INGOLSTADT, Germany – This booted S3 is the market’s most affordable premium sports sedan and even though it costs more than R500 000, it provides a real-world alternative to larger machines that are priced far beyond the financial means of most aficionados.
The concept of a performance four-door may not quite date back to the birth of the automobile – but it’s existed as long as sentient CAR readers can remember. Be they cars modified to outrun prohibition-era law enforcement, large-block bruisers for baby boomers, otherwise dour family saloons finagled with motorsport technology and go-faster paraphernalia or, more recently, overtly fashioned four-door projectiles built by marquee brands – we’ve seen them all.
With the exceptions of the soon-to-be-defunct Chevrolet Lumina SS and Subaru WRX STi, volume manufacturers – the progenitors of the genre – have largely given up on making performance sedans and left the premier brands to produce state-of-the-art machines with crushing capabilities. The problem is that even “warm” sedans, such as the BMW 335i and Audi S4, hover in the mid-R600k region, the upcoming BMW M3, as well as next-gen C63 AMG and IS-F will cost about a million rand apiece and the executive-saloon based protagonists from Deutschland and Old Blighty are priced well over the seven-figure mark.
While I speared down the Autobahn on the outskirts of Ingolstadt at well over 200 km/h in the S3 Sedan, thoughts about price and prudence abounded. Even if the Audi’s four-pot baritone engine note is appended by a sound symposer, its ride quality flattered by the marble surface of the fabled German freeway and its body arguably casts the same-sized shadow as that of a Corolla, the S3 Sedan makes one wonder whether large performance sedans have become overblown.
Then again, the S3 Sedan sets out to make an upmarket, less-is-more impression with elegant, understated style right from the outset. While it’s admittedly not as svelte and toned as its CLS rival from Mercedes-Benz, the S3 beefs up its A3 sedan brethren’s looks with a delicately veined front spoiler replete with a chrome splitter, flared side skirts, polished side mirrors, a rear tailpiece as well as a quartet of exhaust tips. Ah, don’t forget those intricate, arch-filling alloys…
When entering the red-stitched black leather cabin with its grand facia and tactile metallic switchgear, one’s instantly reminded why the A3 and its Sportback derivative won a category in CAR’s Top 12 Best Buys for 2014. The segment-smashing quality ambience is complemented by an inviting tone of sportiness when one ensconces oneself behind the flat-bottomed wheel and lean the old shoulders aft into the body-hugging arches of the driver’s seatback.
As a driver’s car, the S3 Sedan is expected to punch above its weight, but it’s the manner in which it does it that impresses most. The machinations of the S-tronic dual-clutch ‘box are unobtrusive in standard driving mode and the throttle pedal alert, rather than lively, but the four-cylinder turbomotor dishes up its 380 N.m of torque with a resonant burble – and higher velocities ensue with ease.
In Dynamic mode, however, the brusque exhaust blips on upshifts become more pertinent, the transmission hangs on to its ratios for optimal in-gear shove and every twist of the road becomes an excuse to exploit the S3’s four-wheel traction with eager throttle inputs on corner exits. The steering may not feel particularly communicative, but its weighting is fine and so is the accuracy on turn-in.
All the while, the Sedan rides with the same temperate composure as other products that share the Volkswagen Group’s much-celebrated MQB platform, at least as much as its low-profile footwear allows. The levels of allocated rear leg and headroom are fair for two average-sized adults and as our recent road test of the A3 Sedan found, the 360-dm3 boot capacity’s adequate for a compact sedan.
Yes, at its asking price, the S3 Sedan might offer too little metal for money in some people’s opinion. However, given that the CLA45 AMG costs a whopping R678 607 and BMW’s 2 Series is currently available in coupe form only, the S3 represents the most cost effective way to access a premium performance sedan experience from new. Think of the previous RS4; delete four cylinders; now add turbocharged flexibility, a pliant ride and a classy interior. There, you’ve got it.
*Specifications
Model: Audi S3 Sedan
Engine: 2,0-litre, four-cylinder, turbopetrol
Power: 206 kW at 5 500 r/min
Torque: 380 N.m between 1 800 and 5 500 r/min
0-100 km/h: 5,1 seconds
Top speed: 250 km/h (limited)
Fuel consumption: 7,0 L/100 km
CO2: 159 g/km
Price: R510 500 (tbc)
ETA: May 2014
* According to Audi
