AN S TO IMPRESS? (some text hidden) SECTIONED_new_audis3_2021

By Jonathan Crouch

Introductionword count: 96

Audi's S3 has always championed subtlety, but over the years, some have seen this car's driving dynamics as being perhaps a touch too subtle. Those people might like this fourth generation version, examined here in pre-facelift 2020-2023-era form. It offered sharp looks, improved quattro traction and enhanced adaptive damping, along with an even more appealing cabin. All without delivering the kind of showy exuberance of some of its rivals. There's a choice of five-door Sportback or Saloon body styles and either way, you get a very complete 310PS performance package that's cool, understated and very Audi.

Modelsword count: 6

4dr/5dr Family Hatchback (2.0 TFSI petrol)

Historyword count: 350

Once upon a time, a hot hatch didn't have to be a mature, sensible thing. That wasn't the point of buying one. You got a shopping rocket because it was fun - with just enough practicality to enable you to justify the purchase to your other half. With Audi's S3 though, it was different. Here was an aspirational premium GTi with a price tag to match. A hot hatch for people who ordinarily, would have grown out of hot hatches. We first saw it way back in 1999 at a launch over-shadowed by an Audi TT sportscar that shared the S3's quattro 4WD system and got a slightly pokier version of its 2.0-litre turbocharged unit. That's a basic mechanical configuration the German brand has stuck to ever since - but of course power has spiralled since then. The early 210PS output figure was quickly upgraded to 225PS in the first generation version, then boosted again to 265PS for the MK2 model introduced in 2006. By 2013 though, it was clear that even that kind of power was going to be insufficient for admission into the premier league of hot hatches, so the 2.0-litre turbo engine was redeveloped from the ground up to make 300PS and plumbed into the lighter, stiffer MQB platform that had offered so much extra agility and efficiency to more mundane third generation A3 models. By 2020 though, a lot had changed in the super hatch segment. Cars like the Mercedes-AMG A 35 and later versions of the BMW M135i and Honda Civic Type R by then offered buyers arguably more exciting ways to own a practical 4WD sporting car with around 300PS at this price point. So Audi took the opportunity offered with the 2020 launch of the fourth generation 8YA-era A3 to do what it could to make Sportback and Saloon versions of this S3 a lot smarter and a little more engaging to drive. This MK4 S3 sold in its original form until the beginning of 2024, when it received a facelift. It's the pre-facelift 2020-2023 versions of this model we look at here.

What You Getword count: 369

There's a choice of two S3 body styles - the 5-door Sportback variant and the alternative 4-door Saloon. Compared to its predecessor, the MK4 S3 Sportback is 3cms longer and wider than before; the Saloon version, if you're interested, is 4cms longer and 2cms wider. The front, with its silver-trimmed corner air inlets, is dominated by the usual Audi Singleframe grille with its large rhombus-patterned grille, this adornment flanked by LED headlights with LED daytime running lights. In profile, aluminium door mirror surrounds confirm membership of Audi's S Series and the silhouette is dominated by the way that the pronounced shoulder line extends from the headlights to the rear lights, below which the body curves inwards. At the rear, the larger long roof-edge spoiler makes the flatter rear screen seem lower. And width is also emphasised by the large lower diffuser with its four trademark exhaust tailpipes. Inside, model-specific touches include a smart red-trimmed start button and S badging on the perforated leather trimmed steering wheel. But what you'll notice just as much is something common to all MK4 A3s - what back in 2020 Audi called a 'new level' of digital technology, though here it was incorporated much less self-consciously than in a comparable fast Golf. In true Audi style, black panel tech dominates, with hidden screens you don't notice until you fire the engine. At which point the 10.1-inch HMI centre screen and the 10.25-inch Virtual Cockpit instrument binnacle display both spring into life. In the rear, as with most cars in this segment, it's not particularly spacious. Still, a pair of modestly-proportioned adults would enjoy reasonable comfort, helped by a small 3mm increase in elbow room for the MK4 design. What's on offer here is directly comparable to what you'd get in either of this model's two closest premium-badged segment rivals, the BMW M135i and the Mercedes-AMG A 35. Boot space is rated at 370-litres for the saloon or 325-litres for the Sportback variant. The quattro 4WD system robs you of a little room here, that total being 55-litres less than you'd get in a front driven A3 Sportback. Push the rear bench fully flat and you'll have up to 1,145-litres of room to play with.

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