Luke Youlden•18 Jan 2021

REVIEW

Audi S3 Sportback 2021 Review

This might be the last hurrah for the current S3, but its successor will want to be pretty darn good

Review Type

Road Test

It created a genre with its inception in 1999 that has since been flooded with rivals, but the Audi S3, which will soon enter a new generation, can still definitely hold its own. We typically use words like ‘executive’, ‘understated’ and ‘restrained’ when describing the S3 but there’s no questioning its luxurious feel and rather rapid performance. It still has a muscular edge to it and the S3 Sportback is a hot hatch in every sense of the word. Indeed, its successor has big shoes to fill.

Bang for your buck

The 2021 Audi S3 Sportback is a premium all-wheel drive, five-seat, five-door hot hatch and can be yours for $64,200 plus on-road costs.

Our Mythos metallic black test car was a little pricier at $65,600 plus ORCs with a $400 optioned ‘Black’ exterior styling package bringing gloss black mirror, bumper and side window detailing, plus a $1000 driver ‘Assistance’ package that includes hill hold assist, emergency assist and traffic jam assist.

Completing the options, although at no extra cost, was a set of Audi Sport matt titanium 19-inch five-arm rotor design wheels.

The standard equipment and key highlights list is extensive for a ‘hot hatch’ and is mostly biased around cockpit functions.

The ‘S’ design leather steering wheel cops a racing-style flattened bottom with integrated multifunction controls and paddle shift, while diamond-pattern stitching adorns the S Sports heated front seats trimmed in Nappa leather upholstery with electric lumbar support.

Among other headline inclusions is a wireless phone charging pad, a Bang & Olufsen sound system, Audi virtual cockpit, MMI navigation and touch with integrated voice control, smartphone interface, automatic dual-zone climate control, DAB+ digital radio and, completing the honour roll, self-parking and park assist.

Audi covers the S3 with a three-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty plus three years of roadside assistance. With an Audi Service Plan, the 12-month or 15,000km service intervals will set you back $1850 for the first three years and $2390 over five years.

Safety in numbers

The 2021 Audi S3 Sportback should offer plenty of cushioning in the event of a crash with seven airbags on board, including knee airbags, side impact and overhead airbags to go with conventional frontal airbags.

As you might expect, the Audi A3/S3 achieves a five-star ANCAP safety rating, although this relates to testing back in 2013.

Further safety technology like autonomous emergency braking (AEB), adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go function, side assist, pre-sense city and pre-sense front, active lane assist and high beam assist complement the two-stage ESC stability control system and ABS anti-lock brakes.

The impressive tech is not solely limited to the aspect of safety and, like most prestige brands, the S3 wants for very little.

Audi is arguably the industry leader in lighting and so LED headlights with daytime running are standard as are heated side mirrors.

The S3 also gets Audi’s 12.3-inch virtual cockpit instrument cluster that tailors ‘views’ to suit the individual in addition to a 7.0-inch fold-away infotainment screen.

Forefront on the centre console is the large rotary dial controlling the infotainment actions while also serving as the ‘writing pad’ to short-cut commands and avoid manual scrolling. With a data plan, the Audi S3 can also become a Wi-Fi hotspot with Google services.

Performance plus

Under the 2021 Audi S3 Sportback’s bonnet resides a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol powerplant (213kW/380Nm) mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and, of course, Audi’s famed ‘quattro’ all-wheel drive system.

The engine behaves like a much bigger-capacity unit. Peak torque starts at 1850rpm and extends up to 5300rpm with maximum power then taking over at 5400rpm and holding to 6500rpm. It’s a very potent package and the sprint from 0-100km/h is covered off in 4.8 seconds.

Sharing underpinnings and, interestingly, the same headline performance figures, it’s basically a more expensive Volkswagen Golf R.

I guess individual tastes and brand cache would get the Audi S3 over the line, but in a recent test it did enjoy a rather large 2.0sec per lap advantage around our Norwell Motorplex test track.

How? The Audi S3 had less understeer but it’s important to note that the Golf R was on Continental tyres verses Pirellis and the test was completed on different days. The S3 lapped in 63.75sec and the Golf R in 65.77sec – a pretty quick time, I must say, and only one-tenth shy of its S4 bigger brother tested a week earlier.

The S3 felt a little more purposeful than expected and that impressive time is actually three-tenths faster than the Audi RS3 we tested in 2016.

I don’t know if I’m just driving better or the track’s faster or what. But a 213kW S3 shouldn’t be faster than a 270kW RS3! The stopwatch doesn’t lie though, and if the seven-speed gearbox would’ve actually let me use second gear, it would’ve been even faster again – more on that next.

Behind the wheel

Being lucky enough to road test the Audi S4 and Audi S3 back-to-back, it’s amazing how similar yet so different these two vehicles sharing the same DNA actually are.

One thing they do share which unfortunately affects the S3 a little more is the conservative down-changes or lack thereof on the racetrack. It’s a victim of its own well-balanced and grippy chassis that the corner speed is so high to restrict the gearbox from changing down, fearing it will over-rev the engine.

By the time the road speed is actually low enough, you’re at the apex, back on the throttle and out – but in a gear too tall. The S4 gets away with it with its bigger (3.0-litre) engine but the smaller 2.0-litre S3 does not.

It’s such a shame as it really stifles what could be an amazing track-day machine and is my one and only criticism.

Otherwise, the Audi S3 driving experience is overwhelmingly positive. Steering weight and feel is just about perfect and is a little heavier than the S4. The ride is definitely on the firm side but by no means harsh – it lets you know that you’re in something that means business, as does the crackle from the exhaust.

Cornering poise and balance is about as good as it gets for a hot hatch and doesn’t seem to suffer the typical front-heavy, all-wheel drive, outside-front-tyre-shredding characteristic of similar machinery.

It also ticks the practicality box with a reasonable 340 litres of boot space that expands to 1180L with the rear seats folded and my six-foot frame was comfortably accommodated in the back.

The bottom line

The 2021 Audi S3 Sportback is a very appealing car. It offers accessible performance and is a vehicle to look towards if you’re chasing a premium feel with a brand cache that’s not overly price restrictive.

We’ve proven it’s just as fast around the racetrack as its bigger, more expensive Audi S4 brother and offers just enough muscle to get you excited about driving it.

The interior is deluxe and, like most Audis, I feel I should be dressing up in a suit and tie before getting behind the wheel.

It’s a genuine hot hatch but goes about its high performance in a seemingly effortless fashion and the all-wheel drive quattro drivetrain ensures it does it in all conditions.

I can’t fault it, other than the aforementioned conservative gear selection – like just about every other automatic gearbox out there – which only rears its head pushing hard on the racetrack.

On the road it’s superb and exhibits a chassis balance that is typical ‘safe-as-houses’ Audi with understeer the limiting factor on the limit and the super-torquey engine has more than enough punch to blow off a heap of more fancied vehicles with twice the price tag.

Doing this with all the practicality of a small family hatch with plenty of space, the Audi S3 Sportback proves that old proverb wrong – you can actually have your cake and eat it too!

Disclaimer: Luke Youlden is a Bathurst 1000 champion, 2021 Porsche Carrera Cup series competitor, Tekworkx Motorsport mentor and chief driving coach, deputy chief instructor for the Porsche Experience and also works for Pilota Sportiva, whose clients include Audi Driving Experience and Volkswagen Group Australia.

How much does the 2021 Audi S3 Sportback cost?
Price: $64,200 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 213kW/380Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel: 6.7L/100km (ADR combined)
CO2: 155g/km (ADR combined)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2013)