296bhp hatchback gains a boot to
create saloon version. Is it the reincarnation of the original S4?
Yes, it says s3 on the boot lid. And this
is indeed a booted version of Audi’s four-wheel-driven hot hatch. But what
you’re also looking at is probably the best example so far of the motor
industry’s love of upsizing.
As new cars get bigger and faster, so whole
segments shift over successive generations. And, apart from a relative lack of
cylinders and an engine turned sideways, the new S3 Saloon has pretty much
become a reduced-CO2 facsimile of the B5-generation S4 (the 1997- 2001 one, to
save you looking).
The S3 Saloon is just 14mm shorter than
that S4, so about a finger’s width depending how sausage-like your digits are.
It’s 80kg lighter than its ancestor at just 1430kg (for the manual version),
and while the S4 dispatched the 0-62mph dash in an official 5.7sec, the S3 can
do it in 5.3. The optional S-tronic twin-clutch version is even quicker at
4.9sec.
Audi's
S3 has muscle-car styling, giving it a more aggressive appearance than the A3
saloon
Dig deeper and you encounter some
substantial differences. The S3 has a transverse four-cylinder turbocharged
four in place of the S4’s longitudinal 2.7-litre biturbo V6. And the S3’s
‘quattro’ badging refers to VW Group’s familiar part-time Haldex
four-wheel-drive system, whereas the S4 had a ‘proper’ permanent Torsen system
channelling drive to each corner. But while the S4 managed a then-competitive
261bhp from its Cosworth-engineered V6, the S3’s direct-injection four produces
296bhp, with a 50 per cent increase in specific output.
They even look similar. The S3’s hatchback
origins are obvious in its shorter rear end, but its low roofline and the shape
of its glasshouse have clearly been inspired by its S4 predecessors. More
importantly, the S3 Saloon looks far better than the lumpy five-door S3 hatch.
The A3 Saloon might have been created primarily for those parts of the world
where buyers still insist on having a boot, but spinning off an ‘S’ version has
created a fine-looking sports saloon. Inside, it’s less exciting: from the
driver’s seat, it’s identical to the S3 hatchback. Indeed, apart from an LED
boost gauge in the face of the rev counter, and some very subtle ‘S’ branding,
it feels pretty much like any other S3.
The
S3 saloon gets Audi's well-appointed premium-identikit interiors
The driving experience is predictably close
to that of the S3 hatchback, although the slightly laid-back dynamic vibe seems
to suit the Saloon better. The engine remains the car’s defining feature: it’s
the most powerful version of the ubiquitous VW Group turbocharged four (it will
also power the forthcoming Golf R) and it uses ‘dual injection’ – both direct
and indirect via two different fuel rails – to combine performance and economy.
It’s docile at low revs, if a bit laggy, but beyond 2,000rpm it wakes up, pulls
hard and seems to positively enjoy being revved. It sounds great, too, exhaling
through a sports exhaust that’s rorty when you want it to be and quiet when you
don’t. Our test car has the S-tronic six-speed DSG ’box, which shifts cleanly
and seems better able to respond to requests for multiple downshifts in quick
succession in manual mode than the old one did, but its steering wheel paddles
feel plasticky and lack resistance.
There's
plenty of room inside the S3 saloon, and the interior is pleasingly appointed
Apologies if this feels familiar – and it’s
as frustrating for me to keep writing it as it is for you to keep reading it –
but the thing that really lets the S3 Saloon down is its steering. The
electrical assistance has a nasty synthesized weight to it. It can be adjusted
via the different ‘Drive Select’ programs, none of which give more than a
fleeting impression of what the front wheels are thinking. There’s a
predictable abundance of grip and the chassis has a nice, neutral balance at
higher speeds, but the S3 Saloon follows (most of) its forebears in having
absolutely no enthusiasm for exploring the area where adhesion starts to fade.
The front runs out of grip and basically that’s your lot.
On the super-smooth tarmac of the south of
France, the S3 rides well enough in its softer Comfort chassis mode, but
previous experience with the hatchback suggests that Dynamic will pretty much
weld the suspension up, to the point where it’s unuseable on UK roads (the
hatch and saloon having near-identical settings).
Power
in the S3 saloon comes from a turbocharged 2.0-litre, four-cylinder engine
The S3 Saloon is fast, capable and
good-looking, but dynamically it shares its hatchback sister’s air of slight
detachment. As an all-rounder, it’s probably a better car than the Mercedes
CLA45 AMG, which is quicker but considerably more expensive ($72,355 basic,
versus $56,905 for the Audi). And for a bit of historical perspective, although
the S3 Saloon is $3,390 more expensive than the hatchback, it costs $5,820 less
than the B5-spec S4 did when it went off sale back in 2001. To be perfectly
honest, that’s possibly the most impressive thing about it.
