Audi RS3 vs BMW M3

What's the difference?

If conventionally powered cars really are on the endangered list, it’s vehicles like the Audi RS3 that will remind us what we’ve lost. There’s so much fun to be had in this car, that you really need to take it to a track to tap into it safely and responsibly. And there’s the rub.

While there’s no doubting the RS3’s potential, neither is there any doubt that the driveline absolutely dominates the experience. In fact, we reckon the S3 with its more modest (but still ample) performance and friendlier nature is probably the smarter car for the everyday. It’s also cheaper by about $20,000 and while it lacks the aggressive looks, it’s still a charming car. Perhaps all the more charming for its easier-going nature and balance of abilities.

So why buy the RS3? Because it’s the one that will keep you entertained for longer if you’re a serious enthusiast driver. But if you don’t plan to use the car for track days, there’s a strong argument that the RS3 is way more car than you’ll ever need. Of course, that sentiment never stopped performance-car lovers, did it?

Long live the mighty wagon. The BMW M3 Touring is treat to look at, and an even bigger treat to drive.

If you want one, act fast. We waited a long time for a wagon-shaped M3, and with electrification increasing in the automotive industry, this will likely be your last chance.

While the overall shape of the RS3 suggests evolution rather than revolution, the RS3 treatment has led to a much sportier look. We still reckon the sedan is the pick of the two body styles, mainly because it looks a bit more aggressive. Certainly, though, an aggressive look is not something either version backs away from, and those deep, wide blacked-out honeycomb grilles front and rear give the thing lots of presence.

So too do the blistered fenders, allowing for the extra track width that gives the RS3 its unique footprint. The front track itself is 30mm wider, but the wider fenders also gave Audi the chance to do some creative aero-management. Unlike, say, the Toyota Supra, for instance, with its faux vents up each side, the RS3’s lower-front vents and aero-slits behind each front fender are fully functional, directing air into the engine bay and away from the brakes respectively.

Another really neat function is the LED daytime running lights’ one-act play when you unlock the doors. As the car unlocks its doors, the LEDs spell out `R’, `S’ and `3’in sequence. Blink and you’ll miss it, but it’s a lovely touch that some manufacturers will never understand.

It looks spectacular, this M3 Touring, and even more so given a) wagons are so rare, and b) proper low-riding performance wagons with massive alloys are even rarer.

That said, I expect it will be polarising – and possibly too shouty for some – but I've got to say, I like it.

I’ve seen it described elsewhere as a bit of a sleeper, but for mine, you’d need painted-on eyes to not see there’s plenty going on with the Touring, especially one finished in the same Frozen Black paint as our test car.

It is at once sleek and swept back, and bulging and aggressive, especially at the flared wheel arches and fat exhausts poking from its diffuser-filled rump.

Inside, it’s mostly business as BMW usual, though with more carbon-fibre elements — our vehicle was equipped with the M Carbon Experience pack — but snug-fitting seats aside, it’s a premium, if performance-focused, place to spend time.

Like the rest of the Audi A-series range, the RS3 is available in two body styles, a five-door hatchback and a four-door sedan. The five-door hatchback layout is the most practical of the two RS3 layouts, but both feature plenty of front-seat space and a rear seat that folds 40:20:40. 

Paddle shifters are mounted on the steering wheel rather than the column, so they move with the wheel. That can make it difficult to select the correct paddle in a hurry with lots of lock applied.

The Drive modes are operated by a switch low down on the centre-stack that is clearly designed for left-hand-drive cars. It’s too far from the driver and needs to be cycled through in one direction, rather than being able to select the next mode or the previous one.

Beyond that, the interior is a lesson to other car-makers on how to get an interior right. There’s a quality look and feel with the possible exception of the plastic trim below the passenger-side air-vents which looks and feels a bit cheap. There are plenty of cup-holders and cubbies around the cabin with two USB plugs in the front and two in the rear (for charging).

The RS3 loses some space compared to the regular A3 because of the performance hardware. Where the hatch can take 282 litres with all seats in place (1104L with second row stowed), the sedan can swallow 321 litres.

A performance-focused wagon is still a wagon, right? And that means there is oodles of space in the boot, though the seating choices in our test cars made the front seats less comfortable than they could, and should, be.

But first, the boot. The M3 Touring is a 4.8m-long wagon, which pays dividends when it comes to cargo. BMW says you'll find a minimum 500L of storage space, which grows to 1510L with the rear seat folded.

In the back, you’ll find seating for three, with the requisite ISOFIX attachment points, and with enough head and leg room to get comfortable.

But those carbon front seats are an option I wouldn’t be springing for. They arrive carved out of the rock-hard material, though with big holes throughout to reduce their overall weight, and they’re not only challenging to climb in and out of, but they’re awkward and hard to sit behind.

Stick with the regular seats and both rows will be happier.

The BMW M3 Touring lists at $180,100, which isn’t chump change, and positions the wagon body shape a fair way above a regular M3 sedan.

That’s before on-road costs, of course. According to BMW’s website, putting an M3 Touring on the road in NSW will be more like $194,039 — before you start ticking option boxes.

The 'M Carbon Experience' adds $17,500, and reduces overall weight by close to 10kg through carbon bucket seats, and adds more visible carbon and even more possible headroom to fit a helmet

The 'M Carbon ceramic brakes' add another $16,500, and while there are plenty of free paint colours, you can pay up to $7000 for the 'Frozen White' paintwork.

Our test car was finished in 'Frozen Black', a bargain at $5K.

Elsewhere, there is plenty of equipment on a stacked standard features list. 

That includes staggered 19- and 20-inch alloys, BMW’s digital 'Laserlight' headlights, and an automatic boot.

Inside, there’s a 'BMW Live Cockpit' with a 12.3-inch instrument display, a 14.9-inch central screen, a head-up display, wireless device charging, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and a premium Harman Kardon surround sound stereo.

You also get three-zone climate, leather seats, an 'Active M Differential' and 'Adaptive M Suspension', and seat heating up front.

Oh, and there is lots — lots — of performance, but we’ll come back to that shortly.

While the five-cylinder engine is more or less a carry-over from the previous RS3 model, the end result is still a pretty stunning one. With 2.5 litres of capacity, the turbocharged unit accounts for 294kW of power (the same as the previous model) and 500Nm of torque (up 20Nm).

The transmission is a seven-speed dual-clutch unit that is quite a familiar sight around Audi by now, and the all-wheel-drive system uses a centre differential with an electronic clutch-pack on each rear axle to give the car a Drift mode (although Audi insists you don’t refer to it in those terms) as well as torque vectoring with the ability to shift 100 per cent of rear-axle torque to the either wheel to maximise grip.

There’s now also an RS-specific exhaust system with an active flap to increase or tame exhaust noise according to which drive model is selected. The drive modes themselves stretch form Comfort to Auto to Dynamic, altering shift points, gear-shift aggression, throttle response and suspension firmness as well as that exhaust flap.

Brakes are enormous 375mm front rotors with six-piston calipers, that hardware forcing the fitment of a 19-inch alloy wheel (specific to the RS3) for brake clearance.

The M3 Touring’s engine might well be one of the best in the business – a hard-charging 3.0-litre twin-turbo-petrol inline six-cylinder engine that produces a sizeable 375kW and 650Nm.

That power is sent to all four wheels via BMW’s 'M xDrive' with Active M Differential, producing a sprint to 100km/h of just 3.6 seconds.

Audi’s official combined fuel consumption figure for this car is 8.3 litres per 100km. Obviously, start using all that power and torque and that figure will grow significantly. Based on that, the car emits 190 grams of CO2 per kilometre, and with the 55-litre tank (which looks a bit small on paper) the range should still be around 600km between fill-ups.

The only catch with that is the high-tech nature of the engine means it requires the more expensive, Premium ULP at the bowser.

Officially, you should see a claimed 10.4L/100km on the combined cycle, but as is often the case in cars with engines that tempt you to be aggressive with the accelerator, the reality can be a little different.

We saw more like 16.4L/100km, but in the big bruiser’s defence, we spent a lot of time in city and suburbs, and a lot more time standing on the accelerator.

The M3 Touring is fitted with a 59-litre tank, and will only accept 98RON premium fuel.

Range is close to 570km using the official consumption figure and around 360km using our real-world number.

First impressions are that this is a typical Audi in the way it fits together beautifully and is made from quality materials. The ergonomics – particularly the virtual cockpit - are spot on and it even smells like an Audi. Noise is well suppressed, the controls feel quality and the front seats are comfy. But from there, the overarching view is dominated by that powerhouse of an engine.

This isn’t just a quick car, it’s actually brutal in the way it builds boost almost immediately and then hurls the car down the road. To be honest, it’s almost too much, and the way the RS3 reels in the horizon will leave some drivers ignoring other sensory inputs in order to keep up with the car. Brutality breeds brutality, too, and the subsequent steering and braking inputs required when the throttle is pinned will not always be the considered, gentle type; they’ll often be gut reactions.

Thankfully, the rest of the driveline and platform has the smarts to make all this work. There’s awesome grip from the Quattro all-wheel-drive system and the car stays flat and steers in a fast, neutral but pin-sharp way. The dual-clutch transmission feels perfect for the engine, too, with ultra-quick shifts that become more aggressive as you ramp up the drive modes. Ride quality is good but we reckon there’s less bandwidth in the various drive mode settings than exists in the same system fitted to the S3 model we drove a few months ago. While the latter offered a broad range of suspension firmness, the RS3 seems to be a bit of a prisoner of its own performance, with Audi leaning all the drive modes towards a firmer setting in the name of body control.

That’s supported by Audi’s decision to offer us some race-tack laps in the RS3 to safely explore its high-end tendencies. At this point, the car emerges as a proper track-day proposition, all that power and control blending into a car that loves being thrown around a circuit. Perhaps the front seats could do with a little more side bolstering at track-cornering speeds, but overall, it’s clear that the RS3’s brief does, indeed, include a degree of race-track use.

In a word? Delightful.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s not the easiest car in the world to daily drive. The carbon-fibre seats fitted to ours, for example, made getting in and out a slightly embarrassing challenge, and there’s a surging eagerness to the delivery of power that makes you look a little like you're showing off.

But the adaptive suspension serves up a far more comfortable ride than you might be expecting (more comfortable, in fact, than lesser, cheaper M models), making tootling around town easier and less chiropractic than I was expecting.

But it’s away from the city, with its traffic and red lights, that owning the M3 Touring becomes a delight, from its potent and punchy powertrain to the thrum of its exhaust, and the EV-like immediacy of its power delivery.

This is a driver’s wagon, there’s no doubt about it, with proper seatback-pushing acceleration, direct and confident steering and enough body stiffening and bracing that you really would have no idea you’re driving a wagon when cornering.

Engage its sportiest settings, and disengage its electronic nanny systems, and you can even set to work judging your drifting skills, courtesy of the (as yet untested, honestly) 'M Drift Analyser'.

A family car like few others, then. That you can also take it to Bunnings and throw some sleepers in the back is just a very welcome bonus.

Neither the M3 or M3 Touring have been independently crash tested to date, but it’s worth pointing out the 3 Series and 4 Series received maximum five-star scores from Euro NCAP.

Standard safety kit includes AEB with pedestrian detection, active lane keeping assist, blind spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control and rear cross-traffic alert.

You’ll also find six airbags on board.

Service intervals for the RS3 are every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first. Audi offers capped-price servicing for the RS3 at $3580 which covers servicing costs for the first five years.

The car is covered by Audi’s five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty. The vehicle is also protected against body-rust perforation for 12 years.

The BMW M3 Touring is covered by a five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty, and servicing is "condition based", in that the vehicle will tell you what maintenance is required, and when.

You can prepay your service costs at the time of purchase for all BMW vehicles, covering the first five years of ownership.