Audi S3 2020 review

I'm Tom Baker, this is Chasing Cars and this is the Audi S3. Now there aren't many cars that I come away from driving thinking that's just a lovely car, but the Audi S3 is one of them. In fact, I reckon this is one of the nicest cars that you can buy if you've got about 70 grand and you're looking for an entry-level luxury performance car. It ticks a lot of boxes and I'm going to explain why that is the case throughout this video. What we're going to do is our usual thing, we're going to chat about where this car fits into the market, we're going to have a look at the interior, see how practical it is and then we're going to take the S3 out onto the road. But basically the S3 is the performance version of the Audi A3. It sits underneath the RS3 and it basically shares an engine, a gearbox and an all-wheel drive system with the Volkswagen Golf R. But hey, we like that car too, so we need to talk about why it is the Audi S3 elevates above the Golf and justifies an extra 10 or 15 grand price. Now this particular S3 is the sedan, but you can get it in a slightly cheaper hatchback or a more expensive convertible version. But all the oily bits under the skin are basically exactly the same, and so is the interior for the most part. And what we're looking at here is I reckon still the best interior in a small luxury car. Yes, the new Mercedes-Benz A-Class has come a long way and has a very, very impressive interior in the new shape, but the sheer quality on offer here, the gorgeous build, the judicious selection of luxurious materials and the integration of technology have kept the S3 feeling young, despite the fact this car is actually seven years old in the market now. It doesn't feel anything like that. You sit immediately behind a gorgeous steering wheel that doesn't have too many buttons, unlike the one in the A-Class. There's a beautifully upholstered dashboard, soft touch materials everywhere, cold aluminium, lovely rotary AC vents here, and just a sort of really nice tactility to all of the buttons and dials that you see and use. It feels like a proper luxury car, despite the fact this is one of the entry-level Audis. That also extends to the seats for the most part. I've always thought the S3 had beautiful looking seats with this diamond quilted pattern. They look comfortable, they're made of fine nappa leather, but as standard they're actually manually adjustable, which I think is just ludicrous when the Golf R has electric adjustment with memory on both front seats. At least they're heated and they're fairly comfortable. Not Audi's most comfortable seats, but they're not so bad. What certainly is far from bad, in fact it's excellent, is the infotainment. So we've got a standard virtual cockpit that can do satellite imagery for the mapping in front of you. We've got a Bang & Olufsen stereo that's available. We've got standard Apple CarPlay and Android Auto that is displayed on this gorgeous thin screen up here that you can also put away if you don't want to be interrupted by clutter on the dashboard. It's a nice place to spend time. Practicality's not bad either. Big cup holders. We've got wireless charging under here, which is a bit odd, but that's kind of showing the age of the car. They've reverse-engineered that later, but on the whole it's easy to live with. Let's have a look in the back seat. Now if you go for the S3 hatchback, that car has decent headroom. The sedan though, despite having a conventional roofline, it's a little bit tighter. So for me at six foot, my headroom is just okay. I've got, I don't know, just a little bit. Legroom's something of a problem. My legs are right up against the seat in front of me and you've got this hard plastic back. Toe room, that's actually not too bad. The point is, is that the S3 is clearly designed around having two people up front for the most part, but you can carry adults in the back if you have to. They'll enjoy air vents. There's an old-school 12-volt socket, no USB ports, and there's no flip-down armrest, sadly, probably because you actually get sport seats with the quilted leather here in the back. Now that's kind of cool. Also, soft-touch materials, they do continue. In the second row, unlike the Volkswagen Golf. Hmm, small sedans, they're not really my thing. If I was buying an S3, I'd take the hatch back, but the popularity of the four-door form factor in this car in Australia means that perhaps I'm wrong. Practicality is good. There's 390 litres of space, you've got netting so your groceries don't roll around. It's a nice, usable sedan boot, but the aperture here is a little narrower. If you go for the hatch, of course, you have the wide opening door, so that's less of a problem. But what is the Audi S3 like out on the road? So, the Audi A3 does share a lot of its oily bits with the Volkswagen Golf R, but when I was driving this car, I was interested in whether or not Audi has elevated the experience of the S3 above and beyond its more mainstream cousin, and happily for them, I suppose, the answer to that is yes, they have, because it's actually quite different from behind the wheel, and I'll explain how. But first, let's remind ourselves about the engine under the bonnet of this Audi S3, because it's one that we've seen, heard, and talked about a lot before, the Volkswagen Group EA888 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol. Here, it makes 213 kilowatts of power and 380 newton metres of torque, and if those outputs sound familiar, it's because they're the same as the outputs of the Golf R. The torque then gets sent to all four wheels via a Howdeck-style quattro all-wheel drive system through a seven-speed wet-clutch dual-clutch automatic gearbox, which Audi calls S-Tronic, but it's the same as the DSG in the Golf R, so, you know, so far, so similar. But that's where it all starts to change, because even though the boosty linear nature of the EA888 engine is the same across both cars, Audi have completely changed the response to throttle inputs, the steering is completely bespoke, the suspension is completely bespoke, and the actual driving experience is elevated. First of all, the steering. I think this car has absolutely lovely steering. Like all present Audis, the ratio is very quick, feels lightning connected to the front wheels, you know, you just pitch in a little bit and there's instant response from the front end of the car. I really like the way the S3 tips into corners and you get a little bit of feedback through the wheel, and in the weighting, the comfort weighting, it's actually really nicely done. The chassis is really, really balanced. We know that about pretty much all cars on MQB, but the S3's combination of a little bit of extra length on a short wheelbase actually makes it quite entertaining to drive. Coming out of roundabouts and sort of damp corners on fast country roads, you get little controlled four-wheel skates. I'd say skates more than slides, but it's hugely entertaining if you drive this car hard, and that's not the reputation that Audis typically have. In fact, I'd say this is one of the less clinical Audis that I've ever driven. It's really quite engaging for a driver that likes a small all-wheel drive performance car, because that's essentially what you're getting here. Then there's the suspension, which is really breathable on Australian roads. It's definitely firm, there's no avoiding that, but it's never crashy or uncomfortable. Instead, the body's nice and level, the 19-inch wheels, the motion there is well controlled. Yeah, it's good, and there's also not too much grip. That's always a risk on an Audi with Quattro, but we're only running Bridgestone Terrazza T005 tyres here, which pretty good, but they do allow you to have a little bit of fun on and off throttle. Refinement's okay. There's a bit of road noise, everything else is well suppressed, there's no vibrations, no harshness, so I'd say it is pretty refined. It does feel worthy of the four rings, and the safety package is good too. We've got AEB, high-speed AEB, we've got adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist. You know, it feels fairly well equipped, despite the fact this car is now in its eighth year of service. So, lots to like about the Audi S3. This car is fun to drive, it looks good, it has a beautiful interior, and it's pretty practical. The fact you can buy it in hatch, sedan, and convertible also means it's really customisable, and importantly, I think it does justify the price increase that it asks over the Volkswagen Golf R that shares so many of the mechanical parts of this car. If I was looking for a vehicle in this segment, the Audi S3 would still be right up there. Let me know what you think about that proposition underneath the video. While you're down there, make sure to subscribe to Chasing Cars so you can keep making these full-length, highly-detailed Australian video car reviews, and as always, thanks for watching Chasing Cars.