ST-Torque Awards 2014 Best Performance Saloon: Audi S3 Sedan

Audi S3 Sedan Review The Audi S3 Sedan may be (relatively) small in stature and look largely similar to the A3 Sedan, but the S3 Sedan, despite its rather pedestrian appearance, packs some serious firepower in the form of a 2-litre engine with 300bhp.

Indeed, when we first clapped eyes on the Audi S3 Sedan (the hottest in the A3 Sedan lineup so far, that is, until the RS3 comes along at some point), we can’t say we thought much of it. Not because we had diminished expectations of the car even before driving it, but more because it doesn’t have very many visual clues to its scorching performance. Audi S3 Sedan Review 1 Aside from some discreet badging, an equally discreet lip spoiler on the boot lid, and those four tailpipes, it’s easy to mistake this for a more run-of-the-mill member of the A3 Sedan range. This, of course, is a bad thing if a “sports car” to you is a vehicle festooned with more bodywork addenda (whether functional or purely cosmetic) than a Le Mans racer.

However, if you like your performance cars as stealthy as they are speedy, and hugely capable too, you’ll probably find no finer example of the breed than the S3 Sedan. As with its five-door cousin, the S3 Sportback (which we think quite highly of as well), the S3 Sedan is powered by a 2-litre turbocharged 4-pot that produces 300bhp (“hot weather” versions will likely be detuned to 276bhp).

Audi S3 Sedan Review 5 As you might expect from a car that packs so much power and weighs 1450kg, it rockets from a standstill to 100km/h in 4.9 seconds, which, if you’re interested, isn’t too far off a bona fide sports car like the Porsche 911.

More than just those on-paper performance figures is how the S3 Sedan has the ability to give those so-called bona fide sports cars some serious cause for worry, as with the S3 Sportback. Against the five-door hatchback, however, the S3 Sedan has wider tracks and a lower ride height, which help with its corner-carving ability.

The S3 Sedan’s lower centre of gravity, along with its all-wheel-drive system, gives the car phenomenal traction. Helping that along is the tractability of its turbocharged motor and the lightning-quick shifts from the 6-speed dual-clutch gearbox. Audi S3 Sedan Review 3 Best of all is how the S3 Sedan has a pleasingly neutral, biddable nature – tip it hard and late into a corner, and there’s nary a complaint as the engine’s 380Nm punts you out the opposite end. It’s terrifically heady, addictive stuff, and while tearing around the undulating ribbons of tarmac that crisscross the Bavarian countryside, we had to stop ourselves before we got carried away (or more accurately, before our lack of skill landed us in a farmer’s backyard).

Even better than all that is how the S3 Sedan can do sedate as well. Go easy with its throttle and it’ll do a remarkably good job of convincing you it has no more performance potential than the 1.4-litre A3 Sedan on the previous page. Audi S3 Sedan Review 4 The S3 Sedan has enough cruising refinement and “go-slower” ability that, if you’re not tearing around the country, and tearing up tarmac, is no more difficult to live with than its lower-powered siblings.

Now this, as with most things about the S3 Sedan, won’t be to everyone’s tastes, as there are cars out there that will do everything it does, but with more drama thrown into the mix (the Mercedes-Benz CLA45 AMG, for one). However, if it’s discreet high performance you’re after, this little Audi is a tough act to follow.

Besides, there’s a strange sort of glee you get when you drive a car that seems bland, yet its performance is anything but.

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