Audi S3 Review, 2015 Release

Audi S3 Review, 2015 Release

Audi S3 Review, 2015 Release - Sport sedan that is a squirrely noun that gives cover to a lot of wannabes and It's been mis-applied to cars with twenty more horsepower and some nicer wheels and  all in the name of marketing - With the 2015 Audi S3, S3 is a merit badge. This car strains with turbocharged acceleration at its four-wheeled leash and zip-ties itself to the road with elated and it pulls all the right levers except one--and that oversight has a readily available fix.

2015 Audi S3 Release

The 2015 Audi S3 is one of the first members of a new family of Audi small cars and all badged A3 in some way. The family will eventually include the e-tron hatchback wagon with plug-in hybrid technology - a cute A3 Cabriolet convertible and the 4 door A3 sedan with outfitted with diesel or gasoline engines and We'd throw in the upcoming Q3 crossover - which is as much a part of the A3 family as the Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class is part of the CLA-Class compact family.

Audi S3, 2015 Release

Like its cousins, the S3 is a small-ish 4 door, but you'll be excused for wondering how much more petite it is - It's not much different in footprint than the first-generation Audi A4 from two decades ago.

The twist comes from under the Audi S3's crisply stamped hood. That's no hybrid to plug in - no turbodiesel.

turbocharging here, with a 2.0-liter direct-injected and forced-induction four-cylinder spinning out about 290 horsepower. The four's capable of great things in the compact - lighter-weight A3 architecture: Audi estimates 0-60 mph times of 4.8 seconds and a top speed of 155 mph and give thanks there for the new four's low torque peak of 280 pound-feet down at about 2000 rpm and which it maintains through 5000 rpm with a happy soundtrack and solid thrust.

The only gearbox configured right now for American tastes is a six-speed version of Audi's paddle-shifted, dual-clutch transmission, which helps the turbo pull terrifically through its lower gears and doling out torque to all four wheels. The six-speed manual shifter we've sampled on a European first drive and which hasn't officially been pegged for U.S -market S3 sedans and we think it's a credibility must have, The even if we prefer the clean execution of the dual-clutch box.

The Audi S3 knows mainstream appeal. Its tidy styling strays not an inch from Audi's hugely successful formula and without looking small-car blunt. The LED eyeshadow it wears gives it the standard Audi signature but there's a full-LED treatment available to turn their keyhole shape into something instantly identifiable in the rearview mirror. It's a more spartan affair than you'll find in the outrageously cool A7 and the lavish wood is gone, the leather is less prevalent but there's still a confident hand in the details--especially those big.

The Audi's marginally wider and in the front seat there's plenty of headroom--without the sunroof that will be standard in the U.S. The VW Group lever controls for the seat are the usual confusion of levers and switches and knobs - but the seats are bolstered in red and the flat-bottom steering wheel opens up a little more leg space.