The RS3 is probably the quickest little sedan on offer right now from Audi.
Sometime in 2016, Audi AG released a compact performance sedan that rocked hot hatchback market. Until the arrival of the Audi RS3 2016 model, compact performance vehicles always came from hatchbacks like the Golf GTI, BMW 1 Series, Renault Megane and the fun loving FIAT range or tuned ABARTH models.
This RS3 sedan was equipped with a 400hp 2.5-liter 5-cylinder engine that delivered 480Nm of torque. It had a standstill to 100km/h acceleration time of just 4.1 seconds and where it was permitted you get reach a top speed of 280km/h.
This compact sedan ruled the hot hatch quick machines with its mundane looking sedan design and was never taken seriously in our part of the automotive world, ASEAN.
Now for 2022, there is an all new Audi RS3 sedan and it is brand new from all angles. With a very aggressive design language and even more technology under its shell, Audi wants to give petrol-heads one last ‘hurrah’ car before they turn to a complete electric powered lineup in all their showrooms.
This all new RS sedan will accelerate from standstill to 100 km/h in just 3.8 seconds and deliver a top speed where possible up to 290km/h. There is a RS Torque Splitter, semi slick tires, and specific RS driving modes that comes as standard with this new Audi RS3 to offer its driver the driving dynamics of the highest caliber and the best numbers in its segment.
Equipped with a 400 PS five-cylinder, the high-performance engine delivers rapid acceleration with a highly intoxicating sound. The power unit now delivers 500 Nm of torque and responds even faster.
Visually, the RS3 demonstrates its sporty DNA with a widened body, RS sports exhaust system, and cockpit displays like those found in race cars. In the interior, too, many elements specific to the RS accentuate its sportiness. The displays appear in the 12.3-inch Audi virtual cockpit plus, which comes standard. It displays the rpms in the form of a bar graph and shows power and torque as percentages. Optionally, the rpm display is available in the new “RS Runway” design.
In this case, the values are displayed in the opposite direction in a manner that visually resembles an aeroplane runway which is the highest speed in the foreground and the lowest speed in the background.
In addition, the Audi virtual cockpit plus includes displays for g-forces, lap times and acceleration from 0-100 km/h, 0-200 km/h, quarter-mile, and eighth of a mile.
The RS-specific blinking shift indicator in manual transmission mode changes the rpm display from green to yellow to red, blinking in a manner identical to that used in motorsports, to indicate the ideal time to change gears.
The 10.1-inch touch display includes what is referred to as the “RS Monitor,” which displays the coolant, engine, and transmission oil temperatures as well as tire pressures. Also available for the first time for the Audi RS3 is a head-up display that projects relevant information onto the windshield in the driver’s direct line of sight in addition to the shift light indicator.
The genuine racing feeling is further enhanced by the carbon fibre instrument panel for Carbon models and above, and RS sport seats with RS embossing and anthracite contrast stitching.
With Audi in Malaysia giving little emphasis on expanding the brand image and its profile, this RS and other RS models will have to be imported in by private AP holders in coming years.
