Motor Week still feels the same, like an 80's review format. Only difference is that it is more sharper thanks to digital cameras with 4K resolution, rather than the VHS/Betamax lines resolution. But still rocking that 80's vibe, it doesn't get old. Not that I was born in the 80's, but watching their retro reviews is incredible.
I took delivery of my 2018 RS3 almost a year ago today. I hope I'm still driving this car 20 years from now, it's that good. If you think this thing is fun on a sunny day, you should take one out when it's snowing.
We’ve owned ours for almost 18 months, now... And, we just don’t miss the manual. The rev-matching in Sport Mode is just amazing and grin inducing all day, every day.
This is one of the few new cars on sale that I like on that irrational, "I just can't help it" level. I love the 5-cylinder, the compact size, and the styling (plus MQB cars all drive great, and this is tied with the TT RS as the ultimate MQB). I'm normally not interested in sedans, front-heavy cars, or vehicles without manuals, but the RS3 transcends those issues for me! (Well...I'd still like it more with a manual)
I totally agree. I wanted to veer away from 2-door cars just so I don't have to always punish my passengers and have some cargo flexibility, so I went with an RS3.
Now one year ownership as of yesterday and at 15,547 miles, 11,039 miles being fast country back road runs and the rest being basic transportation. Immediate change to 245/40/18 Michelin A/S3+ on Neuspeed RSe10 18x8.5 inch wheels solved poor traction 19-inch factory configuration. Car performance and has been flawless, love the Nardo Gray color. Great machine indeed.
AN UPDATE - Now at 22,764 miles with 16,390 miles being fast country back road runs, (week days only) the Audi continues to be a great performer. The A/S3+ 245/40/18 tires are near replacement which will involve same size Michelin 4S as theA/S3+ has been discontinued. Transmission actions seem to have increased in speed and performance of such is much quieter as the mileage has increased. The 18" tire configuration made significant improvement in the Audi's road handling performance versus the original factory 19-inch wheels/tires and well worth their cost. Truly a great performance automobile indeed and the best I've had over the past 64 years I've been driving and owning high performance automobiles.
I forgot to mention my company (Dupiivision Inc. Bethesda MD) used to generate the videotape copies you made available to the public in the home videotape days of Sony BetaMax, Panasonic VHS and Sony 3/4-inch Umatic format. DVD and other video formats certainly changed things in terms of todays home video products.
Faster than a Corvette, and better looking than most generic Audi sedan designs, the most appealing vehicle and best value in the Audi lineup. Car & Driver gets 3.5 seconds and 11 second quarters
@@threepac I can attest to the tunability. Mine went from 12.1@115 stock to 11.3@123 with nothing other than a tune. Plus with the all wheel drive, it's a monster on the street, would destroy my mid 140 trapping mustang from a dig.
CareerFireman for 60k it’s a good deal for what you get. Next step up for an AWD car that’s this quick or quicker stock is an E63s or M5 which are both bigger cars and 120k. What would you consider a great car for the money? You probably won’t answer.
That’s because the same V10 crew hand build this engine. It’s half of a V10 with a turbo. Tune and bolt ons are putting them into the 9’s with early development.
I've got an S3 with everything you see here sans the 2.5T. With a tune on the 2.0T it's just amazing the power you get from these small engines and I can only imaging with the 2.5T the RS has.
I wish they wouldn't say 2019 when those aren't out yet and the car in the video is clearly a 2017 or 2018. Still, good to see Motorweek review this bad boy.
Title is a lie and misleading. This is a Catalunya Red 2018. This is not a 2019, cause there are no 19’s sent to the US yet, and Catalunya red is not available on the option list for 19’s. If they ever come.
I seen a light gray one today after coming home from work. Black chrome body and black chrome rims😻 So clean and sounds so fucking nice and I was right next to it. Sadly I only have a 14 veloster turbo haha
Rommel Anasco Actually, we had ours dynoed stock, and found we actually were getting 423bhp, and 408ft. lb. (up 23bhp and 52 ft.lb.)! You should have yours dynoed just to find out!
@@jakem4219 Yes. You are correct, but they are still showing a 2018 in the video. You can't get carbon brakes and the display will not retract in the 2019 either. FYI
Great review. ; I'm a Nissan/Infiniti guy, but I've been flirting with German brands for a while now. My DREAM BRAND is Porsche, but Audi has been teasing me, 😅. This car looks fun, with it's compact dimensions and large power band. I really wash Porsche borrowed this body style and made a sister car, like they did the Q5/Macan!!! I got kids and still not ready to surrender to a true dad-car 🤣. But it's on my radar❗👍🏽✌🏽😊
You can NOT even begin to make a judgement on that using a UA-cam video, let alone going for worse video by using UA-cam slomo. It's a 12.2 second quarter. It launches just fine. There are only a handful of things in it's price bracket that can hang with those times.
Norm T Just watched at 0.25 playback. Can still very clearly see the rear tires spinning. When the weight shifts to the rear upon hard acceleration it makes sense for the tears to spin a bit more slowly than the front which they do. However they most certainly spin a good bit.
Would have been even better if the engine was mounted in the car the right way with more rear wheel bias on the Quattro System. The performance package has bigger tires in the front? We’re living in a whole new world of global platforms, manufacturing efficiency and front wheel biased AWD systems I guess.
"Never had more choices when it comes to buying a new vehicle." Unless you want to buy a non-luxury station wagon, in which case, you're pretty much completely f***ed.
This car can easily be put into the 10s , very nice car indeed , but I personally would have to buy one used , I cannot bring myself to pay $50.000 for this little shoebox .......
I know its a lot of performance, but $57k starting price...yikes. If it would last past 50k miles without needing major repairs it would be more appealing.
@@IMHARDNBEHINDU I can afford it, I just dont want to waste money on repairs. I saw a lot of problems with the S3 so I assumed RS3 would be similar or worse having more power. I remember people having head gasket issues very early, and burning coolant. I'd love to own one, I just prefer reliable performance to unreliable performance.
5 cylinder will probably be their most reliable engine. It’s built by the same team who build the V10. It’s half of the V10. People are drag racing these in the 9’s and 10’s non stop.
It’s a 30k exotic drivetrain. It’s a drivetrain the US has been waiting to get in a sedan. It’s a tuning monster. It’s pretty half of a V10 built by the same team who build the v10 for the R8/Huracan. Similar sounding engine.
@@spinnetti Right...except for the RS3 can be tuned on the cheap as well. Then the difference in performance would be...um...let's call it "more than noticeable".
@@mco51193 true, but at 3x the price its not worth it to me. My Stage II S3 is already faster than most things on the road but it doesn't look or feel special, and neither does the RS3. Best mix for me was an R8 to feel great, and the S3 as a daily driver.
The car looks, sounds, and performs wonderfully. But an lcd panel for gauges, an outfolding touchscreen, flat bottomed steering wheel, rediculous price tag, and the lack of a manual will keep me away for years to come. Nice try though, audi.
LRulesTheWorld Just shows you don’t know what you’re talking about: the screen in the center is NOT a touchscreen. The Virtual Cockpit is freaking AMAZING!! And, you don’t like a flatbottom steering wheel?!?! WTF?!?!
You clearly haven’t been in one. The virtual cockpit is fast and excellent quality. The steering wheel is the best in the industry. I now hate round wheels. Lamborghini uses the same virtual cockpit and flat bottom steering wheel. Almost 300k so they must be pretty dam good. Some people like to judge just for a video. I’m sure you drive a better car, right? 😂
Ryan B See previous comment. Also, I drive cars that are 20 years old, or older. Much better quality and easier to fix than anything currently on the market. Why pay $60k for an audi, when I can build a car to kill it for less than $10k?
built in understeer Haldex no thanks lag...lag...lag then power test drove on and it felt lethargic anywhere below 50% throttle this thing feels heavy for such a small car RWD+MT is always going to drive better
Stock, the throttle is weird till you tune it. Audi dialed it back big time to not compete with their other high end cars. That’s why tunes are putting 100hp on them with ease. A tune transforms this car and can spank almost anything on the road. Springs and a rear sway bar transforms this car big time. I almost got an M2, but was too slow for my liking. Fun backroad car, but highway is not great.
Motor Week still feels the same, like an 80's review format. Only difference is that it is more sharper thanks to digital cameras with 4K resolution, rather than the VHS/Betamax lines resolution. But still rocking that 80's vibe, it doesn't get old. Not that I was born in the 80's, but watching their retro reviews is incredible.
I took delivery of my 2018 RS3 almost a year ago today. I hope I'm still driving this car 20 years from now, it's that good. If you think this thing is fun on a sunny day, you should take one out when it's snowing.
Tuned B8 S4 here; never had more fun in the winter than with Quattro and lots of power. Enjoy your RS3, must be a blast too!
For some reason I don’t know why I just love that RS3 sedan with that five banger
BASITH PH It’s because the Ur-Quattro ran a 5 cylinder. Great rhythmic sound.
Yup, me too, I would love to drive it. The lack of a manual is a real disappointment though.
Because the sound is amazing and so is the power
We’ve owned ours for almost 18 months, now... And, we just don’t miss the manual. The rev-matching in Sport Mode is just amazing and grin inducing all day, every day.
@@mshonhall If you enjoy a car doing all the work for you, have at it.
I’ve got an APR tune running e85 on my RS3 and hit 11.05 in the 1/4. Highly recommended for anyone thinking about one!!
Have you had any problems with it sir?
This is one of the few new cars on sale that I like on that irrational, "I just can't help it" level. I love the 5-cylinder, the compact size, and the styling (plus MQB cars all drive great, and this is tied with the TT RS as the ultimate MQB). I'm normally not interested in sedans, front-heavy cars, or vehicles without manuals, but the RS3 transcends those issues for me! (Well...I'd still like it more with a manual)
The lack of a manual is a real disappointment. If I were in the market, that would be a deal killer. But I'd still take this for a test drive. :P
I totally agree. I wanted to veer away from 2-door cars just so I don't have to always punish my passengers and have some cargo flexibility, so I went with an RS3.
TT RS have sportier suspension.
Love that 5 cyl engine and the simple mods that make this car a beast!
Now one year ownership as of yesterday and at 15,547 miles, 11,039 miles being fast country back road runs and the rest being basic transportation. Immediate change to 245/40/18 Michelin A/S3+ on Neuspeed RSe10 18x8.5 inch wheels solved poor traction 19-inch factory configuration. Car performance and has been flawless, love the Nardo Gray color. Great machine indeed.
AN UPDATE -
Now at 22,764 miles with 16,390 miles being fast country back road runs, (week days only) the Audi continues to be a great performer. The A/S3+ 245/40/18 tires are near replacement which will involve same size Michelin 4S as theA/S3+ has been discontinued. Transmission actions seem to have increased in speed and performance of such is much quieter as the mileage has increased. The 18" tire configuration made significant improvement in the Audi's road handling performance versus the original factory 19-inch wheels/tires and well worth their cost. Truly a great performance automobile indeed and the best I've had over the past 64 years I've been driving and owning high performance automobiles.
I forgot to mention my company (Dupiivision Inc. Bethesda MD) used to generate the videotape copies you made available to the public in the home videotape days of Sony BetaMax, Panasonic VHS and Sony 3/4-inch Umatic format. DVD and other video formats certainly changed things in terms of todays home video products.
Faster than a Corvette, and better looking than most generic Audi sedan designs, the most appealing vehicle and best value in the Audi lineup. Car & Driver gets 3.5 seconds and 11 second quarters
And its very tune-able to boot.
A standard Corvette only. The other models above will murder this car. They are tuneable as well.
@@TheCarCrazyGuy And the Audi is not???
@@threepac I can attest to the tunability. Mine went from 12.1@115 stock to 11.3@123 with nothing other than a tune. Plus with the all wheel drive, it's a monster on the street, would destroy my mid 140 trapping mustang from a dig.
And has four doors
These things are monsters easily a low 10 second car.
CareerFireman for 60k it’s a good deal for what you get. Next step up for an AWD car that’s this quick or quicker stock is an E63s or M5 which are both bigger cars and 120k.
What would you consider a great car for the money? You probably won’t answer.
@@ryanb8736 C8
Drop this motor in a Golf R. That would be a hoot!
Awesome review! I have this exact 2019 car in Tango Red and absolutely love it! ❤️ The sweet music the 2.5 makes at full throttle is hard to beat! 👍🏼
12 second quarter mile, four doors and 28mpg. ♥️
Met a guy had one in ‘70s lime green. Said he loved it - I can see why - that thing’s fast!
better than the CLA45 AMG for sure lol
And better than any BMW bcz too many BMW on road nothing exciting
Shift Gears BMW doesnt offer a car in this class, of sub-compct sport
Shift Gears BMW doesnt offer a car in this class, of sub-compct sport
Cla 45 is more on par comparing to an Audi S3
Sounds like a baby V10!
That's one of my favorite things about it. It sounds like you're driving a smaller Lamborghini than even the Gallardo / Huracan.
aaron gundersen ya it does
@@JKIZZLLE best response ever!
My daily commute sounds like this in my mkv 2.5 Jetta with exhaust, but it goes like molasses
That’s because the same V10 crew hand build this engine. It’s half of a V10 with a turbo. Tune and bolt ons are putting them into the 9’s with early development.
Absolute beast!!!!!! That sound and rumble!!! Dam someday I will own one!!! Holy smokes want. Audi💪💪
I've got an S3 with everything you see here sans the 2.5T. With a tune on the 2.0T it's just amazing the power you get from these small engines and I can only imaging with the 2.5T the RS has.
Why is this shot like an infomercial?? I'm still waiting for the, "buy now and we'll throw in a free pine scented air freshener!"
Best car for the money no question. It’s gonna replace my current S3.
Add an Avant to that nameplate, and I'm ALL over it.
I wish they wouldn't say 2019 when those aren't out yet and the car in the video is clearly a 2017 or 2018. Still, good to see Motorweek review this bad boy.
Yes they lied. It’s a 2018.
Am I the only one who prefers the sedan over the hatch?
Yeah probably
Or a wagon or Sports Tourer?
Visually, yes. In terms of owning the car and living with it long-term, I'd still prefer the hatch.
no
Nope, the sedan looks far better.
Love the guys reviews brings back lots of memories
Title is a lie and misleading.
This is a Catalunya Red 2018. This is not a 2019, cause there are no 19’s sent to the US yet, and Catalunya red is not available on the option list for 19’s. If they ever come.
I own one! Hehehe but still like watching videos on it LOL
Hope you validated your purchase of your gay ass bitch car you fucking yuppy punk
Who else loves this car
Nice lid Ben and thanks John for this review.
I seen a light gray one today after coming home from work. Black chrome body and black chrome rims😻 So clean and sounds so fucking nice and I was right next to it. Sadly I only have a 14 veloster turbo haha
Just bought a 2019 rs3. Its alright, feels like my s3 I still own.
I love my 2019 RS3!
Best bang for the buck,,, all season!!!
*Don’t let its tiny size fool you. The RS3 is an absolute animal.*
Glad i got 2018 Rs3 , 400hp
Rommel Anasco Actually, we had ours dynoed stock, and found we actually were getting 423bhp, and 408ft. lb. (up 23bhp and 52 ft.lb.)! You should have yours dynoed just to find out!
Shon Hall wow, yours must have been CEU tuned. Sounds like a stage 1
This is not a 2019. It's a 2018. You can't get Carbon brakes on the 2019. FYI
Its a 2019. I have the 2018. RS3 2018 have 400hp while the 2019s "only" have 394hp.
@@jakem4219 Yes. You are correct, but they are still showing a 2018 in the video. You can't get carbon brakes and the display will not retract in the 2019 either. FYI
The carbon brakes are garbage anyway. Not worth the money.
Great review. ; I'm a Nissan/Infiniti guy, but I've been flirting with German brands for a while now. My DREAM BRAND is Porsche, but Audi has been teasing me, 😅. This car looks fun, with it's compact dimensions and large power band. I really wash Porsche borrowed this body style and made a sister car, like they did the Q5/Macan!!! I got kids and still not ready to surrender to a true dad-car 🤣. But it's on my radar❗👍🏽✌🏽😊
They need to put that 5 cylinder in everything.
Nice lid Ben!!!
Replaying at slower speeds those front wheels spin quite a bit. Does this have a launch control that tells all four to be on command?
You can NOT even begin to make a judgement on that using a UA-cam video, let alone going for worse video by using UA-cam slomo.
It's a 12.2 second quarter. It launches just fine. There are only a handful of things in it's price bracket that can hang with those times.
@@ekscalybur at a drag strip...aure I can. It is an Audi and some FWD based AWD system. Being that it is nose heavy is even worse.
Norm T All four tires were spinning. Dropping the tire pressure a bit at the track might help it shave more time off.
@@GyroPyro121212 not at .25 speed.
Norm T Just watched at 0.25 playback. Can still very clearly see the rear tires spinning. When the weight shifts to the rear upon hard acceleration it makes sense for the tears to spin a bit more slowly than the front which they do. However they most certainly spin a good bit.
is that the old shut down 75/80 Dragway they tested at?
Would love to see the braking numbers....i suspect they arent much better if at all these days
Road & Track tested it at 60 MPH to stop in 116 feet.
Sweet car, and great review, as usual !
I love how Audi likes to basically undersell their cars whether its 0-60 times or fuel econ.
Would buy this in a heartbeat if we had a manual. Electric commuter + manual sports car will be my future
It would probably be a pos like they put in the gti and golf r.
It really is too bad you can't get stick in the RS3 or TT RS. At least there's always the M2 from BMW.
This over any BMW
I'm not a huge fan of red cars but that one looks fantastic.
Very very nice, good job Audi but for 65k I would expect reliability to be top notch.
I was waiting for......."until now"
Best comment so far =P
They were also a year lateen their review. Car has been out for 16 months in the US. The car shown here is actually an 18. No 19’s are in the US.
BEAUTY LID BEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
looks just like my drawing when i was 10 years old
Nice lid Ben
Only in the US is a 4 door Audi sedan small.
Would have been even better if the engine was mounted in the car the right way with more rear wheel bias on the Quattro System. The performance package has bigger tires in the front? We’re living in a whole new world of global platforms, manufacturing efficiency and front wheel biased AWD systems I guess.
Wish they offered that in the vw golf
The will with the Golf R 400
Why did they take off 6hp???
I expected it to be faster than a 12.2 second quarter mile...
This is my dream car to bad I can’t afford one 😢
"Never had more choices when it comes to buying a new vehicle." Unless you want to buy a non-luxury station wagon, in which case, you're pretty much completely f***ed.
This car can easily be put into the 10s , very nice car indeed , but I personally would have to buy one used , I cannot bring myself to pay $50.000 for this little shoebox .......
Rs3 sport back 🤔🤔🤔🤔
I want one
Why isnt this a coupe?
Type R is not for everyone, focus rs is not for everyone. This one is literally for everyone.
OH Santa....
$57k that’s way to much you can get a M3 or a rs4 for $65k
Brake test ??????
Why don't they offer the hatchback? The sedan looks like a toddler A4...
And the hatchback looks like a toddler estate, both cars have short proportions. So no soup for you it seems.
@@Alby911 The hatchback looks fine to me. Much better than the sedan, anyway.
@@calculator5909 Obviously you haven't seen one in real life, but each to their own.
dam pocket rocket will embarrass most super cars .....and that noise...just wow
I know its a lot of performance, but $57k starting price...yikes. If it would last past 50k miles without needing major repairs it would be more appealing.
And you know personally know it will need major repairs after 50k?? GTFO.
That 5 cylinder is absolutely bulletproof. You might kill the turbo but not til 100k ha.
It’s ok if u can’t afford it no need to hate
@@IMHARDNBEHINDU I can afford it, I just dont want to waste money on repairs. I saw a lot of problems with the S3 so I assumed RS3 would be similar or worse having more power. I remember people having head gasket issues very early, and burning coolant. I'd love to own one, I just prefer reliable performance to unreliable performance.
You lease German shitboxes, not buy them. Only fools do that. (Well, actually, only fools lease too, but anyway.)
$90,000 in Australia , bloody democratic socailsm taxes
Ben Chesterman yeah, that's what it is...🤦♂️🏾
That sucks, lol. Meanwhile, your leaders are living the good life.
@@axelfoley1406 luxury car tax $6000 / gst $8000 / stamp duty $5000
@@axelfoley1406 past political leaders lived the rich life too
the multimedia screen looks like shit.
I absolutely love this car but am I the only one who thinks it’s absolutely way over priced? I would think mid 40s starting off.
Great car..... Too bad reliability is nonexistent.
What? The 2.5t/dq500 combo is bulletproof with very few issues.
The biggest issues most owners have is some squeaky brakes.
Did you just make this up? Or do you have data? No. Didnt think so.
Must be a BMW guy... Just here to troll and dog on Audi... buh-bye.
5 cylinder will probably be their most reliable engine. It’s built by the same team who build the V10. It’s half of the V10.
People are drag racing these in the 9’s and 10’s non stop.
Shon Hall BMW’s are the most unreliable. I’m a BMW guy who bought an RS3. Best choice I ever made.
its an Audi, i get it, but i don't see 60k, its a little high
It’s a 30k exotic drivetrain. It’s a drivetrain the US has been waiting to get in a sedan. It’s a tuning monster.
It’s pretty half of a V10 built by the same team who build the v10 for the R8/Huracan. Similar sounding engine.
Yeah, I thought so too. Bought and tuned a slightly used S3, and got exactly the same performance for literally 1/2 price - win all around :)
@@spinnetti Right...except for the RS3 can be tuned on the cheap as well. Then the difference in performance would be...um...let's call it "more than noticeable".
@@mco51193 true, but at 3x the price its not worth it to me. My Stage II S3 is already faster than most things on the road but it doesn't look or feel special, and neither does the RS3. Best mix for me was an R8 to feel great, and the S3 as a daily driver.
@@spinnetti Fair enough, man. At the end of the day, we're all lucky to own any of these cars. The S3 is certainly a great vehicle as well.
The car looks, sounds, and performs wonderfully. But an lcd panel for gauges, an outfolding touchscreen, flat bottomed steering wheel, rediculous price tag, and the lack of a manual will keep me away for years to come. Nice try though, audi.
Your loss.
LRulesTheWorld Just shows you don’t know what you’re talking about: the screen in the center is NOT a touchscreen. The Virtual Cockpit is freaking AMAZING!! And, you don’t like a flatbottom steering wheel?!?! WTF?!?!
You clearly haven’t been in one. The virtual cockpit is fast and excellent quality.
The steering wheel is the best in the industry. I now hate round wheels.
Lamborghini uses the same virtual cockpit and flat bottom steering wheel. Almost 300k so they must be pretty dam good.
Some people like to judge just for a video. I’m sure you drive a better car, right? 😂
Ryan B See previous comment. Also, I drive cars that are 20 years old, or older. Much better quality and easier to fix than anything currently on the market. Why pay $60k for an audi, when I can build a car to kill it for less than $10k?
LRulesTheWorld What car are you talking about?
Motorweek is showing its age. To corny and the format is stale.
They still use video reels to edit. 😂
Audi 5 cylinder engine never heard that from audi that is rare
Nope
It goes back to the Rally days with the 5 cylinder Quattro. They destroyed the competition.
The 5 cylinder goes way back to at least the early 80's with the UR Quattro. They dominated everything.
built in understeer Haldex
no thanks
lag...lag...lag then power
test drove on and it felt lethargic anywhere below 50% throttle
this thing feels heavy for such a small car
RWD+MT is always going to drive better
Stock, the throttle is weird till you tune it. Audi dialed it back big time to not compete with their other high end cars. That’s why tunes are putting 100hp on them with ease.
A tune transforms this car and can spank almost anything on the road.
Springs and a rear sway bar transforms this car big time.
I almost got an M2, but was too slow for my liking. Fun backroad car, but highway is not great.