I couldn’t get the phrase plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose out of my mind for much of the facelifted Audi RS3 launch. Want to know what this latest incarnation of Audi’s five-pot hyper-hatch is like but you’re pressed for time? That’s the simple summary: the same but different. However, here’s the underlying question: is that a bad thing? After all, when I drove the original 8Y derivative of the RS3 back in 2021, I described it as ‘bloody awesome’.
The trouble is, it’s not held onto 2021 prices. I know inflation’s been exploding costs like a Mr. Creosote-style wafer-thin mint, but come on. The RS3 now costs from £59,510; it was just over £50,000 in 2021. Same but much more expensive, then. Oh dear, oh dear. This is not looking good.
And speaking of looks, those are the same but different. Happily, the revised car still has the same handsome overall silhouette, regardless of whether you opt for the hatch or saloon. It has the same puffed-up arches, too. They still look meatier than a butcher’s fridge and set RS3 drivers apart from wannabes in their S3s. I, for one, love them. But there are differences in the details, and, as with the old car, they turn what should’ve been a silk purse into a semblance of a sow’s ear.
I didn’t like the front end pre-facelift and I like it even less now. The new rhombus pattern on the grille isn’t the issue, it’s that the grille is wider than it was. It makes the front look even more like a slack-jawed basking shark, which, for the record, is not one of the Lord’s best efforts. At least the basking shark looks ugly through evolution and, therefore, necessity. The RS3 looks like it does because a designer – presumably wearing winklepickers and drainpipes that didn’t cover his ankles – looked at a basking shark on his mood board and decided, ‘I shall challenge convention by 3D-printing its face in cheap-looking black plastic.’
Some of the alterations work better, mind. For example, you can change the front DRL pattern to one of three designs and they look snazzy – albeit with that gaping grille, like pretty eyes on a face bogarted by heavily botoxed lips. Relative to the front, the rear end isn’t too bad. You still get two big-bore tailpipes jutting from either side of the diffuser, which is now larger and functional, says Audi. It also sports Audi Sport’s new design signature: a vertical reflector in the middle. Very motor sporty.
Inside, it’s a similarly mixed bag. The cheap-looking plastic vents either side of the instrument binacle continue to remind me of a hippo’s ears and, for some reason, the steering wheel’s turned square. On the plus side, the new red buttons on the steering wheel get you straight to the RS driving modes and the optional RS bucket seats are superb (£2,500). With the new ambient lighting they’ve added to the door cards and the microfibre trim strip along the dash, the interior ambience finally feels a bit more RS3 than plain old A3.
Having finished my game of spot the difference inside and out, it was time to spot the mechanical changes that would justify the price hike. So I had a chat with Michael Säger. He works on the drivetrain but I guess he’s been on sabbatical. Why? Well, the engine is exactly the same as before. True, it has a more linear throttle map in Race mode, but it’s still 2.5 litres, five cylinders, turbocharged, with no hike in power or torque. Not even a superficial, single-digit increase: the outputs remain stubbornly at 400hp and 369lb ft. I wandered off perplexed and went to find solace with Nobert Gößl, who’s on the chassis development side. Surely he’d tell about some tantalising, tangible tweaks? Nope. Apparently, the chassis hardware is pretty much identical as well.
At this point, I wasn’t just perplexed but pondering what the hell to write about - and then I noticed a stat. Audi Sport’s race and development driver, Frank Stippler, has lapped the ‘Ring with this latest RS3 in 7:33.123 minutes. Surely that’s a mistake? That’s seven-and-a-half-seconds quicker than his 2021 lap in the pre-facelift RS3, which, as far as I could make out, was essentially the same car. What’s more, that’s also five-and-a-half-seconds quicker than a BMW M2 and the new out-right ‘Ring record for a compact car. What exactly was going on? How can a car that’s largely the same be more than seven seconds different (to the good) around the Nordschleife?
It’s all in the software it seems. The simple fact is this: the foundational hardware that this iteration of the RS3 is built on was already excellent. I knew that. It’s why I said the RS3 was ‘bloody awesome’ in 2021, and Gößl knew it, too. He told me that the suspension geometry was as good as it could be for a road car. So the way to make the new car quicker wasn’t to change the camber or toe, or add more power – and let’s be honest, 0-62mph in 3.8 seconds was already mega – it was through reducing understeer. And the way to do that was through faster and more detailed communication between the RS3’s trick electronic components.
The brain that controls the RS3’s lateral behaviour is called the Modular Dynamic Controller. This is constantly taking inputs from the engine, gearbox, steering, wheel sensors, brakes and the fabled RS Torque Splitter. And, after crunching the numbers, it comes up with the ideal diff strategy for any given moment and mode. To make it ‘see’ more clearly there are new sensors that have been repositioned closer to the action. It all gives the Modular Dynamic Controller a clearer picture of what’s going on so it does a better job – not just of making the RS 3 quicker into and out of corners, but more fun, too. How? Quelling the dreaded understeer by enhanced use of individual wheel braking and the independent locking abilities of the RS Torque Splitter. Basically, the RS3 rotates like a ballet dancer and that, broadly speaking, is where the dramatic seven-and-a-half-second lap time reduction is conjured from.
There’s a new tyre option, too. Previously, UK cars came on the lower-rolling resistance Pirelli P Zero, but in other markets, buyers could choose the stickier P Zero Trofeo R – the tyre used to set that blistering ‘Ring lap. The new tyre, the Pirelli P Zero R, is a happy middle ground. It offers the best wet-weather performance of the three, while almost matching the Trofeo R’s outright grip in the dry. The EPAS ‘tune’ had to be modified to work with the new tyre, and the change is also said to boost on-centre steering feel and feedback.
At this point, I’d normally say something facile, like ‘Has it worked?’. Of course it has. You don’t knock seven-odd seconds off a lap around the ‘Ring by ballsing things up. Perhaps the more pertinent question, then, is how does it feel? Astonishing, is the answer. The RS3 launch was based at the Parcmotor Circuit in Castellolí, just outside Barcelona, but my first taste of it wasn’t on track. It was on the roads from the circuit up into the mountains of Monserrat. If you’re searching for some enthralling, continental driving roads, you could do worse than venture there. The views are stunning and the ribbons of Tarmac that weave their way through the peaks of sedimentary rock are, more often than not, perfection. They’re strewn with hairpins and fast sweepers alike and, naturally, there’s plenty of elevation change. Perfect roads to challenge the front and rear axle of this same-but-different RS 3, then.
The engine feels the same, obviously. Still a little bit laggy at the bottom end but I don’t mind that. It’s a slice of old-school, analogue character in a world of hybridised, synthesised, instant torque. It means you think more about your throttle inputs to keep the engine spinning in its happy place, and its happy place is from around 2,000rpm. That’s when the boost begins and, once it has, jeepers it’s explosive. Carry out a launch-control start and the way the RS3 squats at the rear and scrabbles at the front reminded me of Walter Röhrl launching his Audi Sport Quattro back in the day. It just romps off determinedly, the engine hunting the limiter in every gear, and with that comes venomous speed. As I said earlier, the RS3 was, and is, plenty fast enough.
If anything’s different about the five-pot then perhaps it’s the noise. To let it sing again, after particulate filters muffled those glorious, discordant harmonies, they’ve fiddled with the flaps in the back box. They say it’s louder now between 2,200 and 3,500rpm. Is it? Truthfully, I really couldn’t say without driving the old car back-to-back. All I know is the bark from the back is distinguished and the mechanical whir from the engine up front is delightful. You don’t need me to tell you, but I’ll tell you anyway: I love this engine. It’s still a gem.
The gearbox isn’t. It’s still the weak point of the RS3 for me. The shifts are smooth and swift most of the time, but these roads, with short squirts between one hairpin and the next, exposed its frustrating indolence on downshifts. When you pull the left-hand paddle expecting a downshift – with your ears telling you that one’s possible – it doesn’t come. I asked why it’s like that and it’s deliberate, apparently. The software is programmed to err on the side of caution, not letting the revs anywhere near the limiter when changing down. It’s a shame because it blunts the enjoyment of changing gears yourself. Eventually, after becoming fed up with being ignored, I put the gearbox into its S auto setting and let it do its own thing. It’s quite good at doing its own thing, to be fair.
That’s the only major gripe, though. Almost everything else about the RS3 is still ‘bloody awesome’, and what’s not is more than good enough. Take the brakes, for instance. Okay, the slightly soft pedal action could be improved, but you can judge the retardation to a tee, and even with irons discs (carbon ceramics have been dropped for the UK) they never seem to fade.
Then there’s the steering. So far as I can tell the EPAS upgrade hasn’t furnished the steering wheel with any more surface sensation – that’s an area the AMG A45 still has the edge – but the way the steering loads up and lets you know where the grip is, is tickety-boo. I’m not keen on the variable ratio rack. It feels too abrupt at the outer edges of the lock, but that’s only a problem at slower speeds. In my happy hunting ground, searching out the signature switchbacks of Monserrat, I was using the spectrum of lock that’s slower, consistent, and good. Good enough that I found myself placing the RS3 with deadly accuracy.
That accuracy helps make the RS3 feel compact and nimble on tight roads and, compared with a BMW M4, it is compact. And light, too. Amazingly, 1,640kg seems like nothing these days, and it helps the RS3 ride well. Flick the RS3’s adaptive suspension, which is standard on the Carbon Vorsprung trim, to Dynamic mode and it checks body movements without checking the suppleness – the RS3 still skates deftly across challenging surfaces. I’m sure in the most extreme cases an A45 will control vertical movements better, but you’ll need a gnat’s cock rather than a tape measure to assess the differences.
And the A45 won’t be as comfortable in day-to-day life because, in Comfort mode, the RS3’s primary ride is probably more pliant than a regular A3’s. The only issue I noticed concerned the secondary ride. Mind you it’s a minor one: a slight shimmy at around 70mph. I wondered whether it was an issue with my particular car so I mentioned it to Gößl. Apparently not. It’s generated by the resonant frequency of the wheels and tyres. Dialling it out would’ve meant softening off the dampers further, which would’ve had a detrimental consequence on the handling, so leaving it ‘as is’ was a necessary compromise.
What about the big question: does it understeer less? No, it understeers a lot less. On the road I just couldn’t get the front to wash out – not even by being deliberately oafish. The RS3 turns in to corners almost as much from the rear axle as it does from the steering wheel. The angle depends on how you use the throttle: a little lift translates to a slight lateral yaw; a big lift leads to a full-blooded but easily controlled bout of oversteer. It’s the same on exit. Be judicious with the throttle and this thing just musters traction that fires it off an apex like a hare with a greyhound nibbling its tail. You can feel the back axle pushing to quell any scrub at the front but it’s restrained. However, if you nail the throttle aggressively it’ll go sideways, even in RS Performance mode – the purest, neatest and quickest mode. The mode for silly antics is RS Torque Rear mode and it’s silly enough for a remake of Tokyo Drift.
I mentioned we were based at Parcmotor, so what’s the RS3 like on track? Well, more of the same, really. The rotation into tighter turns remains uncanny, and the only time I felt I was managing the front end was through fast, long-radius corners. Everywhere else, just like on the road, you can keep attacking harder and harder and, seemingly, it keeps on turning and gripping, turning and gripping, turning and… What also came to the fore on track is its stability under braking. My, my, my. Even when you stamp hard on the brakes at the end of a long straight leading to a tight hairpin, the RS3 feels utterly assured. We didn’t have loads of laps but the brakes continued to show no sign of fade, either.
Is it fun? Oh, for sure. You can feel the car helping you out but it’s not unnatural and never dull. There’s enough mobility in the chassis to make it engaging but, overall, the RS3 feels well-balanced. That’s what I want in a car. It means it’s predictable, so I can concentrate on correcting my weaknesses – and Lord knows, I have a few – while also giving me the confidence to push further towards the limits.
At the start I said the simple summary of the upgraded RS3 is ‘same, but different’, but I was wrong. Really it’s the same, but better. It had great qualities before and they’re still there, but now it has an even better front end. It’s better on track and, importantly, better on the road, too. Fixing the gearbox mapping feels like an easy win and the cherry on top would be a bit more steering feel, but neither facet holes the RS3 below the waterline. Nor do the awkward styling details, or the price for that matter. We need to stop thinking about the RS3 as a £60k hot hatch. It’s too good for that and so is the A45. Both are bonafide performance cars that just happen to come with a practical boot. Think of them instead as a cut-price M3 or C63 and, dare I say it, they start to look good value.
Which would I buy, then? The RS3 or the A45? Well, once again plus ça change comes to mind because they are the same, but different. The A45 is rawer, and I love it for that, but I doubt it’s any quicker over a lap now. And while I adore the A45’s gloriously unapologetic thuggery, I love the RS3 just as much for its warbling engine, its day-to-day usefulness and, now, its unrelenting front end. Both cars remain so closely matched, so endearing, that the answer to which one I’d choose remains, funnily enough, the same as before. Honestly, the one I’d choose would always be the one I’d stepped out of last.
SPECIFICATION | 2024 AUDI RS3 SPORTBACK
Engine: 2,490cc, five-cylinder, turbo
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto, four-wheel drive
Power (hp): 400 @ 5,600-7,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 369 @ 2,250-5,600rpm
0-62mph: 3.8 seconds
Top speed: 155mph (174mph with Carbon Vorsprung pack)
Weight: 1,640kg
MPG: 30.4
CO2: 211g/km
Price: £59,510
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