To be honest, we weren’t expecting much from the new Audi S3, Ingolstadt’s upmarket take on the hot hatchback. For starters, it was the supporting act for our RS6 – the “power wagon” on last month’s cover – tour to Munich. More than that, however, is how its predecessor proved a little underwhelming (to put it mildly).
Not for lack of pace, as it produces 265bhp from a turbocharged 4-cylinder engine and has a century sprint timing of 5.6 seconds. Quattro all-wheel drive and fat tyres endow it with tenacious grip, but where it really suffers is in its ride quality. A bone-shaking drive is bad enough, but on one particularly bad mid-corner bump, we actually felt one wheel leave the ground.
With all this in mind, we can safely say that the new S3 totally impresses. “Marked improvement” is almost putting it a little too lightly – in fact, other than how it retains all of its predecessor’s straight-line punch and generous mechanical grip (and then some), the new S3 is an apple that has indeed fallen a good distance from the tree.
Audi will make much of how the reworked 2-litre turbocharged inline-4 now makes 300bhp/380Nm, and how aluminium in the bonnet and front fenders (plus the new, lighter MQB platform) saves it 60kg compared to before.
But the older S3 was neither porky nor pokey, so news of an improved century sprint timing of 4.8 seconds, while certainly welcome, isn’t too thrilling.
Where the new S3 really scores big is in how much more supple its ride is. Immediately apparent, and especially at low speeds, it rides with a sort of light-footed, controlled float that wouldn’t be unseemly on Audi’s large saloons.
Diamond-quilted seats are great to look at and sit on, too.
This doesn’t mean that the S3 has turned into a marshmallow. Its new chassis is appreciably stiffer, and it turns all apiece into corners. The softer ride (almost counter-intuitively) inspires greater confidence by not threatening to hurl you into the bushes every time a mid-corner bump appears. Of course, the S3 has traction in spades, and it feels positively stapled to the tarmac.
The “anaesthetic” steering from before is gone too, making the S3 a real joy to pilot along Munich’s back roads. The new variable-ratio steering is meaty, precise and quick, with a nice progression to the way it weights up.
To be sure, there is an artificial “feel” due to its fully electric nature, but it does such a good job of mimicry that only the most rabid hot-hatch driving purist would find cause for complaint.
As an added bonus, and in keeping with recent Audis, the S3’s interior is among the best – if not the best – in the business today. Adding a bit of visual pop are the superlatively supportive and comfortable bucket seats, which have contrast-stitched quilted panels (a design theme that is echoed on the rear bench, too).
Optional Bang & Olufsen sound system delivers a sonic punch to rival the S3’s engine.
The car also gets Audi’s revised MMI infotainment system, with a tweaked graphical interface and, more of note, a new input device. The familiar jog dial has been enlarged and now incorporates a touch-sensitive surface. This allows for handwriting recognition as well as other functions such as panning the satellite navigation’s map.
For all its dynamic and aesthetic strengths, whether the S3 is the new king of the premium hatchback mountain is still up for debate, at least until we test-drive the 360bhp Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG.
Turbocharged 4-pot produces 300hp, from 265hp before.
But for now at least, the S3 has a leg up over BMW’s 135i (with a 3-litre, 306bhp turbocharged inline-6). The Audi has the better interior by far, oozing class over and above the BMW, which can look a little monochromatic and built to a budget in places. For our money, the S3 also has a more neutral, amenable personality compared to the 135i’s rather lurid rear-driven, tail-happy nature, although this could be a good or bad thing depending on your point of view.
Whether the S3 will stand up to scrutiny on local roads once it arrives here at the end of the year remains to be seen, but at first blush, Ingolstadt’s hot hatchback offering seems fully able to give its neighbours over in Munich a bloody nose.
This story was first published in the July 2013 issue of Torque.
2013 Audi S3 Sportback 2.0 (A)
ENGINE 1984cc, 16-valves, inline-4, turbocharged
MAX POWER 300hp at 5500-6200rpm
MAX TORQUE 380Nm 1800-5500rpm
GEARBOX 7-speed dual-clutch with manual select
0-100KM/H 4.8 seconds
TOP SPEED 250km/h (governed)
CONSUMPTION 14.5km/L
CO2 EMISSION 159g/km
Check out the latest Audi RS3 here
Read our Audi S3 Sedan review here
