Goodwood Test: Audi RS3 2022 Review

The Audi RS3 has been with us since 2011 and the formula has been largely the same throughout: put a five-cylinder engine in the nose, somehow squeeze a full-fat quattro system underneath, and give it the fastest automatic gearbox you can.

The latest one follows that pattern to the tee. It has a big, turbocharged five-cylinder engine, that sends power through a dual-clutch automatic to all four wheels via a fiendishly complicated quattro all-wheel-drive system. In the world of modern, totally over-the-top hot hatches that are now faster than the supercars of a decade ago it doesn’t seem that outrageous. But the challenge for the Audi is to stand out, to provide a very “Audi” twist to the formula. 

We can assume that the latest RS3’s design brief had the word “aggressive” written in it over and over again, because the guys with the pencils at Audi have followed it to a tee. The front takes Audi’s already big grille, paints it black, and then just paints everything around it black as well. It makes the face grow to swallow most of the front of the car, from goatee to full blown beard. The lower air intakes are now chunky things too, pressing into that central grille area and giving the whole thing the look of someone who has pushed their head into a slightly too small helmet.

The bonnet, scalloped as it comes down to meet that grille, looks like it’s been shaped by both downward airflow and upward engine force. At the back the RS3 has a pair of RS6-style oval exhausts – although the real pipes hide only just inside – sat just underneath an aggressive (there’s that word again) bumper. The rear lights, inset with LEDs, almost form a frown that makes the back look even less impressed at you than the front.

As a package, with the flared wheel arches, it works slightly better to my eyes in saloon form than this hatchback, but the whole is better than the sum of its parts. Somehow that massive hunk of black grille, which looks overdone when you stare directly at it, doesn’t seem so big when you look at the whole car.

This is where the Audi gets a little bit more outrageous. From that 2.5-litre five cylinder the RS3 is drawing 400PS (294kW) and 500Nm (369lb ft). It’s turbocharged, which sends those figures slightly up the rev range, you can hunt out peak power over 5,600rpm and peak torque will kick in at 2,250.

The gearbox is a seven-speed DSG and sends power through a central differential into that complicated quattro torque-vectoring system. In simple terms this doesn’t bother with an old-fashioned rear diff, instead putting a clutch pack on each side of the rear axle. The RS3’s big brain can then decide how much power to send through each wheel at any given time when it works out which one can use it best.

Jump in and drive around town and you’ll barely notice that the RS3 is even on. It’s so A3 when in comfort mode it’s almost laughable that this is a £60,000 car. But summon up all that the five-cylinder can do and you’ll quickly get a reminder. That warble is amplified into the cabin, but louder outside. If anything Audi could have done more to bring it in because it’s a spectacular tone, all forest rally stage-ey and warm. Then, when you get above 2,250rpm, that 500Nm makes its presence known. The thump in the back isn’t done until you’re past 5,000rpm because that’s when it really kicks in. To extract maximum from the RS3 you need to use the paddles, tell that S-Tronic system that it has to sit in a higher gear until you’re done with the torque.

The connection to the road is perhaps where the RS3 loses some marks. From a proper masterpiece of an engine you move onto an incredibly complicated transmission which hugs the tarmac on a fast run like a kitten looking for its mum. But the communication between you and that is lacking, the steering doesn’t give you anything to work with other than the odd tug and the paddles are typically limp.

However the way the RS3 does cling to the road is impressive. It will hurl itself down a more open piece of road like air resistance just isn’t a thing. High speed where that quattro system just works, hunting out the grip to bring everything together. The engine sings as you fly on and as a package it’s hard to find fault.

Come to something slower and it’s perhaps not quite so rosy. That torque vectoring system seems to decide it needs to do more work in a tighter environment. The caveat is that the work it is doing is good, in the middle of a slow corner you will find grip magically appearing on the outside wheel as it sloshes all of that push to one side. However if you’ve set yourself to approach that corner one way and the car then changes the conditions, it can knock your confidence a little. It’s a car that takes two or three days to master, just adding that extra awareness to change into your arsenal.

As usual this is where Audi has absolutely nailed it. The interior of the RS3 feels a little modern penthouse apartment, a lot science fiction. It’s incredibly dark in our “Launch Edition” car, but in less of a dreary and more of a high concept way. The 10.1-inch touchscreen is almost cocooned into the dash, which has a strong lip, top and bottom, running from wheel to door.

The vents have been made features, as with many an Audi in the past. Driver and passenger are blessed with a pair each, both in front of them and aimed squarely at delivering air right to you. While the passenger’s are part of that double lip design, the drivers are perched either side of the instrument binnacle, making the whole thing look like some kind of spaceship.

With the hexagonally-centred steering wheel and RS and quattro touches all over the place, it’s a properly excellent place to spend time.

The RS3 that we’re driving has been blessed with the Launch Edition trim. Which has heaved the price from its basic £50,700 all the way up to £60,000. For that cash you can expect the adaptive damping and drive select (not standard interestingly), excellent Bang and Olufsen speakers, big, matte-black 19-inch alloys, red brake callipers, black wing mirrors, panoramic roof, heads-up display, electric seats and a 360-degree parking camera. The Launch Edition cars have also had their traditional German 155mph speed limiter lifted to 174mph just in case you need that.

As standard every RS 3 has heated front seats, nappa leather, dual-zone climate control, cruise control, the big 12.3-inch “virtual cockpit” display (that’s the instruments to me and you), that 10.1-inch MMI infotainment system and the mighty quattro system with its rear torque splitter.

The Audi RS3 is quite an incredible tool. Find the right road and it will do things that you cannot believe. And the good thing is that unlike some previous fast Audis, this one actually allows you to have some fun. Torque-steer is at a minimum and when you hustle the RS3 through a corner you do feel like you have to get involved, even if it’s just to make the small changes needed to allow that torque splitting to work.

But, for a £50,000 base price it still feels just that little bit detached, like it wants to keep control just at arm’s length. That aggression is writ right through the DNA of the RS3 but sometimes fails to make it through the final filter to you. There are rivals out there that will leave you breathless where the RS3 is becalming. 

However that is that “Audi” sheen. The ability to make a car go horrendously quickly with minimal fuss. A car that will impress your makes without leaving you feeling totally discombobulated at the end of the drive. It takes some time to get used to driving this latest Audi RS3, but unlike some Audis it is time worth spending.