See Edmunds pricing data
Has Your Car's Value Changed?
Used car values are constantly changing. Edmunds lets you track your vehicle's value over time so you can decide when to sell or trade in.
Great Performance Sedan
Low head room in back seats. 19 inch wheels and 235 35 tires are harsh sometimes. Nav and Internet via cell connection are redundant with a smart phone; screen mirroring would cost less and work as well or better. This car is very quick and handles very well. Brakes are strong and took getting used to because they are sensitive to the first touch. They modulate well after that. Back seats fold down for cargo. After two track days at Atlanta Motorsports Park, faster than a ctsv Cadillac and Chevy ss on this short, curvy track. Expensive but backs it up with refinement and capability. Goes like a Subaru in the snow with all season Continental dws 06 tires. I love it and hope to keep it a long time. Carbon buildup on the intake valves and ports is a reported problem for direct injection engines, but after 35K miles, mine seems as strong and efficient as ever. It's possible that a dyno test could show otherwise, but I have no baseline test. I'm investigating carbon cleaning alternatives with walnut shell abrasive blasting looking best, but expensive at about $700. A before and after cleaning dyno comparison is possible.
- Safety
- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value
Rocket ship for the city!
I traded my 2017 Mustang GT for a 2015 S3 with 34,000 miles, about 2 months ago. Let’s get my dislikes out of the way. 1. Wish it had a 7th gear for cruising on the interstate 2. Almost no interior storage 3. Only has 1 grocery hook but my 2012 A4 has 2 4. Back up camera should have been standard or part of the $2,600 nav package But ignore those complaints because this car is amazing! Even though it’s barely different from the A3 it’s turns a lot of heads. I cut off the resonator and now it’s just enough noise to have fun with but still daily. The handling is superb from factory. Audi quality speaks for itself. I love the understatedness of this car. I honestly can’t say enough good things about it for $28,000. New at $50k it’s debatable, but if you can find a used one with relatively low miles jump on it!
- 2.0T Premium Plus quattro SedanMSRP: $12,441164 mi away
- 2.0T Premium Plus quattro SedanMSRP: $9,495185 mi away
- 2.0T Prestige quattro SedanMSRP: $15,495217 mi away
Best car I've owned
I absolutely love the car, it's exactly what I wanted and I got exactly what I expected. If you want more space buy a 4, 5, or 6 model. I believe if you're buying a 3 it's because it is a small sedan with enough room for your passenger and their friend in the rear. The trunk holds groceries just fine as it should. When I see people knock the car for being small and having no cargo space, at that point they're just knit picking, because nobody buys an S3 for trunk space and to haul a bunch of people. I bought the car because I love to drive. This car is pretty quick, handles very well and is very light and responsive. I point the wheel and it goes exactly where I want it to go, I brake and it stops on a dime. I want to go fast and it goes in a hurry. I have seen the generic 0-60 times of 4.7 or 4.4 seconds, I've clocked an official time of 4.1 seconds 0-60mph side by side with an AMG who ran a 3.9. I had never launched the car before that so it may run a 4 flat for all I know, but I do know the stats are underrated on acceleration and 1/4 mile. It's a quick car. Not the fastest car in the world, but for the money and against similar cars it is very quick. It's comfortable when it needs to be, since I'm not overweight the seats hold me in place very nicely and I could sit in the car all day. Infotainment system is good, tricky at first but once you learn it, it becomes 2nd nature like a phone. I have the 19" wheel package on my car. I thought 19's would be too big but the fit the car perfectly and when compared to the 18's, I prefer the styling of the 19's. The body lines are sharp and flow nicely from front to back. The line that runs from the top of the front fenders all the way to the small wing give the car a distinct look over similarly shaped cars as well as the lower body line that angles upward. I noticed the new S3 softened the lines and now isn't much different looking than a Kia or Hyundai which is sad. But that 2.0litre 290+hp 4cyl engine is just amazing and very potent. People who don't know Audi's think I have a 6cyl. For me the next step would be to get the 5cyl RS3, and because of styling I'd happily buy a 2019 over a 2021. Only issues my car had were maintenance related due to the previous owner not doing any maintenance at all so after I bought it I had to change the plugs and coilpacks, oil, trans fluid, O2 sensor, and replaced the Haldex pump and change the fluid for it because Audi issued a service bulletin to do that and it went ignored, this is something to check because if that pump goes your car will easily spin the front wheels under medium acceleration and you'll think its major because your awd is straight actina fwd, but it's a $200 fix and you can easily do it yourself, although you shouldn't because anyone who cared about their car would have had it done under warranty through Audi for free and you'll never experience that. The car runs great since catching up on the maintenance, I just need to walnut blast the intake valves and runners as you need to address this with all direct injection engines between 30k-60k miles. So other than the maintenance that should have been done, I would have to say the car is solid and runs strong. It's comfortable when needed, you can stiffen up the ride and push it and have some fun on the back roads with confidence when you want as the car feels so secure and planted at all times. I've never owned a car that felt so quick while also feeling so safe. It's a well built car. As I said before, if you bought a S3 and expected rear leg room and to be able to haul a flat screen TV in the trunk that's your fault. This car was never meant for that, it was meant to have fun in without the extra nonsense that other cars have. Know what you want.
- Safety
- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value
The S3 Is a BEAST!
It all starts under the hood. A heavily modified version of the A3's turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. With 292 horsepower, an increase of 72 hp over the A3. That power is applied to all four wheels through a standard six-speed automated manual transmission, which, according to Audi, is good enough to fire you off to 60 mph in less than 5 seconds
- Safety
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Reliability
- Value
It does a lot of things really well
This was a somewhat difficult vehicle for me to buy as beforehand I had two vehicles, an older BMW M3 that I treated as "summer toy" and a daily driver sedan I used in the winter and for carting the family around. I'm about as big of a driving enthusiast as they come, but needed something that could be used all year and would fit my young boys in the back seat if needed. I don't feel like I made much of a sacrifice, the car is really great. I cross shopped Audi's S4, Mercedes C450/C43, BMW 340i, and a few others, but this little machine spoke to me. It is a very nimble and well balanced car with plenty of power. A lot of small cars can feel cheap and I don't get that impression at all here. My car has all of the options save for the RS seats which are not power operated, and I like that I got a loaded one. The "standard" seats I think are great, supportive but not rock hard like my old M3. The powertrain, brakes, magnetic dampers, dual clutch tranmission, selectable driving profiles, advanced safety/technology features really make this car a blast to drive. The LED headlights are amazing, really impressed. Adaptive cruise control is awesome, highly recommend that option (part of the tech package). The infotainment system is not bad but there are better systems out there, however the Bang & Olafsen stereo sounds fantastic. If you are a large person or have kids that are teenagers, need a large trunk, this car may not be for you. I'm 5'10" with an average build and fit great. The fuel economy isn't great for a 2.0L turbo 4 cylinder, but I didn't buy it to save on gas. I was a bit disappointed that a car with a MSRP of $52k did not include memory seats, homelink buttons, but I think I'll live. Some people report that they do not have a USB port, but my car does have one. This is a sweet little car, I was fortunate to find a CPO one with every bell and whistle I wanted that was clearly loved by it's previous owner. I look forward to many fun years ahead with this little rocket.
- Safety
- Technology
- Performance
- Interior
- Comfort
- Value