Born to be wild: Audi’s RS 3 saloon sets a sizzling pace

The Audi RS 3 saloon is primed to go like a bat out of hell at the slightest touch of encouragement from your right foot.

It’s so out of place in the current green climate that you’d nearly expect to see a warning stamped on its flanks: “Danger – Not eco-friendly.” And it isn’t.

I know it soaked up more than 10 litres or thereabouts every 100km I drove, and the road tax cost is exorbitant. But that won’t deter the few who can afford to buy one. These cars are as scarce as they are loved. This RS 3 may already be headed for cult status.

This is the second road-going rally- engineered RS 3 saloon (there is now a third generation hatchback as well).

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And as I quickly found out, it packs more punches than a heavyweight boxer.

It just pleads to be driven. Begs for it. The sonorous exhaust can’t wait to snort and snarl about its power as you try as gently as possible to ease it out of the driveway and sense the automatically changing gears.

Without heavy restraint this would break the local speed limit in two blinks. This car has the clout to get to 100kmh from a standing start in a mere 3.8 seconds.

The impact of that surging power was such that, on one occasion, my front-seat passenger crouched and pleaded with me to slow after I had passed a train of slow traffic but never (I swear) broke the 120kmh speed limit on the M1.

To me, that’s all about a car moving with concerted force (though maybe not what passengers might feel): the sense, and control, of dynamic movement.

A drive to Belfast to visit my favourite nonagenarian is not what you would call a test of its verve but it served, time and again, to impart the sensation of powerful thrust on four wheels.

Darting around sharp bends with growing confidence was to wait for another section of the drive where the test car’s agility and phenomenal grip yielded an experience I haven’t indulged in for some time.

You just have to admire the palpable devilment at play from the latest 5-cyl 2.5-litre petrol engine. Maybe the exhaust “noise” was a tad overplayed. It did irritate a bit but it also added to the sense of occasion.

As did choosing one of several driving modes – depending on just how dynamic you want your drive to be. And there is one slot that warns against use on the road – only for the track.

I’m afraid not all the news is good. The main difficulty, for me, is the near-€110,000 price tag for the test car when extra spec and delivery charges are added in.

It certainly looks an awful lot for what is, in the final shakedown, a big-performing small saloon. Sure they have upped the engineering, ­widened the track, found a new way of distributing power between the two axles for better quattro driving, while they also decked it out with bigger intakes and badges and special (optional) red brake callipers.

There’s bad news on the practical side too, with less boot room than before (it is really disappointing) while the rear seats offer only tidy room. They were not that comfortable. Neither were the front seats that much to my liking,

In a car of such engineering highs how come there wasn’t electric ­adjustment standard for the driver’s seat? 

Thigh support for me was really poor. My right leg ached. You notice these things on a long journey ­especially.

You might think I got bogged down with criticisms, but they all add to a negative factor in the mix, so I’m not apologising.

But we shouldn’t let some drawbacks cast a shadow over the pure-performance heart of this car. It remains, regardless of road speed and type or driving demands and inputs, all about enjoying the great sense of sharp movement, unerring balance and assured grip.

I know it is only for the wealthy few who can indulge their desire with the likes of the RS 3 or the rival Mercedes-AMG A45 S, for example.

But that is no reason for us to ignore them.

Such cars incessantly break new ground on myriad engineering and technologies that ultimately make their way into your everyday saloon or hatchback. That too will happen in different ways with the intensification of electric cars.

Already we’ve seen the trickle-down effects from large ground-breaking EVs to smaller models.

I don’t know what longer-term future a hair-raiser like the RS 3 will have.

All I can say is I hope the core ­principle of it can be preserved.

Fact file

Audi RS3 4dr saloon: 2.5-litre 5cyl, 400bhp, S-tronic 7spd, quattro all-wheel drive, 0-100kmh in 3.8 seconds; top speed 250kmh. Retail price €93,805; options €12,891, paint €1,349. Total price €108,045. Road tax from €1,250, official 9litres/100km, red/black upholstery, range of safety/comfort elements. Optional extras include: Bang & Olufsen sound system,  digital Matrix headlights, Nappa leather, heated front seats, rear-view camera, RS sports exhaust system, 19ins Sport wheels.

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