At Circuit Parcmotor Castellolí outside of Barcelona, Audi has set up a tight chicane made from cones on the back straight, and every time I attack it in the 2025 RS3 I start cackling as I dive in, zip through and power out, going faster with each lap. In fact, ripping through every section of the fabulous track makes me laugh with glee, in a way that I wouldn’t if I was in last year’s RS3.
Typically a mild mid-cycle refresh doesn’t bring 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 has always been a capable performance car with a fabulous engine, but now it’s a genuine delight to drive whether you’re on track or a tight mountain pass thanks to a number of upgrades to the RS3’s dynamics. A seven-second-faster Nürburgring lap time is just an added bonus.
Full disclosure: Audi flew me to Barcelona and put me up in a hotel in the nearby town of Sitges so I could drive the 2025 RS3 and RSQ8 Performance at the Parcmotor track and the roads surrounding it.
The new magic is mostly chalked up to changes to the RS3’s chassis systems and its unique torque-splitting rear differential, which uses two multi-plate clutches to constantly adjust torque to each rear wheel, sending as much as 100 percent of the available twist to either side. For 2025 Audi added brake torque vectoring, so when the splitter is sending torque to the outside wheel, the inside wheel is braked, helping to follow a curve’s radius more precisely. This means I can enter corners at higher speeds and power out of them sooner and harder, and there’s less understeer overall. It’s subtle enough that I don’t really feel the system working; the car is just naturally playful and more responsive.
Audi tweaked the adaptive dampers and the algorithm for the driving dynamics controller that oversees all of the various chassis systems, which Audi says makes the updated RS3 more reactive to different inputs. The RS3 is also more prone to purposeful oversteer, as it’s now easier to kick the tail out through steering angle as opposed to just adding more throttle like in the old car. One of the most fun corners at Parcmotor is a double-apex left-hander with a bit of an elevation change, and I’m able to send the RS3 into a small controlled slide without much effort. The RS3 I’ve got on track is equipped with the optional semi-slick Pirelli P Zero Trofeo R tires, which certainly helps too.
It’s not just better on the race track. This part of northeastern Spain has some of the best roads I’ve ever driven, and the RS3 is perfectly suited to the narrow mountain passes that are full of hairpins and switchbacks. The red RS3 sedan I’m driving on road has less-intense P Zero R tires that still provide a huge amount of grip while allowing for entertaining handling, and as with on track I can enter and exit corners faster. Brake pedal feel is better and the stoppers feel stronger in general, and there’s not a bit of fade or noise. Ride quality is also improved in every drive mode, and weight transfer is more noticeable when cornering.
Nothing about the powertrain has been changed for 2025, and that’s fine. The turbocharged 2.5-liter inline-5 still makes 401 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque, and it’s one of the most entertaining and characterful engines on sale. Its power delivery is addicting, and the seven-speed dual-clutch automatic fires off rapid shifts that are well tuned for track and road driving. Audi did optimize the exhaust flap control for 2025, specifically between 2,200 and 3,500 rpm, for a “consistent and fuller-bodied sound,” and it does sound even better than before. It’s the perfect amount of power for a car this size, and the RS3 accelerates with an intensity not found in most cars this side of a supercar.
One of the best parts of the updated RS3 sadly won’t make its way to America. The cars I’m driving in Spain have new optional bucket seats that are mega supportive without being uncomfortable on longer journeys. These carbon-fiber-backed seats look awesome, with fixed headrests and cutouts for harnesses, thick bolsters and suede upholstery that has Audi’s ubiquitous hexagonal stitching. I guess these seats might be a tough sell for compact car consumers regardless of its performance level, but I’d absolutely take them over the base seats even for a daily driver.
We’re still denied the RS3 Sportback in the U.S., but Audi is kind enough to let me drive a bright green one on track. Yeah, it really is awesome, and I wish Americans were less hatchback-averse, but at least the sedan drives identically to the Sportback. It looks better than last year’s model too, with an even larger single-frame grille and bumper intakes, redesigned lights and a new rear diffuser with a vertical reflector in the center. I especially love the new cross-spoke wheel design that is offered in matte grey or a nice machined finish.
A redesigned steering wheel with flat tops and bottoms and capacitive touch controls now has two bright red buttons just under the spokes. One is for the configurable RS Individual drive mode like before, while the other, marked with a checkered flag, turns on the RS Performance mode, that puts everything in their most aggressive settings and switches the stability control off; the latter is what I’ve driven the cars in all day. Also new is ambient lighting in various places throughout the cabin, including back-lit door panels with laser-cut rhombuses that are quite cool. There’s still a bit too much black plastic, though some trim pieces are now finished in a shimmery 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 the 2024 model commands. That’s a lot for a small car that shares its front-wheel-drive-based platform with a cheapo Volkswagen, sure, but it’s hard to think of a more exciting, entertaining car in this segment or price class. I wish I could have kept lapping Parcmotor all day, and I would’ve driven off into the mountains for good if Audi wouldn’t have sent security out to catch me and bring the car back. The Audi RS3 was always great, but now it’s truly fun, and more than anything else that’s what should really matter when you’re looking at a performance car.
