In the Lego Movie, one of my favorite films of all time, Unikitty seems like your normal run of the mill cute kitten-unicorn mix. Fine and dandy until she turns into a demonic monster when angered. Take that and put it in vehicular form and we get the Audi RS3. Revamped for the 2022 model year the RS3 maintains what makes it so special. Hiding a turbocharged unique 2.5 L 5-cylinder RS tuned engine, the RS3 seems retreated and mellow until it isn’t.
The 5 cylinder engine produces a distinct harmony out the back end of the tailpipes which makes it a one of one within its segment. Competing against the likes of the Mercedes-Benz CLA45 AMG and the BMW M240i the RS3 pins itself as a deeper performance option. At first glance we see the pedestrian Audi A3. A fun-sized gateway into the European luxury world. The RS3 however is far from mundane with its 401 horsepower and 269 pound-feet of torque— an improvement from 2021 with 354.
Controlled by Audi’s famous 7-speed dual clutch transmission, the shifts are smooth and crisp. Those shifts send the RS3 flying to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds— a menacing number for such a small car. This little monster can hit 180 mph on a straight but is electronically governed at 155 mph… why can’t we let the little guy eat. As we flew to 155, we got our first taste of the symphonic hymn of the 5 cylinders exit out the tailpipes. Violent yet classy is how we would describe it, a solitary choice in the automotive world after Volvo stopped using the engine in the 2010’s. Audi still plants the engine in the bay of the TTRS, the two vestiges of what was once one of the best power plants in the car world. The pentuplets of the cylinders continued to roar through tunnels and never ceased to excite us throughout every single number on the tachometer. The burbles and pops that come standard with the RS3’s exhaust only added to our excitement.
As unsuspecting as the RS3 may seem, lay into the right pedal and we see a completely different animal. Letting the whole world know that this isn’t just a normal A3, but Audi’s RS skunkwork’s project child. The dual clutch transmission is responsive and sharp. Downshifting exactly when you want without the persuasion of using the steering-wheel mounted paddles. Through turns, the steering is tight and unforgiving, exactly how Audi’s high performance compact sedan should be in our opinion. Utilizing the bump in horsepower and torque, the RS3 has noticeably more pull and what we call “throw-you-back-in-your-seat” power throughout the low rev range than the outgoing model. Sitting 10 millimeters lower than the S3 (a notch down from the RS3), the RS form was keen on our inputs and was eager to turn tighter than we expected.
Playing to this was the RS adaptive dampers and adjustable suspension that the RS3 holds. The adaptive dampers continuously adapt to everchanging road conditions, which we can attest o. The dampers gave us the best of both worlds, feeling every pebble and pothole in the Dallas roads when we wanted to and let us feel like we were gliding over I-35 when we felt like our backs were broken from the Texas streets. Implanted in the rear is a double wishbone setup which allows the rear wheels to be inset with a negative camber of one degree.
Implemented perfectly was Audi’s flagship and celebrated Quattro all-wheel drive system. Taking off from a dig rendered no wheelspin, allowing us to test Audi’s 3.9 second claim to the 60 mph sprint. Our tests came back even lower, with one run revealing a dash to the mark in just 3.4 seconds. The RS3 jumps out of corners showing an indifference to straights and curves which we love. The RS3 feels at home in performance scenarios from an unassuming stance— and you know we love ourselves a sleeper.
While the RS3 feels comfortable being in situations where the only option is to pass the opponent at 100 mph, it feels solid being what its built upon— a luxury vehicle. By toggling through the drive modes in the infotainment screen we were able to reach a compromise with this track monster. As we mentioned before the RS3’s adaptive dampers were able to give us both ends of the suspension spectrum. Flipping through these drive modes we could control steering feel, throttle control, and the overall feel of the car. Nestled in the options we found Audi’s version of drift mode. Named “Audi RS Torque Rear”, it can send 100% of power that is going to the rear to one wheel. Confusing, I know. This in theory should help the RS3 have a little fun on the skid pad and let the back end loose like it’s a Miami night club.
But we ran into some issues. The back end doesn’t come alive like we wanted it to. The AWD system may work a little bit too perfectly and won’t let the rear spin out like we all wish it would. Too little on the accelerator and we were stuck in an endless loop of being jerked back into place by the car’s stability control. It was like Six Flags but without any of the excitement. While we found that disappointing, we did manage to have our fun with liberal use of the accelerator to get the RS3 to drift. Stomp on the pedal and now we’re spinning around. The matter of the fact is, we shouldn’t have to put our foot down into the throttle for the car to spin the back end out, especially in a specific “drift mode”.
Bringing the RS3 to a halt was its massive set of 19-inch carbon ceramic brakes. Larger than most standard sedan tire sizes, the brakes come wrapped standard in 265/30 in the front and 245/35’s in the rear. We suggest you opt for the Pirelli P Zero “Trofeo R” semi-slick tires for improved performance which we found justified with the $450 upgrade.
The Audi RS3 truly is a demon in a small package. Like a little stick of dynamite, Audi truly put out another hit. Charismatic and full of personality, the RS3 is a unique pow wrapped up into an impressive performance package. Running a 7:40:8 around the Nurburgring the RS3 edges out behemoths in the car industry like the Porsche 911 Turbo S and the Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera. Starting at $58,900 the RS3 proves why it’s considered one of the top bargains in the sports car segment to date. Two words to describe the RS3? Eccentric and eager. Or as we like to put it— Unikitty in car form.
