Audi RS 3 Sportback 2015 Review

Audi's ballistic RS 3 Sportback has landed in Oz, ready to take the fight to the Mercedes-AMG A 45.

The second-generation RS 3 is the first to come in 'Sportback' bodystyle (the previous RS 3 was a hatch) and the first to be sold Down Under. With a ball-tearing 2.5-litre five pot under the bonnet, the RS 3 Sportback is capable of outgunning the current A 45 to 100km/h by 0.3sec. That's 4.3sec for those playing at home.

Further, Audi says the RS 3 Sportback is capable of accelerating from 60-100km/h in fourth gear in just 4.1sec or 5.8sec to run from 80-120km/h in fifth.

Priced from $78,990 (plus ORCs) the RS 3 Sportback is a competitive entrant in its class. It might be $3100 dearer than the A 45, but Audi says it's the most affordable RS 3 yet, and reckons that point alone should be enough to see the model's sales skyrocket.

The RS 3 Sportback is further available with an RS Performance package for $6490. The pack includes sticky lower profile rubber – 255/30-series front and 235/35-series (rear) Pirelli P Zero hoops – on 19-inch five-arm matte titanium alloys, a Bang & Olufsen audio upgrade, magnetic dampers, carbon-fibre interior inlays and red-painted calipers.

Lighter (-55kg) and cleaner (-10 per cent) than the previous RS 3 hatch, the new RS 3 Sportback boasts a top speed of 250km/h in stock trim, but for a small fee will stretch to 280km/h. It shares its MQB underpinnings with Golf, Octavia, A3, et al, but gains a faster acting Haldex V quattro permanent all-wheel drive system and seven-speed S tronic dual-clutch transmission with launch control as standard. There is no manual option.

Should the mood take you, the transmission's Sport+ mode also allows 'controlled drifting on low-grip surfaces'.

Audi says the RS 3 Sportback can shuffle drive between 50 and 100 per cent to the rear axle, with a maximum of 50 per cent torque directed up front. Torque vectoring is also included, braking the inside wheels to improve turn-in and reduce understeer.

Optionally, a braking package comprising 370mm carbon-ceramic rotors grabbed by eight-piston (!) calipers at the front and steel 310mm six-pot jobbies at the rear, should make short work of hard stops – again and again! In stock form, all steel 'wave design' rotors of the same diameter are fitted.

But more than its mechanical package and boot-lid badge, the RS 3 Sportback is also differentiated from its S3 sibling by a number of cosmetic touches. It sits lower (-25mm), and wider front (+24mm to 1559mm) and rear track (+3mm to 1514mm) pump out the wheels under voluptuous wheel-arches. The front bumper grows slightly (+19mm) to accommodate a larger intercooler.

And you'll hear it coming, too. The RS sports exhaust (which is standard on Oz-spec models) gives the RS 3 Sportback more bark than the crackle and pop of the S3. It exaggerates the charismatic 1-2-4-5-3 firing order of the Hungarian-built 2480cc five-banger, and resonates with a wet, motorboat-style gargle at idle.

That sporty theme continues inside where a leather/Alcantara three-spoke flat-bottom steering wheel plays host to aluminium shift paddles. Audi's MMI Navigation plus system with DAB+ digital radio is standard, along with LED headlights, DRLs and tail-lights, park assist and rear-view camera, stainless steel pedals, heated sport seats, Bluetooth, and dual-zone climate control.

Oh, and we love the revised instrument panel with boost gauge, lap timer and oil temperature read-out.

But of course the real menace of the RS 3 Sportback isn't in its appearance — a poser it isn't.

On the gnarly backroads of Tasmania's central highlands the urgency of the five-pot mill that would shame most V8s, virtually ripping the hot-mix from the ground as it slingshots itself from standstill. The upshifts snap furiously from first to third as the needle of the rev counter struggles to keep pace. It's properly fast – and that's just the first five seconds!

With 270kW (from 5550-6800rpm) and the full whack of torque (465Nm) on offer from 1625-5500rpm, the RS 3 Sportback has 'go' from just about everywhere. We found the ratio jump further from third to fourth, but with so much twist available (and so much grip to be had) it's a sensation that's never likely to trip you up.

And when you flick the RS 3 Sportback from crest to turn and into a hairpin, it's the body control that impresses all the more. Yes, the all-wheel drive system and prodigious grip of the Pirellis are a marvel, but the way in which 1595kg (kerb) of car is supported so flatly by the strut (front) / four-link (rear) and optional magnetic dampers (in this instance) is breath-taking.

The RS 3 Sportback never pitches harder than it needs to and offers just enough 'lean' to maintain grip, without rolling so far as to upset balance.

It's poised, and devilishly accurate, responding quickly to inputs from the variable ratio (electrically-assisted) steering. The nose tucks tight when asked, repelling understeering then resisting oversteer as the drive shifts forward to grab at the road. It truly is a car that's forgiving of ham-fisted foolishness – far more so than its predecessors, and dare say we more than the AMG… At least until the new one with the tricky front diff arrives.

A hatch with this kind of attitude is not without its foibles. The rear tyres are a quite noisy at highway speeds and exhaust drone is present in all but Comfort mode – and that's in spite of a taller seventh gear ratio than the S3. But we reckon the kind of buyer the RS 3 Sportback attracts won't care a bit. And truthfully, neither do we.

It's the sort of compromise you'd happily exchange for the grin this thing provides every moment you're set at the wheel. It's fun, chuckable, fast and fervent. We love it. And we can't wait to run it alongside the revised Mercedes-AMG A 45 at the first chance we get.

The Audi RS 3 Sportback goes on sale locally this month (October 2015).

2015 Audi RS 3 Sportback 2.5 TFSI quattro S tronic pricing and specifications:
Price: $78,900 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 270kW/465Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch
Fuel: 8.1L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 189g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star ANCAP (based on A3 1.4 TFSI)