Road test | 2022 Audi S3: sport every day

With the impossibility of ordering the RS3 livery in Canada due to emission standards, the S3 finds itself alone at Audi to climb the barricades of the rather niche segment of luxury subcompacts with a sporty bent. A European speciality, this class is the first step to climb in the high performance fields and probably the one that has historically been the most entertaining in everyday use. But where is she now on the chessboard?

Charles Rene
The Press

Design

For 2022, this S3 has had some tweaks to its dress to make it slightly more expressive. The most salient element of this remodeling is undoubtedly the headlights, taking up significantly more space than before, thus avoiding the stylistic trend of more tapered optics. Proportionally, it is less interesting, but it makes it possible to play with the lighting with numbers of diodes with successive lines. In profile, this S3 is probably the one in its segment that displays the most beautiful balance. It appears compact and well stocked, and does not exaggerate, both in the selection of rims, which can reach 19 inches in diameter at most, and in the width of the skirts. Obviously, this livery can be recognized mainly by the presence of four exhaust outlets, its signature since its inception. Note that the Canadian market is not entitled to the hatchback body, which would no doubt have been appreciated for the practical aspect of the thing.

On board

This S3 really wants to free itself from the entry-level label with a brand new dashboard incorporating the latest generation of the MMI infotainment system. It abandons the circular nozzles of the previous vintage to spread out a number of angles and a propensity for trapezoids in the rendering. The dashboard is low, thus clearing visibility while being elegant thanks to the use of various modern textured and glossy materials. Audi has also chosen to use touchable buttons to support the various functions of the screens. We perceive a typically German solidity to the whole, but we also observe the use of plastics not always worthy of a luxury model on the console and in the assembly of the doors. We also note that the storage spaces could be a little more voluminous. The rear trunk is also limited in height, forcing the use of the rear seat to lug taller objects.

Under the hood

The short hood rises to reveal a 2.0L turbo four-cylinder well camouflaged under a large piece of plastic. This is essentially the same powerplant used previously, coded EA888. It makes modest gains at the passage of 18 hp and 15 lb-ft, for 306 hp and 295 lb-ft in total. Shared with the Volkswagen Golf R, this engine displays a slight hesitation when you press the accelerator quickly, putting the turbocharger in rotation and then unfolding its wings until the switch, which intervenes at 6500 rpm. Much less passionate than the RS3’s five-cylinder engine, it still provides obvious and constant thrust, aided by a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox that involves the driver in its handling. That said, there is a little too marked slippage of the clutch at the start as well as the actuation of the start-cannon mode, apparently to spare the mechanical organs. Moreover, frugality is not a selling point in its case, but at about 8.3 L/100 km measured on average in a winter context, it’s very decent.

Behind the wheel

Based on the same MQB EVO chassis as the last Golf, this S3 is based on all-wheel drive to extract the sedan from the theoretical dynamic limits of its traction chassis. Without having hardware as advanced as that of the new Golf R – the system cannot distribute the torque between the two rear wheels in such a precise manner – this S3 still has an exceptional level of traction. The road test, conducted on snow and ice, confirms its great acuity in keeping the car on course, even if you try to destabilize it by pressing the accelerator. Certainly, we feel a more marked propensity of the front axle to hunt than on a vehicle with rear-wheel drive architecture, but the system catches up with this behavior fairly quickly. Moreover, note the great precision of a somewhat firm direction, linear and very powerful braking as well as an adaptive suspension which takes care of surprising comfort, but obviously not always fluffy.

Embedded technologies

The S3 is literally loaded with technology for 2022 to support an all-new interior layout. On the model tested, which spreads all these advances, the main control screen in the center of 10.1 inches was lined with the Audi Virtual Cockpit, which acts as a digital instrumentation block. This combination born in the most expensive models of the brand is undeniably the most intuitive proposal of the three great German brands. Mixing physical buttons and tactile navigation, it allows you to walk through the menus easily, but not without having to go through a learning period. Overall readability is excellent and the layout of the various measurement data can be configured in several ways. Mooring with Apple CarPlay and Android-Auto wireless is included as standard and the charging pad is well designed to prevent the phone from hovering with every sharp turn.

The verdict

If there is one thing that we can remember after having spent several hundred kilometers behind the wheel of an Audi S3 on Quebec roads, it is the virtues of these cars in the reserved format. Certainly, this compact cannot hope to satisfy the desires of customers fond of voluminous interiors with its cramped rear seats, but on the other hand offers a balanced temperament which integrates dynamism into a context of daily use. It is a model of agility from which emerges an impression of solidity that is not found to such an accomplished degree in the German competition. That said, we must avoid ticking too many option groups, which could make this S3 in indirect competition with sedans of a higher hierarchical rank equipped with more sophisticated frames. The fact remains that the sedan remains an example of endangered address, failing to entirely exalt the passions.