2026 Audi S3 Tested: The Middle Child Demands Your Attention

• What's new: Audi's given the S3 over 320 horsepower, better brakes and the understeer-quelling rear differential from the ferocious RS 3.
• Why it matters: The S3's price tag demanded more performance from better hardware, and this helps differentiate it from the standard A3 more than previous iterations.
• Edmunds says: The S3 is the Goldilocks of Audi's small "3 series" lineup. Poised, capable and still very much an Audi.

The only real nit I have to pick with the acceleration of the S3 is the way it sounds, on the inside. To my ears, Audi has pumped in a synthetic engine sound to augment, or possibly improve, on the standard sound of the S3's four-cylinder engine and mellow exhaust tone. Even though the S3's speakers do a commendable job of replicating the snarling five-cylinder engine noise from the Audi RS 3, it's still fake. To make sure I wasn't totally off base, I had other members of our testing team drive the car, and every one of them confirmed that the S3 is zhuzhing up the sound of its engine. Thankfully, it's really only a thing in Dynamic mode. 

Embrace the Sport

The S3 sports larger brakes and far grippier tires than you can get on the standard A3, and it puts them to good use. During our panic braking test, where we made five stops from 60 mph, the S3 stopped in just 113 feet. Not only did it do that consistently, but it also stopped 19 feet shorter than the A3 did at our testing facility. It's also not far off the hardcore RS 3 we tested last year, which was sporting carbon-ceramic brakes and wider tires. The S3 more than holds its own here, and I came away impressed by how well the brake hardware and its tuning were matched to the car's overall performance. 

What really impresses me about the S3 is the way it handles. Usually, the middle child in a vehicle's lineup doesn't get any meaningful hardware upgrades. It can be a sort of no-man's land for enthusiasts. But the upgrades Audi bestowed upon the S3 as part of this update — including a lightly redesigned front suspension, a rear differential from the RS 3 that's better able to split and manage torque between the rear wheels to reduce understeer, and updated software to make the most of it all — really set it apart from the A3 and make the S3 genuinely engaging. 

Around our skidpad, the S3 managed to cling on with a valiant 0.99 g of lateral grip. Even with narrower tires, that's just 0.01 g off the much more hardcore RS 3, and, most importantly, the S3 was having fun the whole time. All-wheel-drive cars like the S3 can feel a bit heavy and tend to understeer in long, steady corners. And unless the all-wheel-drive system is tuned to be active and a willing partner in helping you go fast and have fun, you wind up driving what feels like a front-wheel-drive car with less athleticism. 

To unlock the full potential of the S3, you need to put the stability control (ESC) into Sport mode. That's a single short push of the button. If you hold it for too long, it fully disables the system; that's necessary for launch control, but not for handling. This step has been the key to unlocking the best handling in every Audi S and RS model I've tested. In the S3, it wakes up the handling with a specific program for traction, stability, and the S3's new rear differential. The result is an all-wheel-drive car that feels nimble yet stable and does its best to reject understeer at every stage of the corner.

Our test track's tight handling circuit has a few quick transitions and long, sweeping corners that can expose a car's tendency to understeer, but the S3 barely exhibited any of that front-end push. The S3 could be braked deep into a corner and remain somewhat neutral and was then happy to have its line adjusted with quick throttle work before nearly exhibiting power-on oversteer on exit. I was genuinely surprised by just how fun the S3 was, and I know it would make for a great drive partner down any good road.

The Golf R in the room

The S3 is clearly a sedan that flirts with the traditional hot-hatch formula; it's small, packs a punch, and is a hoot to drive. But what if you really want a hatchback? Well, Volkswagen (Audi's parent company, by the way) makes its version of the S3 and calls it the Golf R. Both cars share major components, like the engine and transmission, but they're also built on the same platform, so the similarities go right down to the bones of each car. But isn't the Golf R going to be and feel less expensive than the Audi? Well, yes and no. The Golf R's interior isn't quite up to the standards and spec of the Audi, but then again, it does cost several thousand dollars less than the S3. As you'd expect, the two deliver similar performance, but the Golf R adds the extra practicality and the cool factor of being a hatchback. Both offer stealthy, understated styling, so I'd say it really does come down to personal preference here. Isn't it nice to be spoiled for choice?