The Honda Civic Type R is the new poster child/ benchmark of compact-car performance. Perhaps Audi has something to say about that.
The genesis of the 400-horsepower all-wheel-drive Audi RS3 starts with the A3 sedan.
This humblest Audi member arrived as a sedan for 2015. The near-luxury model is a decent enough runner with a turbocharged 170-horsepower base engine and is priced in the mid-$30,000 range. The hangup for the A3, however, is that that kind of money will get you a well-equipped midsize sedan from Honda, Ford or Toyota, one that has more power and much more rear-seat room. For fans of German-based sporting machinery, that likely won鈥檛 matter much.
The more powerful S3鈥檚 292-horse turbo four-cylinder yields a snappier four-door, but the fun factor is dialed up to 10 with the RS3鈥檚 arrival.
From the outside, the hot Audi is all business, especially if your 鈥渂usiness鈥� involves European performance vehicles and the piloting of same. The blacked-out honeycomb grille flanked by oversized air scoops certainly makes a bold statement. At the opposite end, the lower panel beneath the bumper (called a diffuser) houses a pair of large oval exhaust pipes that collectively exude an equally aggressive demeanour.
The exclamation points on the sedan鈥檚 design are the fender-filling 19-inch wheels available in a variety of optional flavours.
The interior is tailored and decidedly upscale. Premium leather covers the seats, centre console, door panels and flat-bottom steering wheel. The sport buckets are supportive and considerate of more portly passengers. The driver鈥檚 side is optionally power-adjustable, but the co-pilot鈥檚 chair is manually operated only.
The tablet-style touch-screen perched atop the dashboard is subtle enough that it shouldn鈥檛 cause any serious distraction. It鈥檚 relatively straightforward to operate.
Drivers should be distracted, but in a good way, once they鈥檙e settled in behind the wheel. Pressing the red-lit starter button activates a turbocharged 2.5-litre five-cylinder engine that produces 400 horsepower and 354 pound-feet of torque. That鈥檚 a lot of punch for a 1,600-kilogram car that鈥檚 smaller than the much-ballyhooed (and lighter) 306-horsepower Civic Type-R.
The standard seven-speed paddle-shift transmission is a slick piece of work and deftly selects the appropriate gear in seamless fashion. Audi measures the zero-to-100 km/h time at 4.1 seconds 鈥� a full second quicker than the front-drive Civic Type R 鈥� which places the car in some very fast company. The optional carbon-ceramic brakes do a great job at hauling the RS3 down in a hurry. The RS3 is rated at 12.4 l/100 km in the city and 8.3 on the highway (10.5 combined) on premium fuel.
If there is a downside to the RS3, it鈥檚 the sport-suspension setup. Even set to comfort mode, the ride is unnecessarily firm over rough pavement.
All this performance will set you back $65,000 鈥� about $22,500 more than a Civic Type R 鈥� including destination charges, which includes a modest assortment of luxury trimmings. The exterior includes a panoramic sunroof, LED headlights, folded outside mirrors rain-sensing wipers and summer performance rubber.
Along with perforated-leather seats, interior upgrades include a 180-watt sound system and front and rear parking sensors.
The RS3 will run just as quickly without adding any of the tempting option packages, some of which are mostly dress-up extras. However special mention goes to the excellent Bang & Olufsen sound system plus the suite of dynamic safety technologies that are worth the extra cost.
The RS3鈥檚 small size versus cost will be off-putting to some buyers, but performance enthusiasts understand that being small also means being quick and nimble.
Such buyers will also be won over by the RS3鈥檚 style and elegance. It鈥檚 a one-of-kind package based on a philosophy that has yet to be adopted by North American and Japan-based automakers.
THE SPEC SHEET
Type: Four-door, all-wheel-drive compact sedan
Engine (h.p.): 2.5-litre DOHC I-5, turbocharged (400)
Transmission: Seven-speed paddle-shift automatic
Market position: You could spend a lot more for an all-out performance car with similar characteristics to the RS3, but this slim-and-trim sedan is relatively affordable and provides a degree of practicality that鈥檚 hard to beat.
Points: Low-key styling is appealing in its own way. 鈥� Potent five-cylinder engine is a smooth operator that likes to run hard. 鈥� Seven-speed transmission shifts on demand. 鈥� Overly stiff suspension is a letdown compared to other cars in the class. 鈥� Conservative interior doesn鈥檛 go overboard on the bling. 鈥� Fits-like-a-glove front seats.
Active safety: Blind-spot warning with cross-traffic backup alert (opt.); active cruise control (opt.); emergency braking (opt.); lane-keeping assist (opt.)
Fuel economy, L/100 km (city/hwy): 12.4/8.3
Base price (incl. destination): $65,0000
