It doesn’t look quite as good as its 2-door hatch sibling, but with those trademark red ‘S’ emblems denoting the sportier pedigree of the car stuck on all sides, Audi’s S3 Sportback can’t be written off as being fat. Albeit, it does look it.
But for good reason, for the Sportback seems to make more sense as a purchase than its 2-doored sister. First and most obviously, the unflattering hump at the rear can accommodate a cow and a half (1,032-litre with rear bench folded).
Where most other hot hatches demand its owners to make the choice between practicality and performance, the S3 Sportback along with the Golf GTI 5-door, are probably the least demanding of the lot.
Secondly, it comes with Audi’s fast-shifting automatic gearbox dubbed ‘S-tronic’ (Audi talk for DSG)that not only manages to promote a less involving drive, but gives the driver the choice to his level of involvement with the flappy pedals behind the steering wheel.
Won’t sit well with the proper petrolhead but frankly it does make so much more sense, especially when the stat sheet reminds us the mechanical shifts are faster than those with our wrists. More economical even.
In my opinion though, the S3 really has no equal competitor other than its very own flesh and blood, the Golf GTI. Besides sharing the same platform, they both employ the same engine as well.
But for good reason, for the Sportback seems to make more sense as a purchase than its 2-doored sister. First and most obviously, the unflattering hump at the rear can accommodate a cow and a half (1,032-litre with rear bench folded).
Where most other hot hatches demand its owners to make the choice between practicality and performance, the S3 Sportback along with the Golf GTI 5-door, are probably the least demanding of the lot.
Secondly, it comes with Audi’s fast-shifting automatic gearbox dubbed ‘S-tronic’ (Audi talk for DSG)that not only manages to promote a less involving drive, but gives the driver the choice to his level of involvement with the flappy pedals behind the steering wheel.
Won’t sit well with the proper petrolhead but frankly it does make so much more sense, especially when the stat sheet reminds us the mechanical shifts are faster than those with our wrists. More economical even.
In my opinion though, the S3 really has no equal competitor other than its very own flesh and blood, the Golf GTI. Besides sharing the same platform, they both employ the same engine as well.
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But to justify its higher price point, the unit in the Audi benefits from a reworked engine, pushing out a very respectable 256bhp from the turbocharged 2.0-litre unit, while the GTI only manages 210bhp.
So what we’ve got here is a hot hatch for the more mature crowd with practical considerations, but has the extra weight and dimensions dampened the formula to what the S3 has always been?
Exterior
Benefiting from the recent design update within the Audi stable, the S3 gets the re-designed headlamp cluster with the LED brow and HID lamps, flanked by the slightly modified ribbed gapping grill where the four rings locked at the front.
I think the guys at Audi deserve their huge bonus this year. Starting from the R8’s legendary day-light running lamps, they’ve managed to not only redesign, but to differentiate each model’s arrangement enough to not be considered a copy. That’s a whopping seven vehicles on my count!
So what we’ve got here is a hot hatch for the more mature crowd with practical considerations, but has the extra weight and dimensions dampened the formula to what the S3 has always been?
Exterior
Benefiting from the recent design update within the Audi stable, the S3 gets the re-designed headlamp cluster with the LED brow and HID lamps, flanked by the slightly modified ribbed gapping grill where the four rings locked at the front.
I think the guys at Audi deserve their huge bonus this year. Starting from the R8’s legendary day-light running lamps, they’ve managed to not only redesign, but to differentiate each model’s arrangement enough to not be considered a copy. That’s a whopping seven vehicles on my count!
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Being amongst the other ‘S’ cars, the Sportback has been given the deserved treatment and draped in the accentuated S-line bodykit in the form of more aggressive front and rear bumpers with a no-nonsense side-skirt pairing both ends up perfectly.
The rear lamps have been redesigned and has a single thin oval ring illuminated when the heads are turned on in the evening.
Overall the car looks good with the body sitting so close to the ground and those 18 inch sports rims filling up the arches very nicely. But it bulbous behind wrecks the lines of the car in my opinion. No fault of the designers though, just the cause and effect of needing more space at the rear.
Interior
As with Audi, the interior is a very pleasant place to be in.
The seats are comfortable and properly supportive with the side bolsters moulding you in nicely. To help you along that desired perfect position though, both the driver and front passenger seats are electronically controlled and steering adjustable for rake and reach. Not a fan of the white and black combination of the upholstery though.
The meaty flat-bottom steering wheel is a mainstay with Audi, giving the driver superior grip levels, important when you’ve got something as potent as an Audi ‘S’ breed under the command of your right foot and your hands.
The middle instrument cluster has been kept clean and is neatly placed under the circular chrome-highlighted air-con vents. Plastic buttons feel as they should, of good quality.
The rear lamps have been redesigned and has a single thin oval ring illuminated when the heads are turned on in the evening.
Overall the car looks good with the body sitting so close to the ground and those 18 inch sports rims filling up the arches very nicely. But it bulbous behind wrecks the lines of the car in my opinion. No fault of the designers though, just the cause and effect of needing more space at the rear.
Interior
As with Audi, the interior is a very pleasant place to be in.
The seats are comfortable and properly supportive with the side bolsters moulding you in nicely. To help you along that desired perfect position though, both the driver and front passenger seats are electronically controlled and steering adjustable for rake and reach. Not a fan of the white and black combination of the upholstery though.
The meaty flat-bottom steering wheel is a mainstay with Audi, giving the driver superior grip levels, important when you’ve got something as potent as an Audi ‘S’ breed under the command of your right foot and your hands.
The middle instrument cluster has been kept clean and is neatly placed under the circular chrome-highlighted air-con vents. Plastic buttons feel as they should, of good quality.
Once you’re inside the S3 however you’ll be instantly drawn to the chrome tipped gear lever in between you and your front passenger. The white-threaded leather cover that creases beautifully over its own excess matches those found on the inside of the steering wheel and the seats, reminding you as to which of the S cars you’re in.
At the back, rear occupants benefit from the slight increase in leg room from its smaller manual sibling. The boot, as stated in my introduction, is the larger benefactor, offering owners 302-litres with the seats up and 1,032-litre with them down.
Driving Impressions
Audi claims that the newly revised Haldex differential has helped the quattro in the S3 distribute the torque from the engine even more quickly between the front and the rear wheels than the last car.
Haven’t had the chance to drive the last one, it’s hard to deny that the grip level in the Sportback is nothing short of endless with the car hardly working its tyres to a scream even in back-to-back opposing flicks.
Match that up to the 2.0-litre TFSI unit shoehorned into the S3 from the Golf GTI, the reliable disc brakes that can be accessed by a pretty neutral brake pedal that doesn’t bite on the brakes too hard at the slightest prod and the throaty exhaust note, the S3 Sportback is one spacious spaceship that slaps the oxymoron out of ‘fat boys run fast’.
And if you’re tired and start cruising on the expressway, the 6-speeder S-tronic slots itself nicely into the right gear to hum along just above 2,000 rpm.
At the back, rear occupants benefit from the slight increase in leg room from its smaller manual sibling. The boot, as stated in my introduction, is the larger benefactor, offering owners 302-litres with the seats up and 1,032-litre with them down.
Driving Impressions
Audi claims that the newly revised Haldex differential has helped the quattro in the S3 distribute the torque from the engine even more quickly between the front and the rear wheels than the last car.
Haven’t had the chance to drive the last one, it’s hard to deny that the grip level in the Sportback is nothing short of endless with the car hardly working its tyres to a scream even in back-to-back opposing flicks.
Match that up to the 2.0-litre TFSI unit shoehorned into the S3 from the Golf GTI, the reliable disc brakes that can be accessed by a pretty neutral brake pedal that doesn’t bite on the brakes too hard at the slightest prod and the throaty exhaust note, the S3 Sportback is one spacious spaceship that slaps the oxymoron out of ‘fat boys run fast’.
And if you’re tired and start cruising on the expressway, the 6-speeder S-tronic slots itself nicely into the right gear to hum along just above 2,000 rpm.
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One thing to take note though is the more relaxed steering in the car, something that could initially suppress inspired driving.
So should you be buying this up?
If you’re in your twenties, have family baggage in the form of your other sibling, parents and the grandparents, in an envious financial bracket, have an active lifestyle and want to flaunt it or simply like your rumps big but with go, this one’s probably for you.
Aesthetically, the car looks like an athlete that ate the wrong kind of carb’s during his meals, and all that weight going to his behind. But even with the 40kg gained with the inclusion of that bulbous rear, you’d be hard pressed to feel that on the move with the engine pulling its torque from low in the rev band.
So should you be buying this up?
If you’re in your twenties, have family baggage in the form of your other sibling, parents and the grandparents, in an envious financial bracket, have an active lifestyle and want to flaunt it or simply like your rumps big but with go, this one’s probably for you.
Aesthetically, the car looks like an athlete that ate the wrong kind of carb’s during his meals, and all that weight going to his behind. But even with the 40kg gained with the inclusion of that bulbous rear, you’d be hard pressed to feel that on the move with the engine pulling its torque from low in the rev band.
Bringing you back to the ground though is the price tag.
$159,300 is the price and that puts it way past the Subaru Impreza STi A-Line ($117,500), past the Golf GTI ($132,800) and well below the Evo X ($166,988). For me I’ll be banging my head between the S3 Sportback and the GTI with both having the best interior in the business and nicer sounding stock exhaust.
$159,300 is the price and that puts it way past the Subaru Impreza STi A-Line ($117,500), past the Golf GTI ($132,800) and well below the Evo X ($166,988). For me I’ll be banging my head between the S3 Sportback and the GTI with both having the best interior in the business and nicer sounding stock exhaust.
