RS stands for Rally Sport. It could also stand for Rapid Stimuli. Or Rock Solid. Or Ripping Sound. Or… well, you get the visual. And the sound. Audi RS3 is a true RS.
The second weekend of January must have been a long sleepless night for Motor City residents – which is their annual endurance test, unless they are motoring enthusiasts like the thousands that turned up at the Dubai Autodrome to witness Dubai’s own 24H endurance race. Amidst the sound and the fury, three Audi models vied for the limelight too – RS Q8, RS3 and RS e-tron GT. With a stroke of luck and lightning flash, the RS3 landed in my garage, straight from its inaugural spotlight. The next eight hours is summed up in the few hundred words that follow, read between the bang and sputter.
Audi compact sedan range
Audi’s compact sedan or sportback model has three variants pitched at three levels. The meek family version with the A3 badge, driven by a 1.4L TFSI (Audi speak for turbo engines) producing 150 hp and pleasing the family as a first car at AED 199,900. The next level is already a chasm apart at AED 76,000 extra and driven by a 2.0L turbo engine whose output has been bumped up from 290 hp to 333 hp (If I remember right, that used to be the output of a 3.0L TFSI engine that drove the Audi Q7 the last time I tested it!). That is the new S3 for you. And now, for the ultimate motoring enthusiast who loves fireworks in a compact package, the RS3 is a closer bid at AED 319,900 (the way my test car was specked) but a different caged beast altogether, brought to life by a 2.5L TFSI spitting all but fire at 400 hp.
Audi A3 with a useful 150 hp, where the story begins
Racy looks
The racing prowess shines not just in the impressive figures but also in its racy appearance, sculpted in black and intricately crafted in features like the 19” alloy wheels and the checkered flag adorning the headlamps. The honeycomb grille has been refreshed and the black styling package has several trims extending all the way to the rear, where two large oval tailpipes like cannon-mouths hide dual exhausts within.
New gear shifter and ‘double-flat’ steering
Audi RS3 dashboard design with its RS layout is self-explanatory for Audi’s preferred term ‘virtual cockpit’. The compartmentalized design does not only set a geometrically sporty dash but also sets apart the control universe for the driver. This universe includes an instrument panel displaying sports car parameters like G-force as well as the rise and fall of horsepower and torque.
The flat-bottomed steering has been somewhat flattened out at the top as well, a design that lends a greater feeling of steering control, in other instances I have wrapped my palms around it. The gear-selector is similar to what is seen in the S3 – more of a slider in appearance but a longish switch in reality – a change that is easy to adapt to.
Audi’s tried and tested seats that embrace the adventurous driver feels as sporty and luxurious as every in Nappa leather with its honeycomb pattern and RS embossing on it. A new SONOS 3D premium sound system delivers music for the times you give it a break!
The Audi RS3 drive
The 2.5 L turbocharged direct injection inline-five high-revving engine continues generate 400 hp between 5,600 and 7,000 rpm and 500 N-m of torque between 2,250 and 5,600. Even the brief interval between its low-rpm cruise and fire-spitting surge forward is a dramatic moment to cherish the rev-marker rocket upwards for the surge forward. Sharply depressing the accelerator feels like the leap of a stallion momentarily throwing away the reins, only for you to retrieve it in time to whip up a 0 – 100 time of under 4.0 sec. “The Audi RS3 is like a cannon on wheels, only smaller and lighter.”
On either side of the steering two buttons waited on me to call forth the sporty experience – one with a chequered flag for the roads and one to unleash the racing spirit on tracks – along with the spirit came the exhilarating sound of enhanced performance! The RS3 is equipped with an adaptive suspension that responds to Audi Drive select. The electronic assistance in my test car was both warning and protective with an extensive Assist package.
The sticker on the window claimed a mean12.6 kmpl but I really didn’t have the window to test that out and had to be content with a banging 7 kmpl, which would sound like a fair deal to enthusiasts, just as the 300K+ price tag would.
