The 2025 Audi RS 3 is a five-cylinder firecracker
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man I love audi UI, a bit like blackberry OS and wp8 had a son, may that i5 live on forever
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The RS3 makes more sense as an hot hatch like it's sold in Europe. That sedan looks like a "should have got a M3 or M2".
Why not an RS4? Because that should be a wagon.
Why not an RS4? Because that should be a wagon.
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It's cool that they're still making these - but I just wish they would bring more actual sportback models to the US. For the past few years I've maintained that I'd be one of the first in line at the dealership to check out a new S3 Sportback or even RS3 Sportback. But just like Subaru did a number of years ago - someone has decided that the US no longer needs proper 5 door hatchbacks. And that makes me sad.
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I can't believe I'm saying this, but I also can't believe it's only 63k. Really is a lot for your money performance wise.
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As I recall, Volvo also had quite the run of 5-cylinder cars around that time period as well.
As others have said above, I'd prefer the Sportback or hot hatch versions of these cars. Sedans are so snore and you'd really make better use of a hatch in something this compact.
As others have said above, I'd prefer the Sportback or hot hatch versions of these cars. Sedans are so snore and you'd really make better use of a hatch in something this compact.
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I assume it's an airflow tweak, but when I saw the first picture I thought someone had a fender bender in a parking lot.
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It is an odd design choice for sure. Maybe it looks better in person? Looks like a cheap shortcut in design or someone hit the car. Neither is good.
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The original problem with inline 5s is the difficulty of designing an inlet manifold to give equal air to all 5 cylinders, unless you go for 5 carbs. Turbocharging should make a 5 simpler, not harder, because positive manifold pressure is easier to get to all cylinders than a fluctuating vacuum, and fuel injection takes care of the difficulty of getting droplets around bends evenly.
The great thing about the 5 is that there is never those 180 degree points on a 4 when all the big ends go click at once, and the rocking couple is much smaller than on a triple. And it's shorter than an inline six. I guess with 2030/2035 already looming up, anything different in ICE design has got to get out of the door very quickly to recover the sunk R&D costs, so perhaps nothing new is going to happen after even the end of this year.
The great thing about the 5 is that there is never those 180 degree points on a 4 when all the big ends go click at once, and the rocking couple is much smaller than on a triple. And it's shorter than an inline six. I guess with 2030/2035 already looming up, anything different in ICE design has got to get out of the door very quickly to recover the sunk R&D costs, so perhaps nothing new is going to happen after even the end of this year.
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Love, love, love Audi's 5-cylinder, one of the few [affordable] ICEs on the market today that's actually got a unique character. That being said, however... that color, juvenile; piano black: nope; touch/capacitive steering wheel controls, even if they technically 'depress & click': hell no. Also... curse you [Audi USA] for not offering the Sportback version in the US, as it is the only real* RS3 there is.
(* – Tongue in cheek, of course. Y'all sedan weirdos out there are lightyears better than the car-market-murdering, all-suffocating SUV crowd.)
(* – Tongue in cheek, of course. Y'all sedan weirdos out there are lightyears better than the car-market-murdering, all-suffocating SUV crowd.)
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Looks it comes pre-dinged so you don’t have to worry about it.
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Yeah cool car but 'sedan' ruins it for me.
Such a limited form factor unless you need to load dead hookers or kidnapped mobsters into the trunk.
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I noticed it too and it does look like the door has been hit and deformed.
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Long time Audi fan/owner, including previous gen of this car. I love the motor and the looks (of the previous gens more), but all I can think is how much more fun it would be if they turned the motor 90 degrees and added a manual. Even though the price is very competitive, and really puts it in a category of its own, it is hard to argue against the M2 with a manual and proper rear wheel drive.
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Putting my money where my mouth is, I seriously considered an RS3 but it was so far behind the Civic Type R in practicality that I didn't even test drive it, cutting a check to a Honda Dealer for not all that much less money.
It seems like the perfect car for a dual income no kids household in a city that snows, where we often need one car but never two. Except for the trunk, which was laughably smaller than a hatchback in terms of camping gear.
Then the TypeR was stolen and we got a Hybrid hatchback, since somehow the situation is the same about 3 years down the line. The only real 'upgrade' option that hit what we were looking for was the V60 Recharge, but good God was the UI impossible in that car. Our budget was somewhere around 70k, and the best car in our price range was 30k, with very little consideration given to price.
It seems like the perfect car for a dual income no kids household in a city that snows, where we often need one car but never two. Except for the trunk, which was laughably smaller than a hatchback in terms of camping gear.
Then the TypeR was stolen and we got a Hybrid hatchback, since somehow the situation is the same about 3 years down the line. The only real 'upgrade' option that hit what we were looking for was the V60 Recharge, but good God was the UI impossible in that car. Our budget was somewhere around 70k, and the best car in our price range was 30k, with very little consideration given to price.
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Anyone else out there with OCD that could never drive a car with 5 cylinders? (Irrational, I know.)
Maybe if it was a radial engine so the cylinders could be evenly spaced...
(While writing this, I decided to look into it and found I'm probably not alone.)
https://www.wired.com/story/alex-bellos/
Maybe if it was a radial engine so the cylinders could be evenly spaced...
(While writing this, I decided to look into it and found I'm probably not alone.)
https://www.wired.com/story/alex-bellos/
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It's a airflow vent from the wheel well, although I'm not positive it actually functions. There's a seemingly-too-solid black plastic insert in there. It's on the pre-facelift 8Y RS3 as well. It looks a little better from angles where it's clearer that it's an intentional gap and not just panels misaligning or something.
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What’s wrong with the color? There was a time when the streets were full of cars of all colors, before the “it’s gotta be black or white” fashion. It’s a color that stands out, that’s it. Whimsical isn’t “juvenile” more than boring is “mature”.Love, love, love Audi's 5-cylinder, one of the few [affordable] ICEs on the market today that's actually got a unique character. That being said, however... that color, juvenile; piano black: nope; touch/capacitive steering wheel controls, even if they technically 'depress & click': hell no. Also... curse you [Audi USA] for not offering the Sportback version in the US, as it is the only real* RS3 there is.
(* – Tongue in cheek, of course. Y'all sedan weirdos out there are lightyears better than the car-market-murdering, all-suffocating SUV crowd.)
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That front facia is getting more and more piano black each generation, and looking worse and worse each generation for it. If everything is an accent, nothing is.
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Audi's problem is that they use plastic fasteners for so much, and after 10 yrs they become brittle. I literally had to superglue a plastic bolt back together a few weeks ago when I changed my driver's side headlight. (That you access from the wheel well!) That, and they expect anyone working on the car to have a 4 point lift.
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That isn't OCD. That's OCMSD (obsessive crankshaft mirror symmetry disease.)
I wonder what would happen if such a person found themselves on a ship with a Wartsila 9 cylinder engine (quite common)?
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Nah just another "me too" sedan.
We need some new form factors. Jetsons maybe? The Homer?
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If it's an inline, it's fine. But I have had multiple powertrain engineers tell me as a general rule never buy a car you intend to keep long term with an odd number of cylinders. They all tend to destroy themselves eventually because of whatever kludge they came up with to overcome the balance issues.
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"Lime green, lime green,
And tangerine,
The sickly sweet colors of the snakes I'm seein'"
-Robert James Smith
And tangerine,
The sickly sweet colors of the snakes I'm seein'"
-Robert James Smith
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Sorry to hear about the Type R. The RS3 is nice, but in Canada, it gets quite expensive quickly. We also now have a liftback Type R in the form of the Type S. It does lose some cargo space as a result and remains expensive for what it is. It's still an absolute riot to drive. I take it with hybrid hatchback you mean the Civic? If that's a yes, it is a very nice car for its price point. Honda still puts a decent amount of love in the Civic after all.
My understanding was that 3 and 5 were fine since the phase angle is an even number. 3 is where you need a lot of travel from the cylinders before the next one fires. From what I understood however, 5 cylinder engines can be pretty bulletproof.
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I leased a 1992 Acura Vigor and that was an amazing car. 5 cylinder longitudinally mounted FWD. Five speed. Four doors. Low hood line. And it could scoot. Zero torque steer. I'd love to see what could have become of that car had they kept making it.
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The Mercedes inline 5 was an excellent Diesel car engine and outlasted the rest of the vehicle. Performance wasn't its strongest suit, though.
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The KTM X-Bow GT4 and GT2 race cars also use the Audi inline-5 turbo engine... Audi has used the 2.5L EA855 R5 since about 2010 in the Audi TT RS, RS3, and RS Q3, and they were paired with manual transmissions in some models.
Rally fans will remember that the original Audi Quattro from 1980 also had a 2.1L inline-5 turbo engine, winning the World Rally Championship in 1982 and 1984. The ultimate incarnation of the car, the Audi Sport Quattro S1 E2, had nearly 600 hp and race driver Walter Röhrl won Pikes Peak with it in 1987.
Regarding odd numbers of cylinders - the hot-selling Toyota GR Corolla uses a turbocharged 3-cylinder engine, shared with the GR Yaris of rally racing fame in the rest of the world.
I haven't heard that either engine is particularly unreliable - the engineers may have solved whatever issues plagued earlier odd-number cylinder engines.
VW and Audi fans probably also remember the VR6 engine of the 1990s and early 2000s. It was phased out in the late 2000s (finally retired last year) as Audi and VW standardized on inline-4 and 5 turbos for efficiency and economics.
The Audi RS 3 weights about 3,627 lbs without passengers (very similar to the now-canceled A5 Coupe at 3,682 lbs), which is a bit heavy for a compact sedan, but the 400 horsepower engine seems to move it without too much effort.
Rally fans will remember that the original Audi Quattro from 1980 also had a 2.1L inline-5 turbo engine, winning the World Rally Championship in 1982 and 1984. The ultimate incarnation of the car, the Audi Sport Quattro S1 E2, had nearly 600 hp and race driver Walter Röhrl won Pikes Peak with it in 1987.
Regarding odd numbers of cylinders - the hot-selling Toyota GR Corolla uses a turbocharged 3-cylinder engine, shared with the GR Yaris of rally racing fame in the rest of the world.
I haven't heard that either engine is particularly unreliable - the engineers may have solved whatever issues plagued earlier odd-number cylinder engines.
VW and Audi fans probably also remember the VR6 engine of the 1990s and early 2000s. It was phased out in the late 2000s (finally retired last year) as Audi and VW standardized on inline-4 and 5 turbos for efficiency and economics.
The Audi RS 3 weights about 3,627 lbs without passengers (very similar to the now-canceled A5 Coupe at 3,682 lbs), which is a bit heavy for a compact sedan, but the 400 horsepower engine seems to move it without too much effort.
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