by The car company Audi has updated the RS3 sedan for 2025, and although it is more expensive, it offers more features for its price. The pricing now starts at $63,400, or $64,695 including a $1,295 delivery fee. This is slightly more than the $62,795 the car cost last year, but that extra money has brought a host of improvements, some of which the manufacturer believes are quite significant.
If you’re considering a competitor, take a look at the BMW M2 with 473 horsepower, although it is a two-door car with rear-wheel drive. Don’t forget that Audi managed to beat the BMW M2’s lap time at the Nürburgring, despite the slightly higher BMW cost of $65,500.
Changes in exterior and interior design are just the appetizer.
The most obvious changes in the RS3 concern the design. The bumpers have become more expressive, with specific RS diffusers. The front air intake has become larger, and the radiator grille has a diamond structure and an anthracite Audi emblem. In addition, new 19-inch wheels are now available, and buyers can choose from new body colors such as Arcona White, Progressive Red Metallic, and Ascari Blue Metallic.
Regarding interior design:
Changes have also been made to the interior of the RS3. The new flat-bottomed steering wheel features RS mode buttons and aluminum paddle shifters, as well as multicolored ambient interior lighting and an updated gear selector. Additionally, the silver interior trim of the previous model is now presented in vanadium gray.
Less power, but better handling — and a new record at the Nordschleife
All these exterior changes are very good, but what really matters is how this car drives. Audi promises that it is now better than ever before thanks to retuned suspension components and new logic for the RS torque distribution system. This is essentially a modern rear differential, which… It’s hard to imagine that the RS3 can be even better than when we first drove it, but we are still eagerly awaiting to test the 2025 model.
Since the pre-production product set a new record for speed among compact cars, surpassing its predecessor’s result by more than 7 seconds, the actual record time of the Audi remains a secret so far. In the summer of last year, this car was compared with the number 7:40.748 — and this despite the fact that the turbocharged five-cylinder heart retains the same 394 horsepower as in the previous version before the facelift in European specification.
Thus, the significantly improved lap time is the result of changes in the suspension and the RS torque distribution system (and possibly improvements in tire technology, although Audi did not specify which tires the record-setting car used).
