You know the front wheels have a tough job when 255 tires need to be filled to over 3 bars (44psi). But that's all in a day's work for the front rubbers of the 340 horsepower hot hatch that is the Audi RS3.
Up next, we're going to look at a video compilation of various RS3 models understeering like absolute pigs on the Nurburgring. You've got a pretty even split between the previous generation and the 367 horsepower new boy that went into production two years ago. However, there's nothing about the RS3 or the 8VA facelift with 400 ponies. Let's see if we can fix that.
Of course, with that much power, the baby RS model is one of the fastest cars that wear the badge. Old or new, that 5-cylinder turbo engine also sounds great, way better than the A45 and M135/M140i in our opinion. So the quattro engineers did what they could.
But there's no getting around the fact that you're taking a VW Golf platform and trying to turn it into a €50,000 exotic.
This is not the sort of Audi that ticks all the driver enjoyment boxes. It's hugely fast between the corners but has a tendency to understeer in them. And when you play with the throttle to get it tucked in, it's the front axle that usually slides wide. Even ordinary hot hatchbacks like the Focus ST know how to get squirrely at the back.
The kind of people who buy cars like these do so for the soundtrack and the infinitely tunable engine. However, it seems some have the masochistic urge to lap the Nurburgring.
We're happy to see that all five cars survived going off the track without a scratch. But undsteering at the same corner is hilarious. Maybe this is the Audi version of "doing a Mustang, " and we should describe the maneuver "cornering like an RS3."
Of course, with that much power, the baby RS model is one of the fastest cars that wear the badge. Old or new, that 5-cylinder turbo engine also sounds great, way better than the A45 and M135/M140i in our opinion. So the quattro engineers did what they could.
But there's no getting around the fact that you're taking a VW Golf platform and trying to turn it into a €50,000 exotic.
This is not the sort of Audi that ticks all the driver enjoyment boxes. It's hugely fast between the corners but has a tendency to understeer in them. And when you play with the throttle to get it tucked in, it's the front axle that usually slides wide. Even ordinary hot hatchbacks like the Focus ST know how to get squirrely at the back.
The kind of people who buy cars like these do so for the soundtrack and the infinitely tunable engine. However, it seems some have the masochistic urge to lap the Nurburgring.
We're happy to see that all five cars survived going off the track without a scratch. But undsteering at the same corner is hilarious. Maybe this is the Audi version of "doing a Mustang, " and we should describe the maneuver "cornering like an RS3."