Audi S3 review and family road test finds ample athletism

Mechanical tweaks have made some significant changes to the Audi S3 prestige hot hatch for 2025.

Former American footballer Walter Payton perfectly summed up inflated self-opinion.

“When you’re good at something, you’ll tell everyone. When you’re great at something, they’ll tell you.”

That’s almost the Audi performance genre philosophy. While there are some overtly sporting derivatives wearing the four-ringed badge, most of Audi’s quickest variants are mildly distinguishable from their sensible siblings.

The S3 is a perfect example. Not quite a wolf in sheep’s clothing, its exterior has sporting touches to set it apart from the mainstream A3. Yet hit the start button, and that’s where the muscle is flexed.

Freshly updated, the previous iteration of the S3 drew criticism for lacking precision. So Audi’s engineers went to the Volkswagen (its parent company) go-fast parts bin and upped the ante.

Prices have risen by $3400, and the hatchback version we tested starts from $86,586 drive-away – while the sedan costs $3000 more.

What do you get?

Sporty with an elegant edge, the S3 defines its athleticism with quad tailpipes, along with red brake calipers behind 19-inch alloys.

Step inside and the theme continues with bucket front seats covered in Nappa leather with S embossing along with diamond stitching, and a sports steering wheel.

Other features include keyless entry, three-zone aircon, 10.1-inch touchscreen, wired and wireless smartphone mirroring apps, 15-speaker sound system, satnav along with a colour ambient lighting pack which enables a multitude of hues.

Our test car had a $1115 launch pack which included special five-spoke alloys, the black exterior styling pack, tinted glass and ‘S’ logo projection from under the side mirrors.

Eight metallic or pearlescent colours are available, with only a special Audi Sport “ascari blue” adding an extra $900.

Other packs and options have the capacity to quickly push the price toward $100k, with a power tailgate featuring gesture control $850, panoramic sunroof $2600, sports seats with integrated head rests $1100, tinted glass $825 and carbon inlays $710.

Servicing can be prepaid, with $2890 covering five maintenance visits. That’s an average cost of about $580 with annual or 15,000km intervals. But that’s just “basic” coverage, and the “Advantage” option costs $3250 and includes the replacement of wear-and-tear items like brake pads and discs.

Cabin features of the 2025 model Audi S3 Sportback include sports seats with leather trim, 10.1-inch touchscreen, wired and wireless smartphone mirroring apps, 15-speaker sound system and satnav.

How was the drive?

Previous iterations of the S3 were nice but didn’t inspire the boy racers. This new variant gains some extra underskin wizardry, most notably a fully variable torque splitter rear differential which is standard fare in its more raucous RS3 brethren.

Details of how it works will excite performance purists. Ultimately what most care about is the fact you can drive it into a corner quicker and pile on the power without the Bridgestone rubber losing traction.

It’s a cracking drive with scalpel-sharp steering and now also with beefier brakes so it pulls up with precision.

Off the mark it will rip from standstill to 100km/h in a swift 4.7 seconds accompanied by a lovely exhaust soundtrack. If the quad pipes aren’t generating enough burble for your liking, there is the optional $9900 Akrapovic titanium exhaust system … but it would really want to sing prouder than Eurovision for that kind of coin.

Ultimately it does everything well. From behaving in traffic without fanfare, to cruising on the highway, or carving through the bends on searching rural roads, it’s an adept all-rounder.

Some enthusiastic use of the right foot meant our fuel consumption averaged more than 10 litres for every 100km covered. With good behaviour and an easy highway run we saw it dip below seven on one trip.

Our test drive of the Audi S3 Sportback saw average fuel consumption push beyond 10 litres for every 100km, but on the highway it dipped below seven.

Would you buy one?

Kel: For my lifestyle and expectations, it’s just about perfect. I love the size, the look and the drive. The only setback is the size of the boot, which was too small for our weekly grocery shop which meant three of the 10 bags spilled into the back seat.

Grant: A loveable hot hatch, but throw in some optional extras and the bottom line quickly increases. Its even faster sibling, the updated RS3, is expected later this year with an on-road price tag exceeding $110,000 – which is perhaps not that big a stretch for those who love to drive and have the financial capacity. But Audi has vastly improved the S3 with some pivotal tweaks.

Originally published as Audi S3 review and family road test finds ample athletism