DOES THIS GENERATIONAL AUDI RS3 DRAG RACE PROVE THAT NEW ISN'T ALWAYS BETTER?
Audi’s RS3 is one of the world’s most popular performance hatchbacks that has a cult-like following the world over. Featuring a 5-pot powerplant with one of the best soundtracks there is, that extra cylinder has made all the difference when it comes to power figures and performance figures. The more than average power figure for a hatchback is coupled to an all-wheel drive setup that gives the car points on the twisties too. When we saw the first generation released it was almost like a little supercar that your average Joe could afford without adding a 3rd bond to the house. The generation that followed was even better in terms of, well, everything. All the specs were better, on paper the numbers all improved so much that the end product was a car that’s still very much sought after even with an all-new model recently released. This generation of the RS3 is once again better when comparing it to the outgoing model, and those who have the means have upgraded, or plan to upgrade. The all-new RS3 is a beast in every way, and that extends to the price tag too, unfortunately. Just the like Golf GTi, the sales tag puts the car out of reach of most enthusiast drivers and owners, so the car would need to be a heck of a lot better than before to justify the bad financial decision. Is it though?
The Audi RS3 is in its 3rd generation (with a decent facelift in between). The first-gen RS3 features that signature turbocharged 2.5-litre 5-cylinder powerplant that’s rated at a healthy 254 kW with 480Nm of torque. This first-gen weighs in at 1 575 kg. The second generation has that same turbocharged 5-pot but the bump in power saw the power figure rise to 298 kw while the torque remained at 480 Nm, but the car was 65 kg lighter than the previous generation, and this meant it was quicker all round. The latest incarnation of the Audi RS 3 is rather good to look at, and the same turbocharged 2.5-litre 5-cylinder lump is now rated with the same power at 298 kW, but this time the torque saw a bump to 500 Nm and it’s gained back that previously lost 65 kg. When you look at all these figures, it looks like the weight and the power figures sort of even things out, so how would all of this equate to real world driving conditions.
Take a look at the YouTube video from our mate Mat where he pits the various RS3 models up against each other with some rather surprising results - will it upset new RS3 owners? Will those who ordered a new one cancel? Watch to find out: Proof new cars AREN'T worth it? DRAG RACE | carwow
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