The Audi S3 is many things. It’s fast, capable, and plush, but truly exciting? That last one has always been up for debate, but now, there’s a thoroughly refreshed version that might finally kick the preconception of the S3 being a bit vanilla into the weeds.
It’s a mid-life facelift rather than an all-new car, but this isn’t your standard nip and tuck – there are significant changes going on under the skin. The first of these is the inclusion of VW Group’s torque splitter. The part, which can fully vary the torque split between the rear wheels, was chucked in the VW Golf R way back in 2021, so it didn’t seem awfully fair that the pre-update S3 did without.
2024 Audi S3 – rear
Belatedly, the car now has it, but the device functions a little differently here than in the Golf R or the S3’s bigger brother, the RS3. There’s no mention of a ‘drift mode’, but Audi does say that in the new Dynamic Plus mode the system has “a tendency to oversteer”. Lovely.
The next change concerns the tried and tested EA888 inline-four turbo engine, which now makes 329bhp and 310lb ft of torque, up from 306bhp and 295lb ft. This knocks a tenth off the 0-62mph time, giving a new figure of 4.7 seconds, which you’re probably not going to notice.
What you’re more likely to clock is the more responsive turbocharger. It’s ‘preloaded’ to keep a constant RPM during medium load, and the throttle valve is left open during overrun, keeping the turbo spinning in a kinda/sorta anti-lag fashion. Plus, the seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox has been rejigged, allowing for “a more spontaneous takeoff” due to a stronger compression of the clutch pack, while the gearshift times under full load have been halved.
2024 Audi S3 Sportback – side
At this point, Audi could have called it a day, and we probably wouldn’t have grumbled. And yet, the engineers have gone to the bother of fitting new bearings on the wishbones to increase negative camber, and “optimised” the variable-ratio-rack steering. Oh, and the front brake discs are a bit bigger and 357mm in diameter, and they’re a bit thicker as well.
To go with all those changes, the S3 gets a new look, with a wider, flatter ‘Singleframe’ grille, a new front splitter, redesigned intakes and a different lighting signature in the front clusters. In fact, you can choose between four daytime running light signatures. The colour palette is fancier, meanwhile, including hues such as District Green, Ascari Blue and Progressive Red.
2024 Audi S3 – interior
There have been plenty of tweaks inside, too. The ambient lighting package has new elements, and there are fabric door panels made with 300 laser cuts. The automatic gear selector is new, as are the air vents.
The car isn’t available to order in the UK just yet. When it is, we’d expect a slight rise compared to the cost of the old one, but it should still come in comfortably under the £50,000 mark. As before, you can have it as a five-door Sportback or a four-door saloon.
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