Road Test: Audi S3

Think Golf GTI ... and forget about it, writes Brian Byrne. The Audi S3 is a quantum above. And that's fair enough, as it's got a chunk more power, all the way up to 300hp. Which is where the Golf R in its latest guise will be when it gets to us. Meantime, though, power hounds don't need to feel left out.

Is it OTT for a 3-door compact car? On paper, maybe. But this one isn't for the boy racers. More for those who take a reflective look at their motoring, and like to have the ooomph without blaring it all over the place.

There are signs of special. A bit of extra treatment around the front. Four — yes, four — tailpipes. A couple of fairly discreet 'S3' badges. Inside, a steering wheel dedicated to the model. Nice leather seats in the review car, you can order others with more glitz, but why would you?

The dashboard and instruments are standard A3, including the pop-up centre screen through which information, entertainment, communications and navigation are managed. Mostly I leave it lowered away because the bulk of the information I need normally is repeated discreetly on the main instruments cluster. Except the time. But then, who wants to be reminded of appointments when driving one of these?

The A3 is low, the S3 lower by 25cm, noticeable when getting in and out. And on the run, you feel you're going that bit faster. You probably are, too, because this one reacts immediately to the right foot. But so smoothly that, unless you want to get pushed back in the seat, it's a pussycat in traffic.

Which is where it started. Picking up the review car in the centre of the city meant I had quite a while making my way from traffic light to roundabout and traffic light again. No space for sticking the car into the Sport mode of the DSG autobox. It all proved very civilised, with little sense of there being quite massive power potential (Porsche 911 performance is available).

And though there was a bit of tightness in the ride, nothing to jar the old bones, even on Dublin's fairly rough streets of the moment. This one is built on Volkswagen Group's latest compact platform, the one the current Golf rides on so well (and the latest Leon Cupra 280 from SEAT, announced as I write this).

On open roads, none of the civilised bits disappear. But overtaking becomes something instant even in the standard drive mode. And there's a hint of growl if you apply boost smartly. An experience that is addictive, so you tend to use every opportunity even at relatively low speeds.

Flick the shifter back into Sport mode and there's a massive bump in that experience. The autobox speed ranges widen, there's a quicker — much quicker — response to the throttle, and the sound changes to a more throaty rasp all the way across the revs range. There's also a very racy crackle as the gearbox downshifts. There are paddles on the steering wheel to operate it manually, but there's little reason to try and outguess the DSG.

There's a safe stretch of twisty road in the Wicklow hills where you can try out handling without exceeding the speed limit. The S3 with its standard quattro AWD system remained as surefooted as the deer and goats on the slopes above. Always civilised, always fun.

The figures beyond the 300hp are 2.0 TSI; 5.5 seconds to the 100km/h; with 350Nm, more torque than a 911; around 33mpg equivalent. Price about €44,000.

There's a lot of competition in this segment of 200hp+ compacts, a fair chunk of it from within the VW family itself. A number of the contenders do indicate in more or less brazen fashion that they're the fast guys on the strip. Perhaps the nicest thing about the S3 is that the looks are quite restrained, unless you spot the details I noted earlier. It makes you less a target for the fuzz, from the same fast boys, and for those of the criminal fraternity who like to lift powerful cars from outside people's homes.

Are there customers for powerful cars these days? Well, the day I picked this one up from the Audi dealership, two of the new cars going out to customers had between them over 1,000hp under their combined bonnets. One was a €146,000 RS6 Avant, the other a top end A8 saloon with probably no change from €100,000.

A lift in the economy at last? Well, at least a couple of (very expensive) green shoots.