Audi S3 review: discreetly rapid hot hatch

Thirty-two grand is a mildly alarming entry price for a hot hatch, particularly one whose styling is hardly ablaze with attitude. Yet beneath its discreet beige exterior, the new Audi S3 contains some seriously dense engineering, making it one of the finest Q-cars for years. Seriously.

Audi S3 performance and quattro drivetrain

The fundamental S3 recipe is unchanged: a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine sends its power through a front-biased quattro four-wheel-drive system. This time around, however, output is 296bhp, an increase of 35bhp, with 280lb ft of torque, while the car is 60kg lighter than its predecessor. Its figures are compelling: 0–62mph takes 4.8 seconds, or 0.4 seconds longer with the manual gearbox; top speed is 155mph; economy is a touch above 40mpg; and CO2 emissions are 159g/km. Win, indeed.

What truly elevates the S3 in the business of getting somewhere exceedingly quickly is its quattro system. It turns a costly hot hatch into something capable of troubling junior supercars. Previously, Audi’s approach to four-wheel drive left the S3 feeling rather nose-heavy and cumbersome beside lighter, more responsive front-wheel-drive hatches.

In this latest model, the front axle has moved 42mm forwards, courtesy of the VW Group’s modular transverse platform, while the engine is marginally lighter and tilted rearwards by 12 degrees. They sound like minor changes, but the effect is substantial. Turn into a bend and the S3 reacts at once, tucking itself around the corner with an almost uncanny sense of neutrality. Increase the pace and it simply continues to find grip, eventually reaching only mild understeer. By then, though, you will be travelling extremely quickly.

Engine response and launch control

The engine feels indefatigable, pulling smoothly in almost any gear. That is largely because maximum torque arrives from 1,800rpm and remains available until 5,500rpm, meaning there are no off-boost gaps or flat patches caused by the gearing. Launch control is fitted too, and three back-to-back five-seconds-flat starts on a greasy road suggest that it performs exceptionally well. The result is a properly rapid car that makes fast driving remarkably easy and reassuring.

Audi S3 styling, steering and character

The drawbacks are largely matters of taste. First, it has a fairly restrained appearance: its 18-inch wheels, modest 25mm reduction in ride height, silver door mirrors and four tailpipes do not distinguish it greatly from an S line model pottering around the UK. Second, the steering lacks much feel. Third, it is all slightly po-faced. A speaker in the bulkhead and exhaust valves give the four-cylinder engine a fruity note, certainly, but the S3 needs to be worked hard before it feels genuinely rapid and exciting.

A car such as the BMW 135i, priced within a tenner when fitted with the 8spd auto, is more entertaining at lower speeds. It is probably slower cross-country as well, but proves more involving when you are not travelling at warp-factor, prison-sentence speeds. The S3 is therefore an excellent piece of machinery; whether it suits you simply comes down to the type of driver you are.