All cars are expensive these days, and the 2025 S3 is no different. However, you do get a lot of bang for your buck. The car I drove had a starting price of $49,995, including destination. For that price, you get all sorts of nice features like those two screens I talked about earlier (though the base gauge cluster is 10.1 inches), 18-inch wheels, heated leatherette seats with diamond stitching, LED lights all around, a panoramic sunroof, a six-speaker sound system, three-zone climate control and a suite of safety tech, among other things.
Stepping up to the $6,200 Prestige Package adds adaptive cruise control, navigation, that 12.3-inch Virtual Cockpit, a head-up display, ambient lighting and a Sonos audio system, which is quite lovely sounding.
Andy Kalmowitz / Jalopnik
When you add in my tester’s $1,650 Black Optic package, which includes 19-inch wheels on summer tires and some blacked-out exterior trim, as well as the $1,000 S Sport package that adds red brake calipers and a different suspension with damper control, plus $1,000 for Nappa leather seats and $300 for a black roof, you get an as-tested price of $60,840.
I will admit that it is not cheap, especially for a small car like this, but it’s right on par with its main competition, the BMW M235i which starts at $50,675 and the Mercedes-AMG CLA35, which will cost you $57,250. This is just the going rate for today’s compact sports sedans. You can either deal with it or not buy one.
