Audi RS 3 2022 Review

Now priced the high side $90,000, the new 2022 Audi RS 3 Sportback is once again available in more adult-looking sedan form for an extra $2500 ($93,891 plus ORCs), adding a larger boot but retaining all the aggression of its stubby-rumped hatch sibling.

That makes both giant-killing packages around $8000 more expensive than before, but both new RS 3 models still undercut the price of their two main rivals – the Mercedes-AMG A 45 S (from $100,300) and BMW M2 Competition (from $102,900) – and also claim to be quicker to 100km/h. Cop that!

And while both German rivals make more power, they lack the character of the new RS 3’s unique 2.5-litre inline five-cylinder turbo-petrol engine, which belts out an eye-watering 294kW of power and 500Nm of torque – enough mumbo to squeeze bodies firmly into its quilted leather sport seats.

The new Audi RS 3 Sportback tested here is very much a brute in a robo-suit, its high-tech angular design turning heads as its cruises past, but being an Audi it still delivers plenty of high-tech luxury trappings.

Headline acts here include heavily bolstered, power-adjustable and heated sports seats, a digital screen triple-treat (12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, 10.1-inch central touch-screen, digital head-up display) and intelligent matrix LED headlights with a unique RS 3 start-up ‘dance’.

A 15-speaker Bang & Olufsen audio system delivers a big audio kick for what is a small car, while cool 19-inch black alloy wheels, adaptive dampers, adaptive cruise control and a menacing black styling package comprising a black grille, window surrounds, side mirrors and side skirts are also standard.

The spec sheet also lists massage functionality for the front seats, lane change warning, cross traffic alert, exit warning and a 360-degree surround view parking camera system as standard equipment, but they’ve been left out of Aussie cars. You can blame the global semi-conductor shortage for that.

But there are options, most of them pretty exxy, like the panoramic sunroof ($2600), an ‘RS design package plus’ ($2150) that buys you loads of red or green interior highlights and a carbon package ($6100 hatch, $5000 sedan) that carbon-fiberises everything – rear spoilers, side skirts and mirror caps – and adds gloss-black Audi rings and badges.

Matt-aluminium exterior styling ($2000) and ‘RS dynamic package plus’ (for a cool $13,000) packages round out the options list, the latter essentially a track pack with ceramic brake rotors and a raised top speed of 290km/h.

Passenger comfort in the front seats is excellent and the rear seats aren’t too bad for a small car, offering reasonable roominess. But boot space is pretty miserly at 282 litres, although it expands to 1104 litres and is sufficient for a couple of suitcases or a decent load of groceries.

Like all Audi models, the RS 3 is now backed by a five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty, while service intervals are yearly or every 15,000km, whichever occurs first. A pre-paid five-year service plan is priced at $3580.

This is the section of the review where we normally wax lyrical about the (admittedly excellent) 12.3-inch virtual cockpit digital driver’s display with bespoke RS modes, and all the latest tech and safety features.

But this is the latest and greatest Audi RS 3, whose claim to fame is its ability perform lurid drifts at the touch of a button. Well, almost.

The most impressive – and important – piece of technology hidden beneath the smallest Audi RS model’s angular exterior is the heavily-upgraded quattro all-wheel drive powertrain, which makes the biggest difference to the way the new Audi RS 3 motivates its occupants.

The previous car’s Haldex mechanical multi-disc rear clutch pack is replaced by a Magna-sourced rear ‘diff’ that employs electronically controlled clutches on both the left and right drive shafts.

Audi calls it the ‘RS torque splitter’ and it can distribute up to 100 per cent of the engine’s torque to either rear wheel, making the car feel more like a rear-driver without understeer – something that hampered its predecessor during hard cornering.

It works magnificently and when Audi rolls it out across its bigger, more powerful RS vehicles, things are going to get really interesting, really quickly. That’s because the torque splitter allows the engine to slam one of the rear wheels with everything it can muster, allowing drivers to visit oversteer country on demand – with return visits encouraged via the ‘RS torque rear’ drift mode.

We tested it on a damp skid pan, where it proved itself a very cool and effective party trick that gets the endorphins pumping like few other cars this side of a Ford Focus RS.

At first it was challenging to string together the perfect 360-degree doughnut drift with lots of opposite steering lock. It doesn’t behave like a conventional rear-drive car and requires more brutality to initiate the drift and swing the tail out. But with a bit of practice it became a hugely entertaining and seriously addictive experience.

The only problem with drift mode is that its full potential can’t really be unlocked anywhere other than a skid pan or maybe a back paddock. Of course, we’d never recommend it on a public road and it shreds expensive tyres quickly.

You can’t tell the 2022 Audi RS 3 story without referencing its hallowed inline five. So much of the car’s legend is wrapped up in the unique powertrain, which has won the international performance engine of the year award nine times.

To cut a long story short this oddball engine is an absolute pearler and its fulsome 294kW/500Nm outputs are dispatched to the wheels in compelling fashion thanks the savvy new rear diff.

Apart from blending the compact dimensions of a four-cylinder engine with the power and acoustics of a six-cylinder, there’s something very appealing about the way this engine revs. The surprisingly gruff howl from the twin oval exhaust outlets – complete with a new flippy-flap valve to increase resonance and volume – adds greatly to the experience.

That said, the snap, crackle and pop between gear shifts in the old RS 3 has been virtually eliminated.

The potent engine has strong bottom-end flexibility and by the time the revs reach 4000rpm the party is getting really rowdy. The engine’s mid-range punch is noticeably enhanced by an extra 20Nm of torque compared to the previous RS 3, thanks to more turbo boost pressure and revised ECU software.

The angry little Audi accelerates to its near-300kW power peak at 7000rpm very convincingly and while it’s not as powerful as the Mercedes-AMG A 45’s 310kW 2.0-litre turbo four, Audi claims the RS 3 accelerates to 100km/h faster than any other vehicle in the segment – 3.8 seconds compared to the AMG’s 3.9.

It also has a higher (optional) top speed of 290km/h, which is academic in Australia but remains crucial in a performance car market where bragging rights can often sway sales.

The heavily-revised seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission is an impressive piece of kit too, tying the engine and torque-splitting quattro system together with ruthless competence.

It snicks through the gears – both up and down – with rapid-fire speed and accuracy at full tilt and while it’s quiet and refined at pedestrian speeds, we noticed some slow-speed hesitation in first gear.

The 2022 Audi RS 3 displayed a more mature persona than its forebear on the drive route Audi chose for the national media launch (from Adelaide airport to The Bend racetrack via the scenic route), especially in peak-hour traffic and over some pretty chopped up and patchwork roads.

Smoother gearshifts and improved ride comfort courtesy of a new suspension package with revised adaptive dampers make it much easier to live with as a commuter car than the model it replaces.

When the city arterials gave way to country roads, it was time to flick the drive mode selector from comfort to dynamic and within a dozen corners it was clear the new RS 3’s more sophisticated attitude hasn’t diluted its cornering performance.

Quite the contrary in fact: Audi Sport’s hard yakka in the chassis workshop has not only resulted in more daily-driving civility but a sharper and more satisfying drive when the red mist descends.

The clever rear axle dials out almost every skerrick of understeer and even coaxes the car into mild oversteer when you get on the throttle early exiting corners. Ultimately, because it turns more readily, this not only makes the new RS 3 faster point to point but more rewarding to hurl through corners.

The RS torque splitter is an exceptionally capable device and although it’s not the first of its kind – that honour goes to the discontinued Ford Focus RS – it delivers pulse-pounding thrills like few other sports cars, let alone hot hatches.

Despite its sharp dynamics, the new RS 3 also handles mid-corner bumps at high velocities pretty well, the suspension maintaining a level of compliance even in the sportiest drive mode. It takes big hits well and doesn’t crash and thud.

Criticisms? There’s a bit of tyre roar on most surfaces and there’s no longer a trademark flat-bottom steering wheel for Aussie cars, because that item doesn’t have sensors to detect driver’s hands for autonomous driving. The end result is a larger steering wheel with a rim that’s not chunky enough and feels a bit out of place.

The 2022 Audi RS 3 is a way better track-day tool than its precursor, biting into the road surface and tearing corners to shreds and like an adolescent Rottweiler.

There’s far less front-end push at the limit thanks to the new driveline wizardry and wrestling the RS 3 around The Bend’s 3.4km 12-corner West Circuit revealed it to be a beautifully dialled in hot hatch, right out of the box.

With the ability to push the RS 3 to its absolute limit, we saw speeds nudging 250km/h on the main straight, where the peppy turbo five revved joyfully to its 7000rpm limiter but showed it hasn’t changed its tune dramatically.

Combined with the new torque-meister rear-end, wider wheel tracks and heavily upgraded suspension make this an altogether more resolute track weapon.

Stiffer lower wishbones at the front and a reworked multi-link rear set-up with new anti-roll bar ensure a super-flat attitude even at maximum attack, allowing you to use the throttle with more freedom and instigate effortless tail-out action at will.

Increased negative camber at the front (-1 degree) and rear (-0.5 degree) improves the car’s agility and the stocky little German five-door has a new-found playfulness that makes it more addictive than high-quality froghurt.

And it decelerates just as well, thanks to an upgraded braking system comprising 375mm front rotors gripped by huge six-pot callipers and 310mm rear rotors with single-piston clamps.

Together, they effortlessly hauled in the 1570kg hatch (the sedan weighs 5kg more but we didn’t drive it on track) every time, with only minor brake fade evident after multiple stints.

The optional (and ultra-expensive) carbon-ceramic brakes bring 380mm front and 310mm rear discs but unless you live next door to a racetrack or have money to burn they’re probably overkill.

The driving enjoyment the new RS 3 delivers, with help from its lusty engine, rapid-fire gearbox, well sorted suspension and tail-happy all-wheel drive system, make this a very special vehicle indeed.

The 2022 Audi RS 3 Sportback is an absolute hoot to drive. Hugely accomplished and with few flaws, it’s possessed of a higher level of composure and performance across a wider array of conditions.

Whether cruising through the city or blatting around a racetrack with white knuckles, its newfound maturity and broader performance envelope – and the fact it’s available in both hatch and sedan flavours – will satisfy a much broader group of performance car buyers.

Granted, the RS 3 may be viewed as a high-end hoon car and its drift mode as an irresponsible gimmick. But its advanced driveline combines with a brilliant chassis and lusty engine to significantly broaden its skillset and make it one of the best hot hatches ever produced.

Adding more poignancy is the fact it could be the last ever Audi RS 3 to employ a combustion engine, further underlining what Audi Sport engineers have achieved here and cementing its position as a landmark sports car.

The end of an era? If the next-generation RS 3 does indeed emerge with dual electric motors in about five years, the 2022 Audi RS 3 will most certainly become a lasting legacy for the German car-maker’s venerable turbo five.

How much does the 2022 Audi RS 3 Sportback cost?
Price: $91,391 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 294kW/500Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel: 8.3L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 190g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Untested