offering some extra flair.

Equipment levels are high. There’s an electronically opening and closing boot on the Sportback variant, as well as heated, folding and dimming exterior mirrors with memory. There’s Wireless Apple CarPlay, the Head-up display, electric front seats with 4-way lumbar support and memory function, and colour ambient lighting. Safety and Driver Assistance features include a typre pressure monitoring system; Adaptive Cruise Assist with Stop & Go, traffic jam assist and emergency assist; Lane Change Warning; Rear Cross Traffic Alert; Park Assist; and more, and there’s a 360-degree camera set-up.

The new Audi RS 3 Sedan and RS 3 Sportback are available in Audi dealers now, with the RS 3 Sportback available for $91,391, and the RS 3 Sedan for $93,891.

Source: Motor Trader e-Magazine (September 2022) 

21 September 2022