BBC_Top_Gear_South_Africa_June_2017

Q&A
Fast & Furious 5
Audi RS3
R R925 000 (est.)
WE SAY: THE RS3 NEEDED A
REBOOT. AUDI CHOSE TO BOLT
ON A BOOT AS WELL
What’s new here, then?
argue it’s hard to fully savour the howl
of its five cylinders as you accelerate.
Have they made it fun, though?
Yes. In a world of drifting Focus RSes and
standard steel suspension will feel firm.
You might want to spec the optional
magnetic dampers.
Won’t they make it expensive?
The Audi RS3 has been refreshed. The
brawny BMW M2s, the RS3 was short on
This won’t be a cheap car anyway. And
headlines are a boost for its 2.5-litre 5-cyl
charisma. While its quattro 4WD system is
its price will surge with options; you can
turbo engine, taking its power figure to 294kW
similar to before, Audi has given it some
even order carbon-ceramic brakes. Yep,
(now more than the 285kW Merc-AMG A45,
new software, which allows power to be
on a small hatch. Which happens to do
note), and a new saloon version. It’s less
sent to the rear wheels quicker and more
280km/h. It’s bonkers and classy all in
practical but better looking than the 5-dr
assertively. A 26kg lighter engine also
one go, the RS3. I suspect as a
Sportback, and will open up the RS3 to
helps the front end turn more incisively. In
one-car-fits-all solution, it would be a
brand-new markets, including America and
tight corners there’s a willingness from the
fine one. STEPHEN DOBIE
the Middle East.
Bet it’s fast.
Oh God, yes. Tick the right options box and
you get a 280km/h top speed. Its 0–100km/h
time is 0.2secs down on the old RS3, at
An Audi that hasn’t
engineered the fun out.
That’ll never catch on...
back end to move around to fight loss of
grip up front. Which is fun. In higherspeed
corners it grips like crazy.
More interesting to drive, then.
What’s it like inside?
SPECIFICATION
2480cc 5-cyl turbo, AWD,
294kW, 480Nm
8.3l/100k, 189g/km CO 2
0-100km/hin41.secs.280km/h
4.1secs. The standard 7-spd paddleshift is
linked to a launch-control system that makes
such senior performance laughably,
dangerously attainable, too. Pace is
bombastic from 2500rpm up to the
7000rpm red line. So rapid is the RS3 I’d
As well as Audi’s familiar plushness,
there’s stuff for the driver to geek out on,
with a big central rev-counter and
Alcantara on the correct bits of the
steering wheel. Full judgment is reserved
for a local drive, but we suspect the
1510kg
VERDICT: Ticks all the
usualAudiRSboxes–fast
and classily put together –
but manages to be fun, too.
ThebestRS3ever.
IMAGE: AUDI AG
DRIVE IT BEFORE YOU DIE
Dhofar Mountains, Oman
Which
bit?
A loop from
Oman’s second
city, Salalah. Start
and finish at the
airport and it’s 114
kilometres. Watch
out for camels
I still can’t
find it…
Pop 17.010862,
53.935308
then 17.126606,
54.101001 to take
you through the
mountains to
many hairpins
When
should
I go?
Salalah is the same
all year – 30°C – so
there’s never really
a wrong time to
see how big your
kahunas are
Why the
RS3?
Its AWD feels
hilariously rearbiased
on those
hairpins, and the
roads are empty
enough to try
launch control
FINISH
START
48 JUNE 2017