022 Audi RS3 First Drive Review: Still Crazy After All These Years

Paolo

New member
Oct 26, 2021 at 3:00am ET


By: Brandon Turkus

Audi's Quattro all-wheel-drive system has a mythical origin story highlighted by rally stardom and one infamous drive to the top of an Olympic ski jump. Today, though, Quattro is simply a byword for stability among crossover owners who suffer heart palpitations over the idea of driving on a slightly slick road.

The 2022 Audi RS3 is a reminder of what Quattro was and what it can be when keeping the car pointed straight stops being the point. Packing a trick rear axle that brings a hearty dose of rear-drive character to the hottest member of Audi’s sub-compact lineup, the new RS3 is arguably the most compelling entry in the segment, specifically because it doesn't feel like anything else.

While we endeavor to rate every new vehicle we test, we can't provide a rating on the 2022 Audi RS3 until official pricing and EPA fuel economy estimates are available. We'll update this space once we have a final score.
Quick Stats2022 Audi RS3
Engine:Turbocharged 2.5-liter I5
Output:401 Horsepower / 369 Pound-Feet
0-60 MPH:3.8 Seconds
Top Speed:180 MPH
Base Price:$60,000 (est)


Slip Slidin' Away​

Admittedly, our first meeting with the RS3 was not a positive one as we departed our hotel outside Athens, Greece. In the hills northwest of the city, the Audi underwhelmed in corners despite its headlining feature, the RS Torque Splitter. Using two multi-disc clutches (one on each side), this collection of gizmos and gears provides the front-drive-based RS3 with rear-axle torque vectoring and a handling character that's quite unlike what we've come to expect from nose-heavy, understeer-prone Audis.

As before, the RS3 sends up to 50 percent of its torque to the rear axle, but the Torque Splitter transfers that power laterally depending on the selected drive mode and input from a host of sensors. The rear tires share the love on straight roads, but once you attack a corner, the computers will shuffle up to 100 percent of that torque to the outside rear wheel. Audi says the Torque Splitter curbs understeer, leads to more precise responses to steering inputs, and improves acceleration on corner exit. We say that's absolutely true... if you have the right set of tires.
2022 Audi RS3 exterior

On that first day, our tester wore factory low-rolling-resistance Pirelli PZero tires that completely underperformed Audi's excellent chassis and tech. No amount of fiddling with drive modes or the behavior of the Torque Splitter improved the situation, and while we spent several hours on twisting tarmac, the RS3 felt vague, like entering a corner with too much speed would cause terminal understeer. At no point on that first day did we gain confidence in the car, instead worrying about how the front end would respond, even at moderate speeds. It was like driving on egg shells.

The next day dawned, our Kyalami Green RS3 wore a set of new Bridgestone Potenza Sport tires (also available from the factory), and all was right with the world. On a twisting, two-hour loop along the Greek coast, this car finally delivered the handling the PR folks and marketing materials promised. Our confidence swelled on the first corner, as the high-performance rubber provided far more front-end grip and allowed us to finally start analyzing the Torque Splitter's behavior.

Put simply, the RS3 feels distinct from any previous RS product. It changes direction eagerly and feels far more neutral, especially in RS Performance, where the Torque Splitter is at the most aggressive. But it's less about corner entry and more about mid-corner behavior, where the RS3 has a rear-drive feel that’s unique in the segment, especially when applying throttle.

You can sense the Torque Splitter working in a mechanical way, allowing the RS3 to slingshot out of corners with a taste of oversteer and none of the risk. This is an addictively balanced car, to the point that we began applying heavy throttle far earlier in the corner, trusting the trick rear would quash any understeer.
2022 Audi RS3 exterior

It's easy to credit the Torque Splitter for this goodness, but Audi has done its homework in other ways. The progressive steering is precise and beautifully weighted for sporty driving, while the RS-specific suspension includes a wider track, revised shocks, a stiffened rear end, a lowered ride height (four-tenths of an inch lower than an S3), and more negative camber to improve the contact patch in hard cornering. There are also available adaptive dampers that balance firmness and compliance far better than last generation's magnetic dampers.

You'll forget about all that good engineering when you fire up the RS3's standard drift mode, though. Our primitive brains know what good fun pirouetting a car about is, and Audi has made it easier than ever. Simply activate RS Torque Rear (the official name for drift mode) and even folks that have never slid a car on purpose can start ultra-controllable slides. To prove it, Audi set up a large pad for us to put our hamfistedness to the test.
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In a six-minute session, we went from spinning out or failing to start a drift altogether to linking drifts on a figure-eight loop or drifting sideways in a big, beautiful circle, steering with the throttle to maintain the maneuver. The RS3 is brilliant on a twisting road, but nowhere does it make you feel more heroic than on a skidpad. It's so good you won't even care that drift modes are kind of gimmicky nonsense.

This is not merely some drift machine, though. Audi is adamant that the RS3 is track-capable and it's offering the hardware (and a Nurburgring lap record) to back up that claim. Carbon-ceramic brakes are available and aside from their fade-free stopping power, they also trim 22 pounds of unsprung weight. Factory-mounted Pirelli PZero Trofeo R tires are an additional option and based on a brief track stint at a circuit outside Athens, provide unshakeable grip. We'll talk plenty more about on-track dynamics once we get the RS3 on a more familiar circuit in 2022.
2022 Audi RS3 exterior

Have A Good Time​

The 2022 Audi RS3 is a remarkably well-balanced performance car, and not just because of how it blends sportiness and livability. The Torque Splitter's ability to instill rear-drive dynamics into an all-wheel-drive car that's based on a front-drive platform gives it not just multiple personalities, but abundant personality. While we'll be waiting until summer of 2022 to see the RS3 on American shores, after dashing along the Greek coast, we're confident it's worth the wait.

 

odl21

New member
i've actually given up on reading any media reviews now anyway. they seem to universally just repeat what the manufacturer's information pack says. i'm not sure any of them have any sensitivity to a car at all.

i've completely failed to find any reviews of my own modern cars (yaris, 911 etc) that i would feel any help in buying the car. no substitute for a test drive yourself.
 

ksc

New member
I'm surprised that they were professional enough to recognise the fault was with the tyres & to get it on something better. Often reviewers can be a bit unfair with comparing cars that have different levels of tyres - they're a consumable, you can change them!

i've actually given up on reading any media reviews now anyway. they seem to universally just repeat what the manufacturer's information pack says. i'm not sure any of them have any sensitivity to a car at all.

i've completely failed to find any reviews of my own modern cars (yaris, 911 etc) that i would feel any help in buying the car. no substitute for a test drive yourself.
Something I found shocking about buying the GR Yaris was how little I needed to learn about it before I knew more about it than the people reviewing it. Also, how much they repeated the same information in the same order.

How hard is it for a mere mortal to get a 911 test drive?
 

odl21

New member
yes the yaris reviews really drove this point home.

porsche seem really good actually. they always lend me cars to try - sometimes even unregistered with garage plates which is a little naughty. even before i'd bought anything from them they were really helpful and lent me various cars for a day at a time. one of the reasons i've now bought a few from them in fact.

toyota by contrast were terrible. didn't answer email and reluctantly let me try a yaris for about 15 minutes with the salesman next to me and only after i went there and stood next to his desk trying to buy one!
 

ksc

New member
That's why I asked. I had trouble getting a GR Yaris test drive & that made me wonder how it would be possible to cross-compare something more exclusive.
 

JonW

New member
I saw this and thought 'thats not too bad' but then I saw the price; it will be $90k + on roads for the base model in Aus. Hmm... so about 120k as a spec you might want... thats double what a GRY Rallye costs. Bigger car and a bit quicker, but wow... thats a 'no' from me, but there will plenty of them farting their way past my house at 1am I bet. :/
 

Paolo

New member
I've never quite understood the German mentality with hot hatches.
And it seems this is more of the same.
 

odl21

New member
the german mentality is generally to make something that isn't too much of a design step from the past. very conservative. i mean look at your stereotypical german....
its why golfs are so universally boring.

unfortunately they are rather good at making cars though. so we often put up with the boring styling to get a good car. been a while since i've not been slightly bored driving a german car though. including all 3 of my modern porsches. last 'fun' car was the E60 M5.
 

Paolo

New member
I saw this and thought 'thats not too bad' but then I saw the price; it will be $90k + on roads for the base model in Aus. Hmm... so about 120k as a spec you might want... thats double what a GRY Rallye costs. Bigger car and a bit quicker, but wow... thats a 'no' from me, but there will plenty of them farting their way past my house at 1am I bet. :/
A45s likes a fart as well... 🤣
 
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