2025 Audi RS 3: Finally Back and Better Than Ever
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Sitges, Spain—Fantastic all-wheel drive and sleeper looks in a small package sum up the Audi RS 3, but the inline five-cylinder engine under the hood is what makes the car special.
Behind the wheel of the RS 3, you can’t help but fall in love with this mill, which evokes the glorious motorsport tradition of the four-ring brand with the legendary Ur-quattro, a world rally champion in 1983 with Hannu Mikkola, or the wicked Audi S1 that Walter Rörhl drove to a win at Colorado’s Pikes Peak in 1987.
Back in October of 2021, we published a review of the third-generation 2022 Audi RS 3, only to find out months later that it wouldn’t come to Canada due to rule changes in new-vehicle certification. Needless to say many performance enthusiasts were disappointed. Well, it’s a different story for the 2025 model year. The RS 3 is back! We’ll get the sedan only, while customers over in Europe can also order it in five-door Sportback configuration.
On the Road and the Track
The 2025 Audi RS 3 benefits from refreshed styling and significantly improved handling including specific new tires that have been developed by Pirelli and Bridgestone. As a result, you’re looking at the new class lap record holder on the Nürburgring Nordschleife, with test driver Frank Stippler deserving some of the credit. Our reunion with the RS 3 took place on a completely different track, namely Castellolí near Barcelona, as well as on the beautiful roads of Catalonia.
The turbocharged 2.5-litre inline five-cylinder engine remains the same. It still generates 395 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque, but sounds more expressive now, especially between 2,200 and 3,500 rpm. The optional RS Sport exhaust system adds to the driving experience. The evocative sound of this five-pot comes from the 1-2-4-5-3 ignition sequence, as the combustion of the air-fuel mixture takes place alternately in adjacent and non-adjacent cylinders.
That's part of the reason why the Audi RS 3 has so much character. Thanks to its quattro AWD system, the car accelerates from 0-100 km/h in 3.8 seconds, a time you’d normally associate with pure sports cars.
When it comes to the chassis, Audi Sport engineers have optimized the interaction between the Torque Splitter—that ingenious multi-plate clutch device enabling torque vectoring on the rear axle—and the RS suspension's adaptive dampers through a new algorithm for the dynamics controller. Consequently, the updated RS 3 shows increased agility when entering corners, and it's possible to accelerate faster than before—even prior to the apex—in order to exit corners with a touch of oversteer when the Torque Splitter is set in Performance mode. Once again, the Torque Splitter can also be set in Torque Rear mode, which is basically a drift mode since all of the available torque is delivered to the outside wheel.
Nearly semi-slick Pirelli P Zero Trofeo tires are optional, but the new standard tires developed for the RS 3 work the best for everyday use. Audi Sport engineers worked with Pirelli to create a new C-label P Zero R tire that performs almost as well as the P Zero Trofeo on dry pavement, but significantly better on wet roads.
Similar work was done with Bridgestone engineers to design a C-label Potenza Sport tire with pretty much the same characteristics. We feel this is the ideal tire set, and it's the one we used on the track and on the road.
Updated Looks
For 2025, the Singleframe grille is wider and sports a Rhombus motif. The front end features two side openings with vertical blades and three openings located above the lip spoiler. We love the fact that Audi designers have kept the same headlights with a combination of 24 elements mimicking a checkered flag. At the rear, the RS 3 features a large diffuser with a vertical reflector and two oval tailpipes in a black finish.
Two body colours—Kyalami Green and Kemora Grey—are unique to the RS range, but the 2025 RS 3 is also available in Ascari Blue Metallic or Progressive Red Metallic, not to mention Daytona Grey in a matte finish for the first time on this model. The standard 19-inch wheels in a Y-shaped five-spoke design and matte black finish can be replaced by 20-inch wheels in an interlocking 10-spoke design and matte grey or gloss black finish.
The RS 3 features an all-new steering wheel with flat sections at the base and top, leather or Dinamica upholstery and a red marker at the 12 o’clock position. Elsewhere, the 12.3-inch virtual cockpit includes a new-look tachometer, power and torque meter, longitudinal and lateral acceleration indicator and lap timer.
The upgraded and more dynamic 2025 Audi RS 3 will launch in Canada in mid-2025 at a price that has yet to be announced. For the record, the 2025 S3 carries a base MSRP of $55,000. One thing's for sure: the RS 3’s return will be welcomed by all sporty driving enthusiasts, starting with us.
