Audi RS3 review

The RS3 rides 10mm lower even than the less powerful Audi S3; on special uprated dampers that don’t appear on any other Volkswagen Group relation; on widened 19in wheels with front tyres wider of section than any on a previous version; with a front track 33mm wider than the last version’s; and with increased negative wheel camber, for enhanced cornering grip, featuring at both front and rear.

As with other mega hatches, there's no manual gearbox option, but there is an active exhaust for an even more expressive five-cylinder sound and optional carbon-ceramic brakes, which come packaged with adaptive dampers.

There really isn’t much that you might imagine wanting as part of the mechanical spec of your £150,000 super-sports car that you couldn’t get on this £50,000 (ish) hatch, then – and chief among those things might well be the car’s trick torque-vectoring rear differential. It’s the same hardware that features on the latest Golf R and it can channel 100% of the drive that’s sent to the rear axle (typically about 50% of engine torque) directly at either rear contact patch.

When it was originally launched the RS3 was slightly limited in the exterior styling upgrade it offered over 'lesser' models such as the standard A3 or S3. For this facelift, there's been some effort to give more separation, with larger air intakes at the front end, a bolder rear diffuser and new optional wheels. Lurid green paint is also a no-cost option, should you so desire. It’s a bit more in your-face-aggressive, albeit still in a manicured, Audi sort of way.

Of course, the RS3 will spend much of its time on the road, where objective lap times aren’t as important as subjective feel. This generation of RS3 is notably improved than its pre-2019 predecessors: better balanced through long, faster, sweeping bends, where the driveline has time to shuffle torque and influence the attitude of the car, and with much clearer and more tactile steering feel than some fast Audis provide when you flick into the car’s sportier driving modes.

The work on the torque splitter and other systems do feel like they help improve the car's handling, even if it's not a total transformation.

At a more relaxed pace, the RS3 retains all the classic Audi poise, with the ride generally strong despite the performance focus.

There is a slight vibration at motorway speeds, but it's eased by selecting Comfort mode. Even with prices starting at £60,000, you would expect some trade-off, given this is a 174mph hatchback.