Test drive: is the Cupra Leon... no. Test Audi S3: the most balanced sporty compact?

We test the Audi S3 five-door Sportback with its 310 CV 2.0 TFSI engine. We tell you its strong points and the one thing it gets wrong.

The Audi S3 is one of the fastest sporty compacts on the market, one of those cars where the speedometer climbs at a dizzying pace almost without you noticing. With a 310 CV 2.0 TFSI engine, a truly versatile chassis, more than acceptable interior space and an ability to devour corners that is out of reach for most cars, this Audi S3 stands as one of the most balanced sporty compacts on the market. After testing it for several days, we tell you what its key points are and what is still missing for it to become the best-seller of its category.

2.0 TFSI engine with 310 CV: the most proven engine in the VAG group at its peak

The Audi S3 uses the most performance-oriented version of the most proven powertrain in the German group, a four-cylinder 2.0 TFSI that in this car produces 310 CV. We have to go back to 1993 to recall the first application of this engine in a car. Since then, the block has been integrated into countless models from the German group: small (Audi A1, Seat Leon), large (Skoda Kodiaq), SUVs (VW Tiguan, Audi Q5), saloons (Audi A4, Seat Toledo, Skoda Octavia). Regardless of body style or segment, the 2.0 TFSI engine works for every type of car, which guarantees a very solid technical base that has undergone countless evolutions over the years to become one of the most reliable and flexible engines on the market: depending on its tuning, the engine can deliver anything from 168 CV up to 310 CV.

It is impossible not to appreciate what the Audi S3 hides under the bonnet. When you press the accelerator, you not only notice a spectacular refinement and smoothness (it seemed impossible it could improve in this respect over previous versions, yet it does, and how!), you also unleash performance that has little to do with the discreet look of its bodywork.

The Audi S3 has thrust across the entire rev range, practically from 1,200 rpm up to 7,000 rpm, where the cut-off sits. Maximum power arrives between 5,500 rpm and 6,500 rpm, but the feeling is that the car has a brutal “kick” at any engine speed.

It is impressive how quickly you reach speed in this Audi S3 (it accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in just 4.5 seconds), but you don’t need to go very fast to produce the appealing “crackles” from its exhaust system; simply lifting off the accelerator at medium/low revs is enough to hear one of the most rewarding sounds you can hear from a four-cylinder engine. In fact, sometimes it’s hard to believe you’re in a car with four cylinders and 2.0 litres, and not something more brutal.

Excellent balance between performance and consumption

Another major advance of the VAG group’s 2.0 TFSI engine, reflected in this Audi S3, is its excellent balance between performance and consumption. We are talking about an engine with 310 CV whose official consumption stands at 6.4 litres per hundred kilometres. Logically, that is unattainable for a beast like the S3, but if we drive efficiently the car can achieve a real consumption of 9 litres without excessive effort. However, if we push the engine to the limit, consumption easily rises to 15 litres. Fun has its price, but there are less performance-oriented cars that consume more than this Audi S3, and its main rivals offer higher consumption (with almost identical performance except in the case of the Focus RS):

• Volkswagen Golf R: 7.0 litres/100 km
• Honda Civic Type R: 7.7 litres/100 km
• Ford Focus RS: 7.7 litres/100 km

Seven-speed DSG gearbox: hard to improve

If we said earlier how much the 2.0 TFSI engine of Volkswagen has improved, now we must say much the same about the gearbox fitted to this Audi S3. The DSG dual-clutch automatic transmission has been in the VAG group for many years and it shows… It is hard to improve how this gearbox works, yet year after year Volkswagen manages it. Its smoothness, shift speed and paddle-shifter handling help unlock the engine’s full potential, while still maintaining the smoothness expected of a premium-oriented sporty compact.

A small curiosity that has made me a fan of this gearbox is the smoothness with which it makes the “reverse to forward” transition (first gear) while moving. With other gearboxes, you have to bring the car to a complete stop before switching from reverse to first (or vice versa), otherwise the car gives an uncomfortable little jolt that can damage the gearbox. With the DSG gearbox, this problem disappears. You can make this transition smoothly and without interruption.

The most versatile chassis in its class?

The Audi S3 is an authentic corner devourer, a car that impresses with the great confidence it conveys at really high speeds, but it is also docile and comfortable when driven at a relaxed pace. Is this the most versatile chassis in the category? Probably yes… if we compare it with a Honda Civic Type R, a Ford Focus RS or a Seat Leon Cupra, we find a chassis less radical than the others (but equally capable at dizzying speeds) but with a ride comfort far superior to theirs.

The Audi S3 is just as suited to enjoying a mountain pass as it is to travelling comfortably with your family. This pronounced duality is not very common among sporty compacts, and the Audi S3 is the great benchmark of the category.

Great interior space and comfort in the cabin

Despite offering a more compact body than its main rivals, the Audi S3 provides very practical interior space for everyday use. Both boot volume and rear seat space make the S3 a compact that is very useful for carrying people or luggage.

Most of its rivals have a more sporty approach to their interiors. The Audi S3 conveys sportiness inside with elements such as the sport steering wheel, sport leather seats (very comfortable and of high quality), certain red-finished details (such as the air-conditioning vents) or the customised panels on the instrument cluster. But the comfort of the standard Audi A3 remains intact in this sporty version. Something that does not happen to the same degree in the sportier versions of its rivals: the Honda Civic Type R or the Ford Focus RS, for example.

Its biggest “but”: the price

The Audi S3 is a very balanced sporty compact as you have been able to see, but there is one thing that falls short: the price. The car costs 51,860 euros, a high price considering that for almost 7,000 euros less (45,070 euros) you get the Volkswagen Golf R with the same 2.0 TFSI engine. If we opted for its more radical rivals, the price reduction would be even greater:

• Honda Civic Type R: 40,200 euros
• Ford Focus RS: 41,910 euros
• Hyundai i30 N Performance: 35,950 euros
• Seat León Cupra: 46,375 euros