SA Road Tests

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This is the home of automobile road tests in South Africa. I drive South African cars, SUVs and LCVs under real-world South African conditions. Many of the vehicles driven are world cars as well, so what you read here possibly applies to the models you get where you live.

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Sleeper: 2021 Audi S3 sedan

Mixed messages

Pics by Motorpress
Posted: October 28, 2021

The numbers
Base price: R810 000
Engine: 1984 cc, DOHC 16-valve four-cylinder turbocharged
Power: 213 kW between 5100 and 6700 rpm
Torque: 400 nm between 2000 and 5000 rpm
0-100 km/h: 4.9 seconds
Top speed: 250 km/h
Real life fuel consumption: 9.3 l/100 km
Tank: 55 litres
Luggage: 325 - 1145 litres
Ground clearance: 119 mm
Turning circle: 10.9 metres
Standard tyre size: 235/35R19
Spare: Spacesaver
Warranty and maintenance: Five years, 100 000 km Freeway plan

•    You want awesome sleeper power? Audi S3 has it,
•    Quattro for brilliant handling? But of course,
•    Red brake calipers at both ends? Naturally,
•    Kick-down acceleration that mashes your eyeballs into the back of your skull? Yes.
•    A happy little snarl under hard acceleration? Uh-huh.
•    Tough-chick image? She’s got it.
•    Extra bragging rights? No question.

Seeing that’s all you really wanted to know about this car, may I please go now?



***************


You still here and want boring details? Very well, then.

S3 is a development from Audi’s popular A3, having dipped its nose into the steroidal supplements feed bag and never being quite the same again. Further, our test rig was a sedan, so it’s 153 mm longer and 23 mm narrower than the Sportback. Wheelbase remained as before and boot sizes are equal, at 325 litres. Both scored quattro awd to tame the added power but that occupies 55 litres of what used to be luggage room.

Our test car was fitted with the optional Adaptive Chassis Control at R13 000. This automatically responds to road conditions; taking into account braking, steering and acceleration inputs. Each individual shock absorber is connected to a controller that calculates optimum settings by means of data feeds from the car, then reacting within milliseconds to bumps, lane swaps or changing surfaces.

Lowered Sport suspension is not available for the S-car but, before you complain, be aware that its standard-fit, 235/35R19 tyres can be difficult to live with on today’s city streets. Even the tamest pot-holes, like those left around slightly sunken manhole covers after road resurfacing, can rattle your eyeballs.

Living with it: The tailgate unlocks by means of the key fob but doesn’t lift automatically. It’s then fairly heavy to raise and lower. Fittings include a light, four rings, two bag hooks and a 12-volt socket. The spare is a Spacesaver. The standard seatback folds but doesn’t split. An option with 40:60 separation, with ski slot, costs R3 500 extra.

Rear seat passengers enjoy adequate head room but knee room is tight. There are the usual armrest with cup holders, repeater vents in the central console, seatback pockets, medium door bins, panic handles and a central courtesy lamp. Three head restraints and full belts are fitted but the central tunnel is too high for any but the smallest passenger, and the seats are actually only shaped for two.

Standard front sport seats, covered in a combination of fabric and leatherette, adjust manually. Drive Select provides choices between five modes; Efficiency, Comfort, Automatic, Dynamic and Individual. A tiny flap and a Park button control movement between P, R, N and D/S with manual gear selection controlled by steering wheel paddles.

For performance enthusiasts, the boost gauge is “always on” to monitor power and torque outputs continuously and they can choose between two instrument views – sporty or tame.

But this car sent mixed messages; it has the looks, it has the style, it goes like a firecracker and it makes all the right sounds. That wimpy gear selector completely destroys its tough-chick image though.

Test unit from Audi SA press fleet


The A3 and S3 sedans look identical; only the badging changes, so Audi SA does not supply separate pictures

What We Do

This is a one-man show, which means that every car reviewed is given my personal evaluation and receives my own seat of the pants judgement - no second hand input here.

Every test car goes through real world driving; on city streets littered with potholes, speed bumps and rumble strips, on freeways and if its profile demands, dirt roads or goat tracks as well. As a result, my test cars do occasionally get dirty. It's all part of the reviewing process.

I do my best to include relevant information like real life fuel economy or a close mathematical calculation, boot size or luggage space, whether the space is both usable and accessible, whether life-sized people can use the back seat (where that applies), basic specs of the vehicle and performance figures if they are published. In the case of clearly identified launch reports, fuel figures are of necessity the laboratory numbers provided with the release material.

If ever I place an article that doesn't cover most things, it's probably because I have dealt with a very similar vehicle already, so you will be able to find what you want in another report under the same manufacturer's heading in the menu on the left.

Hope you like what you see, because there are no commercial interests at work here. There are no advertisers and no “editorial policy” rules. I add bylines to acknowledge sponsored launch functions and the manufacturers or dealerships that provide the test vehicles.  And, as quite a few readers have found, I answer every serious enquiry from my home email address, with my phone numbers attached, so you can see I do actually exist.

Comments or questions?
Want to ask a question, comment or just tell me you completely disagree with what I say? If you want advice or have a genuine concern, I will be happy to hear from you. All I ask is that you write something in the subject line so I know which vehicle you're talking about.