Excellent review and I would go for the Audi over the Mercedes but you are right in that the finish and quality of materials inside has taken a backward step compared to the previous A3.
I have both A45 easily the better daily and RS3 the car you want (tuned on E85) to eat nearly any car on the road. I have to Wavetrac LSD’s in my DAZA and was a massive improvement in corner handling
You know that the RS3 must be something of a modern icon since those that say they hate it still keep talking about it. Looking at back catalogues of Autocar from 1988 reveals that the 8V GTI was about 40% more than the basic Golf (at £11K basic) and the 16V was about 55% more at over £12.5K. They were actually quite pricey and in those days they really were fairly basic, albeit great fun.
The growl does increase by a significant bit in the RS mode, which is clearly also limited by regs. For one I appreciate the different modes in RS cars. Not having them would simply make the car frustrating to use in different conditions. This is another case of a journo only thinking about the usage of the car during the test and not in real world conditions.
I'd pick the Audi. Unfortunately the 2022 RS3 is not available here in Canada. I own a 2019 RS3 and was going to buy a new however can't because it is not sold here. What a shame......
You won't order one because you can't get the red or green stitching on the seats? Really... not sure I believe that at all. Makes almost no difference to the car, as when you're sitting in it, you're not staring at the seats are you? The only gripe I had with mine was no red callipers with the ceramic brakes, so mine will come in grey - then get painted red. A minor thing.
I don’t think the RS3 really even competes with the AMG in the states. For one, we don’t even get the hatch version in North America. The RS3 mainly competes against the M2, M240i, S4 etc here. As evidence, I’m trading in my M2 Competition for a new RS3 in about 3 weeks when it finally arrives. And when I got my M2, the only other car I considered at the time was the RS3. I’ve never even looked up the numbers on the AMG cuz I wouldn’t get a 4 cylinder, and I wouldn’t get a hatch
Awesome car and review. Odd question, but I heard another reviewer mention that he didn’t know what to do with the interior hand because there wasn’t a proper gear lever/shifter. Did you find it odd that there wasn’t a place to rest your left hand?
Most buyers, me included (I have an RS3 sportback on order) need the practicality of the five doors. This will be my daily, I have a 718 Cayman GTS for fun... so if you want two doors and no rear seats - get a coupe...
Why?! What for?! Get a TT-RS for that. Same engine, same transmission, 2 door 2 seater coupe. (Practically a 2 seater) The RS3 is for those of us who need the extra seats and practicality without the budget to afford multiple expensive cars for different purposes. It’s a practical everyday supercar.
These cars have never been hot hatches because 1. they are too powerful and 2. way too expensive! They are like an American dragster in a recognised production body! Hot hatches are a totally different ilk.
I know what you mean. We used to drive gtis and gtes hard but parts and servicing were much like the normal versions and the cars themselves were not crazy money. To me, anything over 50 is crazy money
The GTI will always be THE hot hatch. Fun, practical, and you're not breaking the bank. Even the prices of the new Mk8's aren't terrible. Though the GTI might not have AWD, it would still be my pick just because of the bang-for-your-buck qualities.
to be honest I think its more over hyper priced and like the Mercedes yes they great cars in ther own right but the prices these cars are now no I'm sorry they are no longer worth the price. cost of fuel the stupid tax you now have to pay because it's over 40 k. all that torque rubbish and drift rubbish is simply not worth it on roads that are now basically jokes to drive on. can't use the power the interior or build quality is under par with previous versions so I'm not convinced and why you still pay for stupid extras at this price. over priced hyper hatches thar although good but not great are now becoming obsolete sorry but it's true.
Some good points but ultimately value and cost is all relative to individual financial circumstance. Of course if you're earning average salary, then you'd be a fool to buy a hyper hatch. You also have to consider styling and the heritage as part of the reason why someone is drawn to these type of cars. As for the roads being poor, I'm sure the Germans don't care too much for the rest of the world.
The new RS3 external styling looks more modern, better than my 2018 RS3 but those seats and that round steering wheel especially doesn’t reflect what a RS brand is all about. And those OPF filters just ruin modern cars now.
My new RS3 has flat bottomed wheel and better some noise, than none at all. Try driving the new RS3, once you get over 4,000 revs, it sounds great. No idea what you are talking about with the seats, they are way better than the previous car, which I also owned.
I owned the Merc - interior wasn't great and soon had rattles which proved a pain to fix. My missis also hated the car - kept referring to the dash as a giant iPad. My new RS3 is just fine and no rattles, so far... and the missis even likes it. Win.
Lol the GR Yaris would be all over this overpriced German and its half the price!! Drove them both, got the GR thanks, yeah the RS has the nicer cabin but Not worth the 30000 difference, keep that thanks and upgrade my GR!!!
I think a lot of people buy the RS3 for that unicorn engine inline 5 cylinder. I mean that thing is legendary and is the same engine Audi used on it's rally cars back in the day. The GR Yaris has literally nothing that compares.
Excellent review and I would go for the Audi over the Mercedes but you are right in that the finish and quality of materials inside has taken a backward step compared to the previous A3.
Excellent review and I would go for the Audi over the Mercedes but you are right in that the finish and quality of materials inside has taken a backward step compared to the previous A3.
I'd go with the RS3 over the AMG. If I'm going high-end hot hatch, I'll take the softer edges, thanks!
Hot hatches nowadays are costs around supercar level.
I have both
A45 easily the better daily and RS3 the car you want (tuned on E85) to eat nearly any car on the road. I have to Wavetrac LSD’s in my DAZA and was a massive improvement in corner handling
You know that the RS3 must be something of a modern icon since those that say they hate it still keep talking about it. Looking at back catalogues of Autocar from 1988 reveals that the 8V GTI was about 40% more than the basic Golf (at £11K basic) and the 16V was about 55% more at over £12.5K. They were actually quite pricey and in those days they really were fairly basic, albeit great fun.
Rs3 every time.
Good first impressions from this channel
The growl does increase by a significant bit in the RS mode, which is clearly also limited by regs. For one I appreciate the different modes in RS cars. Not having them would simply make the car frustrating to use in different conditions. This is another case of a journo only thinking about the usage of the car during the test and not in real world conditions.
I'll stick with my reliant Robin !!!!
I'd pick the Audi. Unfortunately the 2022 RS3 is not available here in Canada. I own a 2019 RS3 and was going to buy a new however can't because it is not sold here. What a shame......
All the ones dyno'd are knocking out 420 and 550nm. They're underquoting
Not all. Several I have seen on youtube have come out almost bang on 400bhp. Stop bullshitting.
@@luciussander8217 😂🤣
If only the seats had the option of colour stitching like you can in other countries I would order one , it brightens the interior
You won't order one because you can't get the red or green stitching on the seats? Really... not sure I believe that at all. Makes almost no difference to the car, as when you're sitting in it, you're not staring at the seats are you? The only gripe I had with mine was no red callipers with the ceramic brakes, so mine will come in grey - then get painted red. A minor thing.
agree 100%. saying that I have still ordered one.
I don’t think the RS3 really even competes with the AMG in the states. For one, we don’t even get the hatch version in North America. The RS3 mainly competes against the M2, M240i, S4 etc here.
As evidence, I’m trading in my M2 Competition for a new RS3 in about 3 weeks when it finally arrives. And when I got my M2, the only other car I considered at the time was the RS3. I’ve never even looked up the numbers on the AMG cuz I wouldn’t get a 4 cylinder, and I wouldn’t get a hatch
Awesome car and review. Odd question, but I heard another reviewer mention that he didn’t know what to do with the interior hand because there wasn’t a proper gear lever/shifter. Did you find it odd that there wasn’t a place to rest your left hand?
Light colored seats please. Too hot in the States during the summer with a dark interior. Why can’t we have the hatchback too? Not fair.
Give it 3 doors and the option of having the rear seats removed, and then it would be hyper. With 5 doors, it's just a powerful, midget estate.
Most buyers, me included (I have an RS3 sportback on order) need the practicality of the five doors. This will be my daily, I have a 718 Cayman GTS for fun... so if you want two doors and no rear seats - get a coupe...
Why?! What for?! Get a TT-RS for that. Same engine, same transmission, 2 door 2 seater coupe. (Practically a 2 seater) The RS3 is for those of us who need the extra seats and practicality without the budget to afford multiple expensive cars for different purposes. It’s a practical everyday supercar.
you do realise that the 3 door versions of these cars aren't that much smaller and the shorter wheelbase doesn't fix the understeeryness of Audi's
I got new rs3 😄
These cars have never been hot hatches because 1. they are too powerful and 2. way too expensive! They are like an American dragster in a recognised production body! Hot hatches are a totally different ilk.
I know what you mean. We used to drive gtis and gtes hard but parts and servicing were much like the normal versions and the cars themselves were not crazy money. To me, anything over 50 is crazy money
The GTI will always be THE hot hatch. Fun, practical, and you're not breaking the bank. Even the prices of the new Mk8's aren't terrible. Though the GTI might not have AWD, it would still be my pick just because of the bang-for-your-buck qualities.
For £60k I'd rather buy a used M4 xDrive. The dealers are bonkers and the people who buy these at that price are even crazier lol
VW R hands down
Will always go for the Audi 😍🤩😍🤩
I’d day4 rings any day
to be honest I think its more over hyper priced and like the Mercedes yes they great cars in ther own right but the prices these cars are now no I'm sorry they are no longer worth the price. cost of fuel the stupid tax you now have to pay because it's over 40 k. all that torque rubbish and drift rubbish is simply not worth it on roads that are now basically jokes to drive on. can't use the power the interior or build quality is under par with previous versions so I'm not convinced and why you still pay for stupid extras at this price. over priced hyper hatches thar although good but not great are now becoming obsolete sorry but it's true.
Some good points but ultimately value and cost is all relative to individual financial circumstance. Of course if you're earning average salary, then you'd be a fool to buy a hyper hatch. You also have to consider styling and the heritage as part of the reason why someone is drawn to these type of cars.
As for the roads being poor, I'm sure the Germans don't care too much for the rest of the world.
Said no one ever.
Your commentary about hothatch pricing is just plain wrong. 😂
The new RS3 external styling looks more modern, better than my 2018 RS3 but those seats and that round steering wheel especially doesn’t reflect what a RS brand is all about. And those OPF filters just ruin modern cars now.
My new RS3 has flat bottomed wheel and better some noise, than none at all. Try driving the new RS3, once you get over 4,000 revs, it sounds great. No idea what you are talking about with the seats, they are way better than the previous car, which I also owned.
60gs for that Rs3 it doesn’t look premium enough inside I’d feel short Changed merc for me
I owned the Merc - interior wasn't great and soon had rattles which proved a pain to fix. My missis also hated the car - kept referring to the dash as a giant iPad. My new RS3 is just fine and no rattles, so far... and the missis even likes it. Win.
Wait till you're paying 2M+ for it.
I'd buy an Alpine A110 GT.
You know this RS3 has been out for about 2 years???
Stop taking what you take
No. It has not.
You're talking crap. It was first available to order in August 2021. Very few have been delivered either.
Copyright infraction. You stole Carfection's 2016 description.
Very good presenter. Much better than Rebecca!
A bit personal ……
Lol the GR Yaris would be all over this overpriced German and its half the price!!
Drove them both, got the GR thanks, yeah the RS has the nicer cabin but Not worth the 30000 difference, keep that thanks and upgrade my GR!!!
Cars are in a different league you got half the car it's a GR yaris c'mon lol!
I think a lot of people buy the RS3 for that unicorn engine inline 5 cylinder. I mean that thing is legendary and is the same engine Audi used on it's rally cars back in the day. The GR Yaris has literally nothing that compares.
You gotta be kidding me
Just what's needed with petrol at £2 a litre...a 400 bhp 60 grand hatchback.
We get it, you can't afford one. Bless.
@@luciussander8217What an insightful comment. Any more gems like that ?
A hatch... 🤮
Moron. It looks great.
@@mauricetoussaint7283 If you like looking like a little fuck boy. Hatchbacks look like children's cars, and always will 🤡
Excellent review and I would go for the Audi over the Mercedes but you are right in that the finish and quality of materials inside has taken a backward step compared to the previous A3.