00:00oh hello i didn't see you there today we're doing something a little bit different i'm at the
00:06silesia ring track here in poland where i'm going to be testing the refreshed audi rs3 so i know
00:14it's not my typical review but i hope you'll bear with me it's a hard job somebody's got to do
00:21it
00:23i'll try and enjoy it i'll see you on the track
00:39you may have noticed the absence of audi reviews on my channel especially in recent years
00:44i promise to fill the audi void as soon as possible please forgive me if some of the
00:49upcoming audi stuff will be less structured than my normal reviews but in order to catch up
00:54audi started inviting me to various events where filming is not always as easy as when i have the
00:59car all to myself for a few days today i'm taking you to silesia ring a truck in southern poland
01:08the last time i have driven an audi a3 was in 2014 and since then the model has maintained almost
01:15identical dimensions however over the years audi has sharpened the look of the a3 the same applies
01:21to the rs3 which underwent a facelift treatment in 2024 the hexagonal single frame radiator grille has
01:29been flattened and widened the vertical side air intakes are functional as are the three flat openings
01:36above the front splitter the daytime running lights on the rs3 feature among others a checkered flag motif
01:43made up of 24 elements there are actually four motifs to choose from in total the settings are
01:48controlled from the infotainment screen at the rear we have two large exhaust tips integrated into the
01:56diffuser in addition three vertical reflectors two on the sides and one in the middle the rear lamps also
02:04have a new design dynamic arrows with animation the radiator grille and the diffuser can be finished in
02:11matte or piano black as standard the rs3 leaves the factory on 19 inch matte black rims
02:20the interior is dark with contrasting accents the cockpit features a new steering wheel sports seats or
02:26rs bucket seats carbon fiber elements and a configurable sports display audi was one of the
02:33first brands to replace the traditional gauges with a full digital screen the first time was probably in
02:38the third generation audi tt where audi went as far as to get rid of the central infotainment display
02:45audi's more than 12 inch virtual cockpit was already part of standard equipment before the facelift
02:51it allows data to be presented in sport performance and runway modes the central display shows among other
02:58things the temperature of the coolant torque splitter brakes engine oil and transmission oil
03:04the steering wheel is flattened at the top and at the bottom so as to make it easier to get
03:09in and out
03:09of the car as well as to offer better visibility outside even after years of not driving audi cars i
03:16don't feel as if there has been a revolution in the cockpit everything seems to be more or less where
03:22i
03:22remember it but enough talk after a dozen or so laps in various audi models my colleagues went off to
03:29lunch
03:30and i had the truck to myself for a bit
03:38okay so i'm on the track in the refreshed audi rs3 this is the limousine version
03:48or the sedan whatever you want to call it so the highlight is the new reprogrammed torque splitter thanks
03:59to which this car shaved something like seven seconds off the nürburgring result which is absolutely amazing
04:11so the torque splitter and the new compound pirelli p0s make this car faster
04:26the torque splitter reduces
04:30helps to reduce understeer by sending more torque to the
04:39outside rear wheel
04:45everything goes okay so there is a drive shaft and the torque is split in the back there is no
04:52central
04:53differential here so that's that okay the car is predictably quite fast i was just going more than 180
05:03kilometers per hour here and i could have gone faster if i applied myself
05:11the steering well it's electrically assisted but
05:19i can really feel what the car is doing so
05:25that's good by the way truck commentary is really hard
05:31i don't do it very often i usually have a script and here i'm talking off the cuff so i
05:35hope you'll
05:39i hope you'll forgive me uh the brakes these are carbon ceramic brakes that's an option and
05:45uh if you're gonna do some truck driving they're a well worth option i'm amazed at how this car
05:58grips it's absolutely unbelievable and
06:04the way the rear works with me it's just uh it defies it defies physics really this car
06:18oh okay i think i'm gonna be sick now
06:23so i hope you'll forgive me if i return to the pit lane
06:32i know you wanted more but i have yet to learn to talk sense when i'm behind a wheel on
06:38a track
06:38i hope i got the emotions across it's something i haven't felt behind the wheel of a car in a
06:43while
06:44first of all the audi rs3 sounds great a5 cylinder inline engine is a rare occasion especially these
06:51days in the rs3 the two and a half liter tfsi power plant generates 400 horsepower and 500 newton meters
06:57of torque the time from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour is 3.8 seconds and the top speed is
07:02290 kilometers
07:04secondly the rs torque splitter really shines in the bands okay maybe not literally but it makes me corner
07:11faster and with greater confidence based on inputs from the steering wheel the wheels the engine the
07:17gearbox two multi-plate clutches continuously distribute the torque between the rear wheels
07:22when turning left more torque goes to the right side and vice versa when turning right more goes to
07:28the outer left side while this may sound like old news this application has been fine-tuned making the rs3
07:35very predictable to drive and if you want to impress your mates one better don't two you can put the
07:44car into a drift mode now i admit i'm not a fan of drifting all-wheel drive cars i would
07:50prefer to
07:51disconnect the front wheels or at least do it in a car i know in the rs3 i wasn't sure
07:56when and how much
07:57the turbo would kick in and i know i know talentless driver finding excuses but i prefer my mx5 or
08:04even the
08:04countryman those altering tires i put on it are absolutely useless on wet surfaces so with traction
08:10control off i can drift the hell out of it now back to audi i am impressed with what this
08:16car is capable
08:17of on the track i also drove the rs6 avant and the e-tron gtrs during this event while these
08:24two cars are
08:25certainly fast and more powerful and the e-tron generates g-forces which make me physically sick
08:31i had the most fun in the rs3 because it was also the lightest and the easiest to place but
08:39audi wouldn't
08:39be audi if it didn't let some nerds out of the basement to have a go at the rs3 audi
08:45has standards
08:46for the interior smells it has to smell like money or in this case leather and the pleasant sense of
08:54select types of polymers the rs sport seats in a fine napa leather or the new rs bucket seats with
09:02high content of pearl napa leather whatever that means and the steering wheel which is covered in
09:08leather or standard are supposed to smell natural and authentic not to be confused with the smell of
09:14the nerds released from the basement this smell consists of carefully selected leathers tanning agents
09:20and finishes over 200 interior elements are subject to chemical analysis and evaluation including
09:27heating the elements to simulate their smell on warmer days as part of such tests the interaction
09:33of different materials is assessed so that when combined they smell nice regardless of the weather
09:39this is something some far eastern brands were not very good at back in the day now the rear seats
09:45are
09:45pretty much the same as in the non-sporty variants space is comparable to the competition the boot on the
09:51rs is smaller than on the standard cars due to the all-wheel drive instead of 380 liters the sportback
09:58has 282
10:00liters and the limousine has 380 instead of 425 liter boot capacity prices of the audi rs3 start at 66
10:11000
10:12euro for the sportback and 68 000 for the limousine considering that the next rs model in the range
10:18costs about 25 000 euro more the rs3 is a bargain a fun and exciting day here at the silesia
10:27ring i learned
10:28a lot i had a lot of fun and now i have to get back home and in order to
10:33do that i'll have to unplug this baby
10:37hopefully i'll make it back on a single charge because it is a long way back but anyway keep your
10:43fingers crossed thanks for watching see you in the next one if you like my sarcastic down-to-earth and
10:49possibly mildly amusing car reviews join me every friday at 3 pm central european time and don't forget
10:56to subscribe and like this video as it helps me with the youtube algorithm thanks for watching and i will
11:03see you in the next one
