Text: Joaquim Oliveira/Press-Inform.
When it appeared, two decades ago, the A3 was the first to enter the segment of compact premium models and this pioneering spirit has earned it a prominent position throughout all these years. But over the years BMW and Mercedes-Benz realized that this was also an interesting segment and joined it with the 1 Series and the A-Class, respectively.
At the same time, the offer of sporty versions in this car silhouette has improved, even within the Volkswagen Group, personified by the Volkswagen Golf R, SEAT Leon CUPRA and even the Skoda Octavia RS, although the most direct rivals, in this case, the Audi S3 , are of course the BMW M135i and the Mercedes-AMG A 35.
The world premiere is also scheduled for the same stage on Swiss soil but, as is happening more and more often, we had the opportunity to guide a disguised version of a prototype in the final testing phase for a first idea of what is to come. That won't be surprising, which in the case of an Audi model isn't a negative comment.
Visually (although not entirely noticeable in the photographs…) the new honeycomb grille flanked by standard LED headlamps with advanced customized lighting functions, in addition to the increasingly “sharp” edges on the rear, where the pontificates are also highlighted. horizontal optics.
On this Audi S3 there are body flares and bumpers to add drama even when the car is stationary. Since 2017, Audi stopped making the three-door variant – a trend that no one escapes these days –, but still the new A3 will have a family of ten elements when it is complete, which should be in 2022 (including the three-pack variant with high demand in the Chinese market).
Same quality, less buttons
Inside (which were covered in this experiment to leave the surprise, relative, for the Geneva Motor Show) the materials and assembly/finishing breathe the usual quality we know in Audi, noting that there are now fewer buttons than before, another sign irreversible of the times.Subscribe to our newsletter
The sports seats of this Audi S3 inspire confidence for the curves that follow, and the interior space remains at a good level, even with the intrusive floor tunnel in the footwell at the rear: no surprise as the new model uses the same structure – MQB – from the predecessor.
quattro evolution
Another small evolution was made in the quattro system that equips this S3 and which was quite useful in this wet driving session. There is still an oil-soaked multi-disc clutch positioned at the end of the driveshaft in front of the rear axle differential, but now there is a central dynamic control that also integrates shock absorber action and braking torque vectoring, which allows all the car's dynamics are much more integrated than hitherto.
The result is a faster and more suitable response to the demands placed on the road, handling and road grip. The distribution is made in a completely variable way, with the entire force delivered to the front wheels on a straight road and when driving at moderate speeds, but it can vary up to 100% of the “juice” to be sent to the rear axle.
Still purely combustion
The engine is the well-known 2.0 liter turbo (EA888) which is expected to produce a little over 300 hp — practically the same as the previous generation, it was not possible to obtain official confirmation, because the German engineers who accompanied the restricted group of journalists who had access to this event did not reveal any data other than their own names…—, even because in these times of strangulation of emissions any gains in efficiency are welcome and, with the hardware in place, progress at that level can never be exponential.
The entry into action of the turbo is clearly perceived above 1900 rpm and if we think of performances such as a sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in about 4.7s and a top speed of 250 km/h (electronically controlled) it doesn't we will walk away from reality. Once again, records identical to the model that will be reformed.
The dual-clutch automatic transmission, the only transmission available on the Audi S3, helps you enjoy driving to the full and, fitted with shift paddles behind the steering wheel rim, conspires with steering precision with progressive assistance (which becomes more direct in sporty driving and less in a straight line) so that the driver rarely needs to remove his hands from the “10 to 2” position or have to make a correction in the path of the curve.
More distinction in driving modes
Audi engineers say they have increased the difference between the various driving modes (there are five in total, from the most comfortable to the most dynamic and with an Individual program to parameterize the various settings) so that they are used more by the user, which is clear best on vehicles equipped with a variable damping system, as is the case.
In Comfort, the bad floors are “smoothed” and in Dynamic everything is transferred to the driver's body and hands in a less filtered way, but for those who prefer an intermediate response that is variable, the solution is to drive in Auto, whose ambivalence the preference of Audi customers is worth it.
Now, another meeting with the Audi S3 only in Geneva, in less than a month.