Steel Cannon Forces Test Audi RS 3 Limousine

Audi RS 3 Limousine break 100 in 4.28 seconds, finish 400 meters in 12.67 seconds

Last summer, I excitedly received the key to the RS 6 test car. You know, I was probably the first batch of people in China to experience this “sacred car” at that time. The reason why it is called a “sacred car” is that it must have strong performance first; secondly, this car, which has been praised by fans for a long time, actually moved the manufacturer before it was launched. This is quite magical. Finally, there is the price, which is close to a guide price of 1.6 million yuan plus a wide range of options. The landing price easily exceeds 2 million yuan. The high price seems to make it embarked on the altar, making many consumers feel out of reach. Now lets move to Audi RS 3 Limousine.

However, after a year, I happened to be scheduled to test RS 3, which seems to have a lot to do with Audi Sport. This model can be understood as the strongest version of A3 or enhanced version of S3, and it is also a dream car that lives in the hard drives of many car fans. Fortunately, it will be on the market in a few days, and according to the pre-sale price exposed before, the RS 3 is definitely much closer to the people than its elder brother RS ​​6. In addition, for the unique market segment of “Small Steel Cannon”, another strong challenger is about to debut.

RS 3 Limousine is equipped with a 2.5T five-cylinder turbocharged engine and a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox. This powertrain is exactly the same as the TT RS we tested a while ago, and its strong acceleration performance of 3.69 seconds also refreshed our understanding of this powertrain. Friends who follow RS 3 must also be curious about the effect of transplanting the same power to this compact car. Let’s start with the most exciting part of the performance test…

Power System:

In fact, this inline 5-cylinder 2.5T turbocharged engine is still relatively unfamiliar to domestic consumers. In fact, at the beginning of this century, almost no Audi models were equipped with 5-cylinder engines. Until 2021, the new TT RS was equipped with a 2.5T 5-cylinder engine with a maximum power of 340 horsepower and a peak torque of 450 Nm. This was a very eye-catching book parameter at the time. In addition, the RS 3 of that era was also equipped with this 2.5T engine, so it seems that Audi has always used the same engine for the TT RS and RS 3.

In recent years, through re-optimization and adjustment, the parameters of this 2.5T engine have been upgraded again, with a maximum power of 400 horsepower and a peak torque of 480 Nm. This is also the new RS 3 engine tested this time. Matching this engine is a 7-speed wet dual-clutch gearbox code-named DQ500.

0-100 km Acceleration Test

RS 3 original factory provides ejection mode, the starting method is also very simple: dynamic mode, step on the accelerator to brake to the end, the speed stabilizes at 3000rpm, and then release the brake pedal. Thanks to the blessing of the quattro four-wheel drive system and the strong grip of the Pirelli P ZERO tires, there is no need to worry about slipping during the entire starting process, and the final result is 4.28 seconds.

Audi officially announced that the RS 3 0-100km/h acceleration time is 4.1 seconds, and the difference of about 0.2 seconds at 30°C on the day of the test is reasonable. As for why there is more than half a second between the same powertrain and the TT RS, it may be caused by the difference between the tuning and the model. However, even so, the RS 3 accelerates faster in the same-level steel gun models. In the compact car class, it is only 0.14 seconds slower than the Mercedes-Benz A 45 AMG. Considering that the latter is tested in the autumn which is more suitable for power development, such a gap can also be ignored.

0-400 m Accelerated Test

The performance of 400 meters in 12.67 seconds is very strong, with a tail speed of 178.55 km/h, which is not much different from RS 5, and the acceleration performance is really strong.

100-0 km/h Brake Test

The RS 3 is not equipped with a valuable carbon ceramic brake system like the RS 6 I tested before, but the huge front 8-piston brake calipers looked reassuring, and the actual results were indeed the case. The average score of 37.2 meters can also be regarded as excellent in the performance car category. There is no thermal decay phenomenon in 10 consecutive brake tests, and the stability is good.

Easy to open and easy to use, dynamic mode combining human and vehicle

Driving Experience:

After reading the above, I think everyone has a basic understanding of the powerful performance of RS 3. No one would object to saying that it is a fast-running car, but on the other hand, I always think that the biggest charm of small steel gun models is that these cars usually have good commuting performance and the power can be retracted freely, as is the RS 3.

RS 3 provides four driving modes: Comfort, Auto, Dynamic, and Custom to choose from. The last custom mode can adjust the response speed of the engine and gearbox, damping system, steering intensity, four-wheel drive system, exhaust system and adaptive cruise according to your own preferences. Although the flexibility is higher, the practicality is actually mediocre. After all, it is not safe to adjust these extremely detailed performances when driving, nor is it particularly convenient.

In comfort mode, the RS 3 behaves more like a well-powered A3, and it’s quite easy to drive. The throttle response is tepid, so don’t worry about not being able to hold it. The shock absorption system is harder than ordinary family cars and is still within acceptable limits. Compared with the V60 Polestar I tested not long ago , it seems that the shock absorber leaks oil is much more difficult. The steering force of the steering wheel is also relatively light. Although extremely strong road feedback is inevitable due to physical characteristics, it can also be seen that the vehicle has made great efforts in terms of comfort.

I believe that friends who drive performance cars hate traffic jams, and so do I. Fortunately, this test car is equipped with an ACC adaptive cruise system , which can be turned on in boring traffic jams to free the right foot. Even if I will be stuck by a lot of incompetent guys, at this moment, I am not very interested in competing with them in an empty space of less than 10 meters. This is the key to let me spend this boring period with more worry and effort.

The automatic mode is better understood. All aspects related to driving will be judged based on the current driving state and then adjusted. It can be said to be the least distinctive mode, but it is the one I use the most. Compared with the comfort mode, it is more passionate, and you can wake up this performance machine at any time; but this mode is not as restless as the dynamic mode, and the mental burden of driving will be much smaller.

Dynamic mode is a nerve-wracking mode. After selecting this mode, the gearbox will automatically switch to S gear, and the opportunity to shift gears is greatly delayed, resulting in better dynamic response. The accelerator pedal will also become extremely sensitive, and all the kinetic energy under your feet is intuitively reflected in the tachometer and the forward and backward sensation.

“Exhaust sound display”

Switch to dynamic mode, all the real functions of RS 3 will be fully demonstrated. The exhaust system that opens the valve all the way is absolutely full of momentum in the original car category. Every upshift after rapid acceleration can be replaced by a “bang”, as if to tell the driver and others that it is not “good.” The tough suspension system can give strong support to the body when merging, the feedback of the steering wheel will become heavier, and the precise directivity will not be hollow. Thanks to the A3, an originally very easy-to-drive model, in this most powerful dynamic mode, RS 3 allows me to quickly enter the realm of human-vehicle integration, which is definitely a rare and excellent quality among performance cars.

The performance of the 7-speed wet dual-clutch gearbox is conscientious, and the movements of the lifting gear are clean and neat, without any muddling. At the same time, in manual mode, there is no rush to upshift because the speed enters the red zone, which can bring great maneuverability to the driver. If you have to find a problem, you will occasionally bump into it at low speeds, but as a car that does not emphasize comfort, I believe everyone can accept this problem.

Sharp appearance, excellent configuration

Static performance:

The domestic debut of RS 3 was at the Shanghai Auto Show in April this year, and at last year’s Paris Auto Show, we have already made detailed real shot articles on it, so this time we will mainly focus on the static part of this medium-sized model. A brief introduction.

The test drive we got this time, the RS 3 launched on September 10, is a Limousine version, which is a coupe. Perhaps this will make many friends who look forward to the hatchback version a bit regrettable. After all, the current S3 is also a coupe, and the shape of Hatchback seems to be more in line with people’s common perception of “small steel guns”.

In terms of appearance, RS 3 Limousine follows the A3 design elements after the mid-term facelift, but only changes the details to make the vehicle more combative. The huge air intakes on both sides under the front bumper increase the collision area of ​​the rear cooling system, thereby improving the cooling efficiency. The outermost air duct is specially designed for the braking system. The word ” quattro ” is printed in the middle , which not only shows that you have a four-wheel drive system, but it is also a pretty good design element.

The 19-inch aluminum alloy wheels are equipped with Pirelli P ZERO series tires, with specifications of 255/30 R19. The tire wall is quite thin, so be careful when walking on bad roads. The front wheels are equipped with 8-piston brake calipers and 380 mm perforated brake discs. Excellent braking performance has also been verified in the test.

At present, the official body size parameters have not been announced, but in theory it will not be much different from A3 Limousine. Perhaps the body length will be slightly longer, after all, the size of the sports paddock is relatively large.

Compared with the front, the rear of the car is a bit dull. The low-key black spoiler on the trunk echoes the surrounding movement, similar to the bottom diffuser under the bumper. In fact, the huge exhaust holes on the left and right sides each consist of two exhaust nozzles. From a distance, it seems that there are two exhaust nozzles on each side, but in fact there are four exhaust nozzles on each side, which is also the usual practice of most RS models.

In the car, with the exception of the steering wheel and seats, the overall interior styling is not much different from that of the A3, and it is still a relatively simple design style. After all, the latter is a model of around 200,000 yuan. It is still quite difficult to find some luxury elements in a compact car at such a price.

The 12.3-inch full LCD instrument panel is basically the same as the mid-term S3 that was on the market, except that the model name in the tachometer has been changed. At present, this instrument panel with a resolution of up to 1440×540 has gradually become popular in Audi models. With the integrated NVIDIA graphics card, the display effect can give full marks.

The multimedia system provides the CarPlay function, but because the central control color screen does not support touch, it needs to be operated through the MMI knob, which will cause some trouble. This is also one of the few models that the original factory provides CarPlay but does not support touch screen. In addition, basic functions such as GPS navigation and Bluetooth are all available, but there is nothing to fault in terms of functions.

The sports seats that look pretty are very wrapped. Except for the electric adjustment of the lumbar support, the rest are all manual adjustments. Of course, although this is acceptable as a performance car, it is naturally better to provide electric adjustment. The rear seats also use the same mesh stitching as the front seats, which has a good visual effect.

Summarize:

Finally, the official launch of RS 3 will definitely make many fans excited. After all, this legendary car is finally coming to us. In terms of performance, it also deserves the title of RS: it breaks 100 meters in the first 4 seconds, and runs 400 meters in 12 seconds. The stable braking performance is enough to make it a new force in the steel gun industry.

Back to reality, the guide price of RS 3 has not yet been announced, but the pre-sale price of 575,000 yuan previously exposed is not low, nearly 200,000 more expensive than S 3, and 100,000 more expensive than the regular version of A 45 AMG. But regardless of face value, configuration or performance, RS 3 is impeccable. As the highest performance version of Audi Sport, it is reasonable to open the gap with S 3 in terms of positioning and pricing.

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