2023 Audi RS Q3 Edition 10 Years review

The Audi RS Q3 badge is two generations and ten years old.

When Audi launched the first RS Q3 a decade ago, it was a hilarious car. Far too powerful, gloriously and obnoxiously loud, it went way quicker than its chassis could really cope with – but it had me hootin’ and hollerin’ every time I drove it.

The 'RS Q3 Edition 10 Years' is here to celebrate, costing about five grand more than the standard car with some stylish additions, new front seats and guaranteed scarcity from its limited run.

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JUMP AHEAD

• How much is it, and what do you get?
• How do rivals compare on value?
• Interior comfort, space and storage
• What is it like to drive?
• How much fuel does it use?
• How safe is it?
• Warranty and running costs
• VERDICT
• Specifications

How much is it, and what do you get?

Audi says there are just 555 of these cars available worldwide.

So that’s one reason they’ll be scarce; the second being that they’re $102,900 before on-road costs, which isn’t messing about. Then again, neither is the lengthy specification list.

This all results in a rather comfortable thing, which is nice because there aren’t any optional extras available for this special.

Of note are the thumping 15-speaker stereo and the Matrix LED headlights which are incredible on dark country roads. I may have briefly blinded some airliner pilots…

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How do rivals compare on value?

Most of the RS Q3’s rivals come from within the broader VW Group family.

The most obvious is the VW Tiguan R. Well, I say most obvious but it’s not a direct competitor given it has one fewer cylinder. It does, however, give the RS Q3 a run for its money at $63,990 for the R Grid and $70,490 for the full-fat R (both before on-road costs). They’re a lot of fun but can’t match the Audi’s five-cylinder power delivery.

On the other side is Porsche’s Macan S. Priced from $119,000 before on-road costs, you get an extra cylinder and that Porsche badge as well as one of the sweeter chassis in the segment. You can spend even more on the GTS.

Mercedes offers the GLA45 for $121,900 before on-road costs, which is an extraordinary amount of money for a small SUV, no matter how fast it is. Luckily it’s a cracker of a car, with even more power than the Audi five-cylinder but in my personal opinion is a bit dumpy-looking next to the sharpness of the RS Q3.

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Then there's the RS3 hyper hatch...

Interior comfort, space and storage

The Edition 10 Years includes a few bits and pieces in the interior, with some rather fetching copper honeycomb stitching.

An absolute spec highlight of the Edition 10 Years is the RS bucket seats. For the moment they’re exclusive to this car and boy howdy are they comfortable while also holding you in. They’re also heated but manually adjustable if that bothers you.

They do need a little bit of climbing over to get in, but once there you’ll be very comfortable. The Alcantara wheel is a lovely touch too and, hopefully, it wears well.

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As with any other RS Q3, you get a pair of cup holders, bottle holders and a wireless charging pad for your phone.

The Audi MMI system is as easy to use as ever, with a clear 10.1-inch screen and simple-to-use menus.

The back seats are sculpted, meaning a middle-seat passenger isn’t going to enjoy the experience very much, so maybe stick with two. The fold-down armrest has cup holders, the doors (small) bottle holders and you get two USB ports and air vents to keep your temperature even. It’s comfortable back there, even with the Sportback’s falling roofline.

Boot capacity of the Sportback is a pretty useful 520 litres and with all three sections of the 40:20:40 split-fold seats down, you’ll have 1400 litres to fill.

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What is it like to drive?

As with the first-gen RS Q3, the 2.5-litre five-cylinder takes centre stage – and well it should.

Bettered only by AMG’s 2.0-litre four in the power stakes, 294kW translates to just over 400 horses. That’s quite a lot.

What’s even more impressive is the wide torque band, with full twist on offer between 1950rpm and 5850rpm; probably the widest performance torque band in this type of vehicle, at least as well as I can remember.

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When you’re on it, it always feels like the rear is calling the shots…

Once you’re moving and you’ve flicked into RS mode, you’re never out of the torque band which means you’ve got a mildly terrifying amount of thrust out of corners. You can pile into bends at quite a clip, mash the brakes – which feel great and haul you down from big numbers without fuss – then feed in the power.

Go in too fast and you can adjust the car on the throttle or the brakes, the Quattro all-wheel-drive system shuffling the power around but never making it feel like it will understeer unless you’ve really got it wrong. When you’re on it, it always feels like the rear is calling the shots, which is as it should be.

And once you’ve gathered it up, it’s ready to sling you to the next apex with a little pop and parp from the petrol particulate filter-strangled five. This engine may not have the theatrics it did before pollution reduction tech was added but the chassis more than makes up for it in this generation. It can handle it.

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The transmission is mostly able to work with you but will sometimes step out of line, refusing a downshift or taking a little while longer than expected for it and the engine to spool up from a dead stop.

And when you’re just doing the boring daily commute, the RS Q3 is more than happy to settle into Comfort mode and get on with it. Despite the huge wheels and grippy tyres, it’s not too noisy and the adaptive damping is nicely calibrated to maintain a firm but compliant ride.

It always felt ready to go, but just soft enough to be more than bearable in the boring bits.

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How is it on fuel?

Audi claims 8.9L/100km on the combined cycle – for a sub-five-second SUV!

My time with the RS Q3 was limited to about 36 hours so most of that time was spent, er, enjoying its talents, so perhaps a more representative test over a week or so is in order. Having said that, it probably won’t be a heck of a lot less than the 12.4L/100km I got.

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How safe is it?

The RS Q3 does not have an ANCAP safety rating, the safety body specifically excluding the hottest Q3 version from its results.

All other Q3 variants scored five stars in 2019 but this would not necessarily be repeated if tested again under the latest ANCAP protocols given the lack of front-centre airbag and a few other bits and pieces.

At this price point, I’d want to see a bit more, particularly reverse AEB.

The forward auto emergency braking system detects pedestrians at up to 85km/h and other vehicles at up to 250km/h.

Kids are looked after with two lots of ISOFIX attachments and three top-tether anchors.

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Warranty and running costs

Audi offers a five-year / unlimited-kilometre warranty across the range, and that includes high-performance RS cars.

Servicing comes around every 12 months/15,000km and you can pre-pay for five years. For $3580 – a not inconsiderable sum – you’ll have the first five services covered, averaging out at $716 per interval.

A Mercedes GLA45 will cost you $5150 over the same period, so the Audi looks like a relative bargain. A Tiguan R costs $3200 to maintain for five years.

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Related video: RS Q3's superhero brother, the RS3

VERDICT

Do you want to spend an extra few grand on a few cosmetic changes, a cracking pair of front seats and some stitching?

Well, you’ve probably gathered that the seats alone are worth it. The RS Q3 could – and should – be better value, anniversary edition or not, with a bit more safety gear to earn its keep.

It is, however, a tremendous amount of fun while also fulfilling the day-to-day without any drama or fuss. The Edition 10 Years version is an attractive proposition but so is the base car. So you can’t really lose.

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