2017 Audi RS3 sedan first drive review

[Express]

2017 Audi RS3 sedan first drive review



DRIVE
15 June 2017
Peter McKay




2017 Audi RS3 sedan. Photo: Mark Bramley



























Conservative looks hide fire-breathing performance.

With the same cracking engine as the one propelling the feisty Audi TT RS, of course we are keen to have a drive of the just launched Audi RS3 Sedan.

Supporting Audi's boast that the RS3 Sedan is a car genuinely appropriate for road and track, our first local drive took us across some of Tasmania's standout targa-type roads followed by some keen laps at Hobart's newly- resurfaced Baskerville Raceway, with its spectacular rise and fall, and off-camber blind turns over crests. It's an old-style circuit that once was - back in the olden days - a venue for the Australian Sports Sedan Championship and other national-level races.

The RS3 Sedan looks terrific, better than in the photos. And settling into that delightful cabin with snug, well-dressed seats that contain the backside and torso like a good sporty car should is merely a welcoming precursor to an emotional surge when, after choosing the dynamic model in the Drive Select menu, you push the red start button and a glorious gurgle emits from the rear. That's not a contended baby; that's the boisterous five-cylinder soundtrack with its unique 1-2-4-5-3 firing order amplified through the standard RS sports exhaust.

It can be muted if you choose. But our choice is to get the full untrammelled exhaust track accompanying optimised settings that ginger-up performance - livelier throttle, weightier steering, quick-fire gearbox shifting, and a quattro system better responding to the driver.

That engine is as willing and flexible as we anticipated - no doubt the RS3 confirms or betters the Audi boast of 0-100km/h in 4.1 seconds - and the brisk progress is accompanied by contended aural activity via those generously dimensioned pipes. As the revs rise, so does the pleasant growl, with the magical ka-boom on every urgent paddle-triggered upshift.

Audi has resisted any temptation to smother the engine – indeed the whole car – with a refinement overload. It has character and a fun-filled streak.

It plain that the deliriously feverish five-pot engine is happiest above 2500rpm, and it races with no overt turbo lag and irrepressible zest to 7000rpm.

For less frenetic motoring, peak torque starts early at a trundling 1700rpm and eases at 5850rpm just when the power hits its zenith.

The engine's natural exhibitionism contrasts with the satisfyingly levels of cornering grip and composure over fussy, snaky tarmac. The steel-spring underpinnings work nicely to deal with the handling and ride demands through fast directional changes. There's little obvious body roll and the whole balance of the car is more neutral than ever, with little sign of front-end push except in hairpins. With the lighter engine sitting over the front axle line and improvement in suspension and torque vectoring, the RS's nose is way more willing to steer into bends.

Other than the TT RS, it's hard to think of a more agreeable car at the limit.

In comfort mode and merely cruising, there is tyre grumble from the Pirellis on coarser macadam. But this is a road-and-track machine, not a limo. Suck it up.

There was a time when Audi's steering was as communicative as a shop window dummy. Not now. The electrically assisted steering is sweet and well-weighted.

Tasmania's back roads are as challenging as you find anywhere, carved into the terrain a century ago with no expectations of dealing with 400 horsepower rockets. The ripply bumpy tarmac may have been created to take the strut right out of Mr Macpherson. They're a fine test of the new RS3 Sedan's dynamic qualities.

Riding on old-school steel springs, the RS3's progress is firm but compliant enough. We're immediately pleasantly surprised by the RS's management of the lumpy bits and excellent recovery when bounding off bigger blemishes in the surface. Only once during the journey over several Targa Tasmania stages did the front suspension bottom out (in a pot hole).

Based on this experience, it might be hard to justify splurging on optional magnetic ride dampers.

And then we're at Baskerville where the only speed limit is the size nine boot at the end of your right leg.

We do a few laps, the RS3 barking and snarling and crackling, but all the time without behavioural misdemeanours. It feels fast, but easy-fast as a well-sorted, cohesive sporty car package should be.

The S-tronic dual clutch's full-throttle upshifts are so-quick and accompanied by a great mini explosion from the tailpipes. But to protect the 'box from abuse, it ignores demands to shift down if the revs are modestly high. But, yes, it does 'blip' when shifting down.

Braking is firm and consistent, and we're loving that steering. The rig turns in with just some understeer on the tight turns but then after a slightest throttle adjustment to encourage front-tyre bite, hard on the gas to capitalise on its remarkable all-wheel-drive traction-down abilities.

For track work, when some serious paddle shifting is tasked, the versatile digital virtual cockpit display can prioritise a big centre tacho. Other gauges of importance are a boost pressure indicator, tyre pressure readout, oil temperature gauge, g-force meter and lap timer.

Track or road, the RS3 Sedan meets the job criteria like few others.



2017 Audi RS3 Sedan Pricing and specifications

Price: $84,900 plus on-road costs

Engine: 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbo petrol

Power: 294kW at 5850-7000rpm

Torque: 480Nm at 1700rpm-5850rpm

Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, all-wheel drive

Fuel use: 8.4 L/100km combined or 8.5with wider front tyre/wheels


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http://www.drive.com.au/new-car-revi...15-gws5eg.html


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