Audi S3 Review

The Audi S3 has long appealed to buyers who want hot hatch pace without the usual hot hatch theatrics, and that's still the case here. Whether you go for the Sportback or the Saloon, the S3 doesn't shout too loudly about what it can do. The bumpers are more aggressive than on a regular A3, the stance is lower, the wheels are larger and there are four exhaust tips at the back, but the overall look remains understated by class standards. Unless you choose a loud colour, the Audi S3 slips under the radar far more effectively than many performance rivals.

That subtlety is a big part of the appeal, especially in Sportback form. The hatchback body suits the car’s everyday character because it gives you proper family-car usability alongside premium-badge desirability and serious performance. It still has a practical rear cabin, a useful boot and enough long-distance civility to avoid becoming tiresome on an ordinary commute. The Saloon adds a little extra visual polish and may appeal if you prefer the cleaner proportions of a compact four-door, but it isn't as flexible day to day.

The 2024 facelift sharpened the formula without changing the basic character. Power rose from 310PS to 333PS, torque climbed to 420Nm and the S3 gained a torque-splitter setup based on the same hardware concept used in the RS 3. That doesn't suddenly turn it into a junior RS 3, but it does give the Audi S3 more technical credibility than before and narrows the gap to key rivals, especially the Volkswagen Golf R.

Inside, the Audi S3 sticks closely to the A3 formula, which is no bad thing. The cabin still feels smart, solid and more premium than most performance hatchbacks, while remaining practical enough to function as a genuine everyday car. On the road, the Audi S3 is more about precision and polish than theatre. It's very quick, secure in all weathers and easy to drive hard, but it still falls a little short of the most playful performance cars if outright thrills are your priority. That balance will suit plenty of buyers just fine, because the S3’s real talent is being a fast Audi you never have to make excuses for.

There's only one engine in the current Audi S3 range, but it's a very good one. The 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine now produces 333PS and 420Nm, and with quattro four-wheel drive and a quick-shifting S tronic gearbox it delivers all the performance most buyers will ever need. It's muscular, smooth and easy to access rather than especially theatrical, which suits the Audi S3’s polished character very well.

For most buyers, the Audi S3 Black Edition is the sweet spot. It already comes with a strong equipment list, and it avoids the steep jump to Vorsprung unless you specifically want the extra luxury features and adaptive chassis hardware. As for body style, the Sportback is the default choice. It suits the S3’s do-everything brief better than the Saloon and is the version we would recommend unless you strongly prefer the saloon shape.

The Audi S3 Saloon starts at £49,060 for the Black Edition and £54,200 for the Vorsprung, with the Sportback costing £10 more for each trim. That puts it firmly in premium performance-car territory and well beyond the point where this could be considered a bargain fast A3.

That said, the Audi S3 does at least feel like an expensive car in the right ways. The cabin quality is strong, the standard equipment is generous and the performance is serious enough to justify the badge. The challenge is that there's now a lot of pace available at this kind of money, including alternatives that are either more playful to drive or more practical for the same outlay. The Sportback still makes the strongest case for itself because it combines that premium feel with hatchback usefulness. The Saloon is a little more niche, and you would really be choosing it for style rather than added practicality.

The clearest rival is the Volkswagen Golf R, because it uses a closely related formula but feels a little more playful and a little cleverer dynamically. The BMW M135 offers a similar premium-badge, four-wheel-drive hatchback proposition, while the Honda Civic Type R is the obvious choice if you care more about front-drive engagement than discreet image or all-weather traction.

Within the Audi S3 line-up itself, the main decision is body style. The Sportback is the more rounded and more versatile option, while the Saloon is best seen as the more style-led alternative for buyers who like the S3 formula but do not need hatchback practicality. That leaves the Audi S3 in an appealing middle ground. It isn't as extroverted as a Civic Type R, not as mischievous as a Golf R and not as aggressively styled as some rivals, but it's one of the neatest blends of speed, comfort, cabin quality and everyday ease in this part of the market.

The Audi S3 is still practical enough to serve as an everyday family car, but the performance hardware does nibble away at one of the regular A3’s stronger points. In Sportback form, boot space stands at 325 litres, down from 380 litres in a standard A3 Sportback, because the rear differential and associated hardware take up room under the floor. The S3 Saloon also offers 325 litres, so there's no meaningful luggage advantage in choosing the four-door.

That makes the body-style decision fairly straightforward. The Sportback remains the better choice if practicality matters at all, because the wider hatchback opening and more flexible load area make it easier to live with, even though the headline volume is the same. The Saloon’s boot is usable enough, but it's simply less versatile.

The driving position is excellent in either version, with plenty of adjustment, supportive sports seats and good outward visibility. Rear-seat space is also solid for the class, with enough headroom and legroom for adults in the outer seats, although taller passengers will generally be happier in the Sportback. Against rivals, the practicality story is good rather than class-leading. A Golf R offers a little more flexibility, while something like a Skoda Octavia vRS is the better bet if luggage space is a priority. But for most buyers, the Audi S3 Sportback still strikes the more convincing balance between performance and everyday usefulness.

The Audi S3 Sportback measures 4,504mm long, 1,816mm wide and 1,415mm high. That keeps it right in the middle of the premium hatchback class, compact enough to thread through town easily, but large enough inside to work as a genuine small family car. The Saloon is slightly different in proportion, but both versions occupy broadly the same footprint on the road and are easy enough to place in daily driving.

The Audi S3 gets a strong standard infotainment setup. There's a 10.1-inch central touchscreen with MMI Navigation Plus and connected services, plus a 12.3-inch Virtual Cockpit Plus digital instrument panel and a head-up display. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are included, and Sonos premium audio is standard too.

The important point is that the technology isn't just impressive on paper. It's also fairly easy to use. Audi has kept proper climate controls, which gives the S3 a genuine usability advantage over the current Golf. The graphics are clear, the digital instruments look sharp and the overall system is easier to live with than some more fashion-led alternatives, even if it isn't the most visually dramatic interface around. Both body styles benefit equally here, so the choice between Sportback and Saloon really comes down to practicality and design preference rather than equipment.

The Audi S3 uses Fine Nappa leather sports seats, a flat-bottomed perforated leather steering wheel, ambient lighting and dark metallic trim details to create a more special feel than a regular A3. It isn't the most flamboyant interior in the class, but it's one of the most cohesive and quietly premium. That restrained, high-quality approach suits the car well, particularly in Sportback form where the S3 feels at its most convincing as a discreet but very capable all-rounder.

The Audi S3’s 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine produces 333PS and 420Nm, which gives it the kind of performance that used to belong to far more exotic machinery. With quattro four-wheel drive and a quick-shifting S tronic automatic gearbox helping it deploy that power cleanly, the Audi S3 reaches 0-62mph in 4.7 seconds. In real terms, that makes both the Sportback and the Saloon properly fast rather than merely brisk.

What defines the Audi S3 isn't just the numbers, but the way it delivers them. This isn't a peaky performance car that only feels alive when you are wringing it out. Instead, it feels muscular, smooth and very accessible. There's strong shove from low down, the gearbox responds cleanly and the whole powertrain works in a polished, well-integrated way that makes the car feel effortless rather than frantic.

The 2024 update also closed the small gap that used to exist between the Audi S3 and the Volkswagen Golf R. With the extra 23PS, the S3 now matches the Golf R’s 0-62mph time on paper, which reinforces the sense that this is no longer the slightly softer or slightly slower option in the pair. If anything, the key choice now isn't between Sportback and Saloon on performance grounds, because both are effectively the same, but between which shape best suits your life. For most buyers, that still points to the Sportback.

The Audi S3 has always been more interested in composure than fireworks, and that remains true in this latest version. It isn't the sort of performance car that constantly eggs you on or tries to feel mischievous at every opportunity. Instead, it majors on being secure, tidy and confidence-inspiring.

On a fast road, the Audi S3 feels very capable. There's strong traction, very little body lean and a tight, controlled sense of how the car moves. Progressive steering is standard, which helps the car feel accurate and easy to place, while also making it simple to manoeuvre at low speeds. Grip levels are strong, and the extra torque-splitter hardware gives the car more technical depth than before, even if it still stops short of feeling truly playful by hot hatch standards.

The flip side is that it doesn't offer the richest sense of interaction. Keen drivers will still find that it falls short of the most exciting rivals when it comes to steering feel, adjustability and outright entertainment. A Honda Civic Type R feels more alive and more communicative, while the Golf R still has the edge for buyers who want a four-wheel-drive performance hatch that feels a little more eager.

Ride quality is where trim choice becomes especially important. On standard suspension, the Audi S3 is composed but can feel firmer than ideal around town. Once you are out on a faster road or motorway, though, the body control pays off and the car settles down nicely. The frustration is that adaptive dampers, which would give the Audi S3 a broader spread between comfort and sharpness, are reserved for the expensive Vorsprung model rather than being offered more widely.

Even so, refinement remains one of the S3’s strongest cards. It cruises quietly, the gearbox is smooth in everyday driving and the whole car feels more relaxed than many performance rivals. That suits the Sportback especially well, because it reinforces the idea that this is the version to choose if you want one car that can do everything. 

The Audi S3 sits under the Audi A3’s current maximum five-star safety result from independent safety organisation Euro NCAP, which gives it a properly up-to-date safety story rather than one resting only on an older test. Standard safety and driver-assistance equipment includes adaptive cruise control, a reversing camera, rear parking sensors, Matrix LED headlights and Isofix mounting points, with more assistance features added higher up the range through Vorsprung and optional pack content.

Official economy is 33.4 to 35.2mpg depending on trim, and that's the sort of figure the Audi S3 can get reasonably close to if you drive it gently. Use the performance regularly and it will fall away, but on a steady cruise the S3 is more efficient than many buyers will expect. There's no meaningful difference here between the Sportback and the Saloon, so body style choice doesn't really affect running costs in normal use.

The standard Audi new-car warranty is three years or 60,000 miles. Audi’s current servicing structure splits into fixed and flexible regimes. On the fixed regime, petrol cars need an Oil Service every 9,300 miles or 12 months and an Inspection Service every 18,600 miles or two years. On the flexible regime, the Oil Service can run to two years or up to 18,600 miles, with the Inspection Service also due every two years or up to 18,600 miles.

Insurance is firmly in premium performance-car territory rather than absurdly extreme. Insurance groups range from 31 up to 34 (of 50) depending on the exact version. That's still expensive by normal hatchback or saloon standards, but it isn't as punishing as the very fastest RS-badged machinery.

The Audi S3 is still expensive to tax after the first year because every current version costs well over £40,000. That means it attracts the expensive car supplement in years two to six, adding £440 a year on top of the standard annual rate of Vehicle Excise Duty, for a total annual cost of £640. In other words, this isn't a car where road tax becomes a minor running-cost footnote once the initial registration bill has passed.