Last week we had the chance to drive the new 2022 Audi RS3 in Pahrump, Nevada. Our time behind the wheel included track time, street time, and even some drifting fun.
Before we left for the trip we asked you what you wanted to know about the RS3. Some of those questions were answered to one degree or another in our full-scale review of the car. For the niche quandaries you had, we’re answering them here.
Does it drift?
Yes, it does. In fact, this ability totally differentiates the RS3 from pretty much everything else we’ll talk about here. In our review, we quoted Audi’s racing driver, Tristen Herbert, who just happened to be our instructor at the event.
He specifically said that any debate about how Quattro works, especially regarding its ability to send power to the rear wheels, was going to be put to rest with the RS3. After countless laps on a drift track that spelled out RS, we can confirm that this Audi slides with the best of them.
Does it feel as fast as its Nurburgring time?
While drifting is fun, Audi’s RS models have historically been far more focused on outright speed. To put this question in context, the 2022 RS3 actually holds the current compact sedan record at the Nurburgring clocking in at 7:40:748 seconds.
That’s actually as fast as the original Bugatti Veyron, the Lexus LFA, the Lamborghini Murcielago LP640, and the original Porsche Cayman GT4 – and barely slower than the Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT. All of this is to say that yeah, it feels incredibly fast.
Why are half of the items on the options list in Germany not even available in the US?
Lots of RS3 fans are wondering why there are so few appearance options for the US market. The Euro-spec car can be fitted with an aluminum optic package in addition to a red interior package and blue carbon-ceramic brake calipers.
Driven: The 2022 Audi RS3 Is Like Bruce Banner And The Hulk On Wheels
We asked Audi this and they didn’t have a direct answer for us. The closest thing we received to such an answer was that those options could end up here in the relatively near future.
How does it compare to the 2023 M240i xDrive and why someone might want to pay over $10k more for this car?
Call me a salty ex-BMW owner but frankly, these two cars don’t really compare very well. We’re talking about the pinnacle of the A3 range versus a car that’s not really an M car. The 2022 M240i xDrive has two doors, has 382 hp (284 kW), and is considerably slower (4.1 vs 3.5 seconds) from 0-60. So in objective terms, it’s less practical, less powerful, and significantly slower. And that’s saying nothing of the fact that the RS3 looks better (at least in my opinion).
What car would you buy in its place?
If I was forced to buy something other than the RS3 I don’t think I’d pick anything else close to it. I’d go find a pristine Ford Focus RS or an older Subaru WRX STI hatchback because I could pocket some of the extra money and then upgrade the performance to match the RS3. Better yet, you could probably find the car that kicked off the whole RS family, the RS2 Avant, for this kind of cash.