Yahoo Autos 2023 Audi RS 3 First Drive Review: To hell with business cases
Pahrump, Nev. – The Audi RS 3 is one of those performance models that feels more like a passion project than a calculated business case. Now that the TT-RS has bowed out of the market, Audi’s track-tuned compact sedan is the only car currently sold in North America that’s motivated by a five-cylinder power plant. Given that, it would’ve made sense for the second-generation RS 3 to have transitioned to a hopped up four-cylinder borrowed from the Volkswagen Group parts bin – after all, the S3 already gets its grunt from a 2.0-liter that’s very similar to the Golf R’s. Ratcheting up the potency of a widely used engine for a high-performance application is a common approach in the industry, and that’s ostensibly what Mercedes-AMG did to develop the four pot in the RS 3’s closest rival, the CLA 45.
But Audi has rightfully identified that there’s value in being the oddball, especially when those characteristics connect on an emotional level. The five-cylinder configuration came to epitomize Audi performance during the automaker’s various motorsports efforts throughout the 1980s, and the 1-2-4-5-3 firing order produces an instantly recognizable soundtrack that’s still closely associated with the brand today. The latest iteration of the RS 3’s turbocharged 2.5-liter scores an output bump of 7 horsepower and 15 pound-feet of torque over the outgoing mill for a grand total of 401 hp and 369 lb-ft. The 0-to-60 sprint falls by three tenths to 3.6 seconds. While those are astonishing numbers for a subcompact sedan, they’re hardly transformative. But they’re combined with the engineering work that Audi has done elsewhere in the platform, it results in a highly capable performance machine that surprises on multiple fronts and delivers on the promise of a genuinely unique driving experience.
There’s a new aesthetic to go along with it, too. Functional vents in the flared fenders up front are a subtle homage to the Quattro S1 E2 used in Group B rally racing, while bigger air intakes, a wider front track, and more aggressive aero elements give the new RS 3 a far more purposeful look than its predecessor. Audi also included a small touch that adds to the sense of occasion by way of the Matrix-design LED headlights, which greet you by spelling out R-S-3 each time the car is unlocked.
On the chassis front, the new RS 3 boasts bigger brakes with improved heat management thanks to those larger front air intakes and the ability to evacuate hot air through the fender vents. The magnetic dampers equipped on the outgoing RS 3 have been ditched in favor of the adaptive Dynamic Chassis Control setup found on other A3-based models, a move that Audi told us was made to provide a greater range of damping adjustability. There’s also the requisite RS-tuned springs, dampers, and sway bars, along with a ride height that’s 10 mm lower than the S3 and 25 mm or nearly a full inch lower than the A3. The big news, however, is the new RS Torque Splitter: two electronically controlled multi-plate clutches, one for each of the rear-drive shafts, that allows for fully variable torque distribution between the rear wheels.
That in turn has yielded two new drive modes: RS Performance, which is designed to minimize understeer during hard cornering by sending torque to the outside wheel, and RS Torque Rear, which strategically distributes the power between the front wheels and the outside rear wheel to help induce controlled oversteer. Yeah, this one’s got a drift mode.
