[0:20] You're watching Throttle House. I'm
[0:22] Thomas. And I'm James.
[0:28] And this is the RS3.
[0:49] Audi's little 394
[0:52] horsepower pocket rocket. We've already
[0:55] shown it going toe-to-toeish with a BMW
[0:58] M4 [music] Competition in a straight
[1:00] line, but isn't there more to life than
[1:02] just being really, really, really
[1:04] ridiculously quick moving? So, with a
[1:06] facelift this year, we want to see what
[1:08] else it's got, and we want to make sure
[1:10] that the new updates don't subscribe it
[1:13] to the everinccreasing plague of
[1:15] inshitification.
[1:17] Let's do this.
[1:22] If you're new to Throttle House,
[1:28] >> we do car reviews, track tests,
[1:33] and quite a lot of messing around.
[1:36] So, subscribe and enjoy the show.
[1:43] [music]
[1:43] >> Ready?
[1:44] >> Yep.
[1:47] >> Just smoked all four tires.
[1:51] Okay.
[1:52] >> Oh, that is really, really quick. I
[1:54] forgot how quick it is.
[1:55] >> It's quick. It's quick. 3.8 seconds to
[1:58] 62 mph.
[2:00] >> And the sound of the five cylinder.
[2:06] >> Oh yes. [laughter]
[2:09] So, today we celebrate that this is now
[2:12] available in Canada, the return of the
[2:15] RS3. Now, we did sneakily film one of
[2:17] these, even when it was US only,
[2:20] >> Jesus.
[2:22] >> But now it's been updated.
[2:25] This is uh this has always been a
[2:27] really, really good car. But it brings
[2:29] up the very important question is why
[2:31] wouldn't you get a Golf R
[2:32] >> for the cost saving?
[2:33] >> For the cost saving because in Canada
[2:35] anyway, it's like 30 grand cheaper to
[2:37] get a Golf Rake.
[2:39] >> I guess the answer is speed, power,
[2:42] noise,
[2:43] >> and and a fixed interior. The big big
[2:46] answer is the extra cylinder because
[2:48] this noise is unique to this car [music]
[2:50] now
[2:51] >> in the world
[2:52] >> and the TTRS which is gone.
[3:01] >> That is just it's a it's a little baby
[3:03] V10. It's half a V10. And I absolutely
[3:06] love [music] the sound this car makes.
[3:11] Fivecylinders are really, really funky
[3:14] engines and I wish we had more of them.
[3:15] >> Do you remember the firing order?
[3:17] >> Uh, 1 2 4 53.
[3:20] >> Correct.
[3:20] >> Yeah,
[3:21] >> that was the [laughter]
[3:22] >> any other math test in the world, you
[3:23] would have failed.
[3:24] >> I can't I can't do any numbers in
[3:26] memory, but that one.
[3:28] >> So, while we celebrate that this has now
[3:31] come to Canada, let's also look over the
[3:32] fact that there is a new interior change
[3:34] going exteriors as well. We're going to
[3:36] get to that in a minute. As far as
[3:38] driving changes are concerned, there's
[3:40] software tweaks.
[3:42] >> Yeah, it it's more drifty on corner
[3:44] entry.
[3:45] >> Yeah. So, the updates that are always
[3:46] made to an RS3 is we think we figured
[3:48] out how to do less under steer.
[3:50] >> Yes, exactly. And the good news is every
[3:52] year they do like we put wider tires on
[3:54] the front, which I think this still has.
[3:56] >> It does. And then and then it also has
[3:58] the the torque split in the rear, which
[4:02] if you I think we've said this a million
[4:04] times on Throttle House now, but it's
[4:06] God.
[4:13] as you were.
[4:14] >> It can send half of the torque to the
[4:16] rear and of that half it can send 100%
[4:18] to an outside wheel when it wants to
[4:20] drift.
[4:20] >> I actually have that tattooed to my
[4:21] back.
[4:22] >> Yeah.
[4:23] >> Yeah. Honestly, we need to get the
[4:24] tattoo. [laughter]
[4:25] >> It is uh it works really well.
[4:27] >> No, it actually works really. Only thing
[4:29] it can't do and the only spot that an
[4:31] actual rear bias car is superior is that
[4:33] it can't sustain a drift for a long
[4:36] period.
[4:36] >> No. And it feels just like the Golf R
[4:38] which has the same sort of diff. It
[4:39] feels quite assisted and digital and
[4:42] artificial.
[4:43] >> Yeah. It's like engineered drifting but
[4:45] it's still fun. Like drifting is
[4:46] drifting.
[4:46] >> Yes.
[4:47] >> Okay. So inside
[4:48] >> Yeah.
[4:49] >> You will notice we've got the new Audi
[4:50] steering wheel.
[4:51] >> This has been very controversial. The
[4:53] steering wheel.
[4:54] >> This bit has people are a fan. So, this
[4:56] is now a flat bottom and top.
[4:58] >> Yeah.
[4:59] >> Yeah. And it's got Dynamica. That's what
[5:01] they call the Alcantara for Audi.
[5:03] >> Yeah. They've been doing that for You
[5:04] haven't called it Dynamica for years.
[5:05] >> I just I just
[5:08] >> I only just realized it.
[5:09] >> Oh. [laughter]
[5:11] >> And if you option it, which you can't in
[5:14] North America, they are they make carbon
[5:15] bucket seats now for the RS3 that have
[5:17] dynamic inserts and they look wicked.
[5:20] And we don't get them. We just get the
[5:22] sport. Of
[5:22] >> course we don't. Uh, these are quite
[5:24] comfortable but
[5:24] >> really like the steering wheel, by the
[5:26] way. It's nice, isn't it?
[5:27] >> I really I don't mind the the airbag
[5:29] shape. I know circles are
[5:31] >> I I think a little bit sportier looking,
[5:33] but this works. It just It's a nice
[5:35] looking wheel.
[5:36] >> It tells you you can get used to it
[5:37] because I I hated it in the S5.
[5:39] >> You did? Yes.
[5:40] >> And now I'm just like, this is like the
[5:41] third car I've been in with it. And I'm
[5:42] like, yeah, it's fine. Yeah.
[5:44] >> And I I like that we gain the checkered
[5:46] flag button on the left, which just
[5:47] takes you immediately into the most
[5:48] aggressive modes. It wakes up that
[5:50] exhaust. It wakes up the engine.
[5:52] It's [music] good. It's good. I really,
[5:55] really like this car. I honestly I I
[5:57] really like driving it. I just I think
[5:58] it's a bit too much money [music] no
[5:59] matter what you do.
[6:01] >> Yeah, but it is a lot of car. It is an
[6:03] all-wheel drive 5cylinder, unique,
[6:06] really perfectly sized, compact, well
[6:10] riding in comfort, can be absolutely
[6:11] normal when you want it to be, and then
[6:13] breaks Nurburgring lap records when you
[6:14] put it into the sport mode. It's like,
[6:16] >> yeah, but what if it was a hatchback?
[6:18] >> Well, there is one. We just don't get
[6:19] it.
[6:20] >> I know. It's annoying.
[6:21] So, oh yeah, it's it's not anywhere near
[6:25] a BMW M car in terms of that sense of
[6:29] the front end grip that just is
[6:31] unrelenting.
[6:32] >> And that smells like bias, but Thomas is
[6:35] not being biased. It is It is different.
[6:37] >> It is different. It's still very much an
[6:38] Audi,
[6:39] >> I have to say. I know the M car has the
[6:41] better front end grip, but I feel so
[6:43] much more in control of an Audi RS3.
[6:46] >> Oh, you are more You are more in control
[6:47] of an Audi RS3.
[6:48] >> It's so easy.
[6:49] >> Yes, it is. No question.
[6:51] >> It's such a great daily. It's such a
[6:53] great daily.
[6:53] >> The ride is I'm even in the stiffest
[6:54] mode and the ride isn't even bad right
[6:55] now.
[6:56] >> I know. I know.
[6:56] >> If I put it in comfort.
[6:58] >> And we've got the comes with Audi now.
[7:00] We got the cartridge shifter instead of
[7:01] the little
[7:02] >> Oh, yeah. Okay. It's fine.
[7:03] >> Little penis we used to have.
[7:04] >> But yeah, beautiful door cards, carbon
[7:07] fiber trim. I think these red accents
[7:09] are new. I don't remember those.
[7:11] >> And that I could do without those.
[7:12] >> Yeah, that is about it. That's [music]
[7:14] about it for the new stuff on the
[7:15] inside.
[7:16] >> Yeah, it's a celebration. That's why we
[7:17] wanted to drive it.
[7:18] >> Yes. And I I now that I've had a Golf R
[7:21] for almost 3 years now, I need that
[7:23] reminder of Oh god, it's so annoying
[7:26] that I'm in the fixed version. In fact,
[7:27] the S3,
[7:29] >> you feel that?
[7:31] >> Yeah. The rear just starts to I mean,
[7:33] honestly, after spending some more time
[7:34] with this car, if I bought a Golf R, I'd
[7:36] feel like a huge
[7:38] >> No, it's a [music] huge, huge question.
[7:40] [laughter]
[7:41] But the S3 fixes the interior. And now
[7:43] the S3 has that torque diff split thing
[7:46] >> and it's got Yeah. And not only is the
[7:48] interior fixed versus a Golf R in terms
[7:50] of ergonomics and buttons, even though
[7:52] they've gone for these sort of half
[7:53] capacity.
[7:53] >> Yeah, I don't like these.
[7:54] >> They're fine. I get over it. Just get
[7:56] over it.
[7:57] >> The point is Audi care in a way that
[7:59] Volkswagen don't. They care so much that
[8:02] in the press release of this car, they
[8:04] talked about the smell and how important
[8:06] the smell is and how many smell testers
[8:08] go through and in fact because it's so
[8:11] important to them. And when you get in
[8:12] an Audi, you do smell Audi, right? When
[8:15] you get in, you're like, and it's on
[8:17] purpose, I found out. And once it's all
[8:19] done, and once it's all checked, there's
[8:21] [music] five chemists. This feels like
[8:22] I'm talking about Toyota Dentry. There's
[8:24] five chemists that have to check and
[8:26] smell the car to make sure it is up to
[8:30] Audi standard and smells like an Audi.
[8:32] >> And that's so funny. All of that work
[8:34] and pretty much the only thing I can
[8:35] smell is the [music] schwarma burp that
[8:36] you did 8 minutes ago.
[8:39] >> But I I got so much love for the RS3.
[8:41] I've always had so much love for the
[8:42] RS3. You know where it's not improved
[8:44] though?
[8:45] >> What?
[8:46] >> It's the exterior.
[8:47] >> Yes, it has.
[8:52] >> What's wrong with it? Look at it. I
[8:54] don't know. Okay, hold on. No, no. I'm
[8:56] just I'm being silly. I think this is a
[8:58] good looking car, but I just think that
[8:59] the previous gen it's really slick. I
[9:02] think the previous gen RS3 is better
[9:04] looking.
[9:04] >> The previous gen was cleaner.
[9:06] >> Yes.
[9:07] >> But this has got more muscular. So,
[9:09] okay. So, on this one, on the the new
[9:11] facelift, these the way this grill looks
[9:13] is different for it's more aggressive
[9:15] for more air intake. And then we have
[9:18] these lights, which have four different
[9:20] digital signatures that you can choose.
[9:22] >> I actually like that.
[9:22] >> What would you choose out of the four
[9:24] options?
[9:24] >> I like the checker one, the uh
[9:26] >> I see. I thought I'd go for that, but I
[9:27] like the the sort of three aggressive
[9:30] one.
[9:30] >> Yeah. Anyway, I haven't seen that
[9:32] before, and I think it's actually quite
[9:33] a cool thing that you can just, you
[9:34] know,
[9:35] >> but it's gimmicky, but it's fun. It is
[9:37] gimmicky, but I like it.
[9:38] >> I like I like this muscular flare here
[9:40] on the on this generation. That's not
[9:41] new.
[9:42] >> They really went all out. Look at that.
[9:44] [laughter]
[9:45] >> That's not new on the face of And then
[9:46] on the back now we have this new
[9:48] diffuser with the sort of red reflector.
[9:50] Looks a bit more race car and absolutely
[9:53] gigantic R8 looking exhaust pipes. Can
[9:55] you still get fun colors? This is one of
[9:57] them.
[9:57] >> This is not one of the fun colors.
[9:59] [laughter] He said to me, but it pulled
[10:02] up today. I forgot about this. He points
[10:04] out, he goes, "Oh, that's one of the new
[10:06] grays."
[10:07] >> Yeah, [laughter] except it's not.
[10:09] >> That's so far from being interesting,
[10:11] James.
[10:11] >> There is a new Daytona gray and there is
[10:14] a new scari blue and a progressive red.
[10:16] And this isn't any of them.
[10:18] >> Why is there more than one gray?
[10:20] [laughter]
[10:20] >> Oh, it's one of the new grays.
[10:23] >> This is just what MX5 [snorts] life is
[10:25] like cuz that's what we get every year.
[10:27] >> Yeah.
[10:27] >> Yeah. You can get this in a fun color. I
[10:29] would get it in a fun color. I've always
[10:30] like kyami green because it's just fun
[10:32] to say. You can you can still get
[10:33] >> still get karma green
[10:35] >> and look the Audi's and the A4s as well
[10:38] and the S4s they there is a group about
[10:40] A4s which is your car looks like traffic
[10:43] your car meet looks like traffic because
[10:45] it does just look like traffic but
[10:47] that's the beauty of this car if you
[10:49] want it you can if you want get a Larry
[10:52] Mustang or M2 this is the under the
[10:55] radar ridiculously probably quicker in
[10:58] real life than those cars car
[11:00] >> I think that
[11:01] >> also works as a daily
[11:02] >> I I kind of want an RS badge on the
[11:03] front.
[11:04] >> Is it gone?
[11:05] >> It I mean, was it supposed to have one?
[11:07] >> No, they there was They've been playing
[11:10] around with removing them in in
[11:11] different
[11:12] >> I'm not sure. I think it's fun cuz it's
[11:14] it's that little like you see it from
[11:16] your rearview mirror. Damn, that's the
[11:18] RS.
[11:18] >> I 100% agree. I would like an RS3 badge.
[11:22] >> I don't know. I I I think that the
[11:24] previous gen was a better looking design
[11:25] and I don't think I I like this grill
[11:28] more than the pre I think I like the
[11:29] previous version of this grill a little
[11:31] bit better. Yes, I do as well.
[11:32] >> But I don't know. I It's such an
[11:35] understated car. I think it needs a
[11:37] flashy color.
[11:38] >> That's what I would do.
[11:39] >> Unless you But that's because you've got
[11:41] something to prove
[11:42] >> cuz of what what are you going to say?
[11:45] >> I was going to say something that I
[11:46] actually think is quite a dated insult
[11:48] now. [laughter]
[11:48] >> All right. Okay. Cuz size doesn't
[11:51] matter. But I like that you can get this
[11:53] as an under the radar car. I agree
[11:55] though it is a slightly boring spec, but
[11:57] you can absolutely monstrously destroy
[11:59] everyone on the road. Apart from there's
[12:01] a few people in the comment section
[12:02] right now saying, "Uh, actually my Tesla
[12:04] Model 3 is so much quicker." And to you,
[12:07] I say 1 12453.
[12:11] >> That's the firing order in case you
[12:12] missed the first part of the
[12:13] >> stick that in your battery and smoke it.
[12:18] >> So, there we have it. By not changing
[12:20] that much and despite adding another
[12:23] gray to the landscape, the RS3 still
[12:26] remains high in our regard. Perfectly
[12:28] sized, great performance, unique sound,
[12:31] and now that the neighboring RS5 has
[12:34] swung even more grand tour with its
[12:37] added weight and hybrid system, the RS3
[12:40] is not just the only nimble Audi RS car
[12:42] left. It's also just one of their best
[12:47] cars.
[12:48] Thanks for watching.