in Parcmotor Circuit Castelloli Outside Barcelona, the Audi set up a tight track made of cones on the back straight, and every time I attacked it in… 2025 RS3 I start chattering as I dive in, squeezing and powering out, moving faster with each lap. In fact, navigating each section of the gorgeous track makes me laugh with delight, in a way I wouldn’t have done if I had been in the RS3 last year.
Normally, a mild mid-cycle refresh doesn’t make major changes to how a car handles and its fun-to-drive quotient, but the 2025 RS3 is a different story. This generation of RS3 It’s always been a performance car with a great engine, but now it’s a real joy to drive whether you’re on track or in a tight mountain pass thanks to a number of upgrades to the RS3’s dynamics. Seven seconds faster at the Nürburgring It’s just an added bonus.
Full disclosure: Audi flew me to Barcelona and put me in a hotel in the nearby town of Sitges so I could drive the 2025 RS3 and RSQ8 Performance on the Parcmotor track and surrounding roads.
The new magic is mostly due to changes to the RS3’s chassis systems and the unique torque-splitting rear differential, which uses two multi-plate clutches to constantly adjust torque to each rear wheel, sending up to 100 percent of available twist to either From both sides. For 2025, Audi has added torque vectoring to the brakes, so when the clutch sends torque to the outside wheel, the inside wheel is braked, which helps it follow the curve radius more precisely. This means I can enter corners at higher speeds and exit corners faster and harder, and there is less understeer overall. It’s subtle enough that I don’t really feel like the system is working; The car is naturally playful and more responsive.
Audi has tweaked the adaptive dampers and the algorithm for the driving dynamics control unit that oversees all the different chassis systems, which Audi says makes the updated RS3 more responsive to different inputs. The RS3 is also more prone to purposeful oversteer, as it’s now easier to kick the tail through the steering angle rather than simply adding more throttle as in the old car. One of the most fun corners on the Parcmotor is the double-top left corner with a little change in elevation, and I’m able to send the RS3 into a manageable little slide without much effort. The RS3 I had on track was equipped with optional Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R semi-slick tires, which certainly help, too.
It’s not just better on the racetrack. This part of northeastern Spain has some of the best roads I’ve ever driven, and the RS3 is well-suited to tight mountain passes full of twists and turns. The red RS3 sedan I drive on the road has the less dense P Zero R tires which still provide plenty of grip while allowing for fun handling, and just as on track I can get in and out of corners quicker. The brake pedal feels better and the seals are stronger overall, and there’s not a bit of fade or noise. Ride quality has also been improved in every driving mode, and weight transfer is more pronounced when cornering.
Nothing about the powertrain has changed for 2025, and that’s good. Turbocharged 2.5-liter inline-5 It still produces 401 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque, and is one of the most entertaining and distinctive engines on sale. Its power delivery is addictive, and the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission fires off quick shifts that are well-tuned for both track and road driving. Audi has improved exhaust flap control for 2025, specifically between 2,200 and 3,500 rpm, for a “consistent, full sound,” and it sounds better than before. It’s the perfect amount of power for a car of this size, and the RS3 accelerates with an intensity not found in most cars this side of a supercar.
It’s a shame that one of the best parts of the updated RS3 won’t make its way to America. The cars I drive in Spain have new optional bucket seats that provide great support without feeling uncomfortable on long trips. These carbon fiber-backed seats look great, with firm headrests and belt slots, thick bolsters, and suede upholstery featuring Audi hexagon stitching throughout. I think these seats might be a hard sell for small car consumers regardless of their performance level, but I definitely prefer them over basic seats even for a daily driver.
We still don’t like the RS3 Sportback in the US, but Audi is nice enough to let me drive the bright green car on track. Yes, it’s really nice, and I wish Americans were less averse to hatchbacks, but at least the sedan drives similarly to the Sportback. It looks better than last year’s model too, with a single-frame front grille, larger bumper inlets, redesigned lights and a new rear diffuser with a vertical reflector in the middle. I particularly like the new crossed wheel design which is offered in matte gray or a beautiful machined finish.
The redesigned steering wheel with flat tops and bottoms and capacitive touch controls now has two bright red buttons directly below the spokes. One is dedicated to the RS Single Drive mode, which is configurable as before, while the other, marked with a checkered flag, engages the RS Performance mode, which puts everything in its most aggressive setting and turns off the stability control; The latter is what I’ve been driving around all day. Also new is ambient lighting in various places throughout the cabin, including backlit door panels with very cool laser-cut diamonds. There’s still a lot of black plastic, although some of the trim pieces are now finished in a glossy anthracite paint that looks nice.
Audi hasn’t announced how much the RS3 will cost when it goes on sale next year, but it shouldn’t be much more than the $63,395 base price that the 2024 model is asking for. That’s a lot for a small car that shares its front-wheel-drive platform with the cheap Volkswagen Sure, but it’s hard to think of a more exciting and entertaining car in this segment or price category. I wish I could keep riding the Parcmotor all day, I would have driven my car into the mountains forever if Audi hadn’t sent security to arrest me and return the car. The Audi RS3 has always been great, but now it really is HazarMore than anything else, this is what should really matter when you’re looking at a performance car.
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