Audi facelift of S3 sees sharper steering, upgraded brakes

Audi South Africa has officially confirmed the pricing of the facelift S3 in Sportback and sedan guises.

- Mark Jones

Billed as “more than a product update”, the S3’s biggest highlight resides up front, where the 2.0 TFSI engine has been upgraded to produce the same power and torque as parent company Volkswagen’s Golf 8.5 R.

Omitting electrification, the setup produces 245kW/420Nm, 17kW/20Nm more than before, which translates to a top speed of 250km/h and 0-100km/h in 4.7 seconds.

Faster by one-tenth than the pre-facelift S3, Audi has also revised the turbocharger to spool up quicker, which contributes to a wider torque provision between 2 100 and 5 500rpm.