2015 Audi RS3 Sportback Review

In order to find out we took the new entry-level RS for a spin on some narrow Italian roads and on the grippy Vallelunga racetrack. Buckle up and enjoy the sound of the engine.

The hot, throaty, gravelly voice of the 2.5-litre in-line five gives this Audi - based on the brilliant A3 - its character. Compared to its predecessor, it has 27 extra hp (to knock off the Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG from its throne as most powerful hatch), more torque (15 Nm/11 lb-ft), it's Euro 6 compliant, has a reduced carbon footprint by 23g/km in CO2 emissions (189g/km CO2) and sips 1.0 liter of fuel less (8.1 L/100 km).

To achieve this kind of progress, the quattro GmbH revised the turbocharger, developed a new software map and installed a bigger intercooler on the five-time winner of the “International Engine of the Year” award.

We already knew the old RS 3 had a big lack of dynamism due to its nose-heavy chassis, and to improve the driving experience the hot Sportback is now based on the VW Group’s steel and aluminum MQB chassis. The result of this diet is a loss of 55 kg (1.595kg) and a new position for the 180 kg engine for better weight distribution.

The impressive power plant is attached to the well-known seven-speed S-Tronic dual-clutch automatic gearbox with slightly polished upshift times and a lovely throttle-blipping during downshifts.

A manual gearbox is not available. If you’re wondering why not, the answer is “just because”: open the door, get in the optional sport seats with beautiful diamond pattern and embossed logos, start the engine, select “dynamic mode”, switch ESC to its intermediate setting, step on the brake with your left foot, floor the throttle with your right.

Wait until the engine holds exactly 4,000 RPM, release the brake and hold on to the steering wheel. What will happen can't be done with a manual. For a tenth of a second all four wheels slip before they bite and the RS3 is accelerating as it would be on the run. 4.3 seconds later you reach 100 km/h (62 mph) and the speed rush will not end before 250 km/h (155 mph) or - if you spend an extra €1.500 - at 280 km/h (174 mph).

Try to picture it: even in this region, the maximum speed is still electronically limited. But, to be honest, don't look at the gauge for fuel consumption if you are hard on the gas because roughly 20 liters are running quickly through the injectors into the inline five every 100 kilometers.

Instead of a higher top speed we would opt for ceramic brakes. Even though Audi has not released the price of these 370-mm disks on the front axle we know it will rip a big gap in your wallet (around €4.500) but it’s all worth it as we could find out on Vallelunga Raceway.

A bit disappointing because even with the revised quattro system - now sending up to 100 percent of torque to the rear axle if required - the RS3 Sportback is going to understeer immediately if you are missing the exact turn-in point or you carried too much speed into the corner.

Unfortunately, you can't adjust the line with the throttle to reach the apex. The rear axle feels like it is spiked to the tarmac, so the German hot hatch is furthermore not a racer even with its precise variable ratio steering system and the most guttural soundtrack in its class.

But on the crumbling country roads around Rome we realized another drawback on our test car fitted with the standard sport suspension: it feels a bit too scraggy for daily use, even though things get smoother at higher speeds.

Going for the €980 adaptive magnetic ride to improve the comfort at low speed sounds like a good idea and, no matter how poor the Italian road surfaces are, you will never hear a crackling in the interior.

The quality of the fittings is outstanding in its class and the cleanliness design with no superfluous knobs and switches or eye-catching gimmicks is astonishing. In terms of ergonomics, this cabin is close to being perfect. Even if you have not driven an Audi lately, you will operate the cockpit intuitively within minutes.

With the €2.300 MMI Navigation plus with MMI touch you can reach navigation, media, radio and information systems with one rotary knob, two switches, and a 7-inch display. In addition to that, we recommend the optional „Audi connect“ (€500) to extend the satnav from a 3D map display with route information in split screen, detailed junction map and lane recommendation to a state-of-the-art Google Earth and Google Street View-based system. The resolution is so good you don't need a co-pilot for a hot lap on a winding road anymore.

That is bringing the optional racing buckets into focus. This RS-only upholstery guarantees an optimal lateral support but if you are taller than 185 cm (6-foot) you have one constraint: the seating position is just that little bit too high to feel comfy with a bent up head. What a shame.

But the RS3 is not only hugely desirable from the inside, as the exterior design is an excellent evolution of a standard A3. From the silver blades under the enormous air intakes in the front bumper to the gaping oval exhausts (if you buy one, you have to go for the €850 sport exhaust!) at the rear, the makeover is subtle and brilliantly executed.

The wheel arches are filled with 235/35 tires on 19-inch wheels. But to fill the slightly flared design at the front, yet another tick in the options list is necessary: €700 for 255/30 tires. Worth it, because the wider rubber is reducing the tendency of understeer and was characteristic for the first-generation RS3 too.

It starts at €52.700 in Germany and the options list is long. Most of our configurations round out around €65.000 so the question arises whether that five-door compact is worth the price overall.

If you are looking for a practical car and daily driver that is giving you some kicks from grip, stability, and immense straight-line speed you should go for the new RS3 and, believe us, you will be unsurpassed. But on a racetrack, the MQB half-brother Volkswagen Golf R feels more agile, whereas for long distance vehicles we would choose in this class the unagitated but blistering fast BMW M135i xDrive.

At the end of the day, the RS 3 is the new power king in its class but it has an ambivalent character. On the one hand you get that bulletproof powertrain and a five-cylinder soundtrack that reminds you every second of its ur-quattro ancestor, but on the other the RS3 Sportback is still not the bend artist Audi is trying to sell to us.