2026 Audi S3 Road Test and Review

2026 Audi S3 ・ Photo by Ron Sessions

You might not know it considering its premium looks and content, but the sporty Audi S3 is based on the brand’s smallest and least expensive offering in the U.S. market, the A3 sedan. Priced at $53,395 including the $1,395 destination charge, the 2026 Audi S3 delivers a nice bump up in performance, handling, and cabin amenities from the A3 without diminishing its usability as an everyday set of wheels. Mechanically, it’s akin to a sedan version of the Volkswagen Golf GTI and Golf R hot hatches, but with more elegance inside and out. While it may be compact in size, the S3 has a big personality.

Luxury brand competitors include the Acura Integra Type S, BMW M235i Gran Coupe, Cadillac CT4-V, and Mercedes-AMG CLA35.

S3 at a Glance

Chief among the S3’s upgrades over the A3 is an engine with 63 percent more power, and from the ultra high-performance Audi RS3, a torque-splitting rear differential. The S3 also comes with a wider track and standard sport suspension that lowers ride height by 15 millimeters, features a quicker-ratio steering, and upgrades to larger, vented brake rotors and a choice of 18-inch all-season, optional 18-inch run-flat summer performance tires, or optional plus-one 19-inch non-run-flat summer performance rubber. Also available on the S3 are optional adaptive dampers and red-painted brake calipers. The S3 also gets sportier, more aggressive-looking front and rear fascias and quad exhaust outlets. Inside, the S3 upgrades to more supportive sport front bucket seats and a 15-speaker SONOS surround-sound stereo system.

2026 Audi S3 ・ Photo by Ron Sessions

Turbo Power

The heart and soul of the Audi S3 is a lively 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder with 328 horsepower at 5,450 rpm and 295 pound-feet of torque over a broad engine speed range from 2,100 to 5,500 rpm. EPA estimates are 23 mpg city/31 mpg highway/26 mpg combined. The engine pairs with a close-ratio seven-speed S tronic dual-clutch automatic transmission with shorter final-drive gearing than the A3 sedan.

Quattro full-time all-wheel drive is standard. Included is a torque-splitter rear differential that can direct drive torque to each rear wheel individually as needed for traction, or if the Dynamic Plus drive mode is selected, send maximum drive torque to the outside rear wheel to reduce understeer and improve steering turn-in response.

2026 Audi S3 ・ Photo by Ron Sessions

Mission Control

Slip behind the wheel and it’s clear that Audi has designed a driver’s car. Controls fall neatly into hand and operate logically and precisely as with the compact toggle automatic transmission shifter on the center console. The automaker didn’t fall into the trap of designing a “clean” interior that may look good on the showroom floor but is frustrating and distracting to access on the fly. For example, controls for the automatic climate control and seat heaters are easy, one-tap physical buttons. The center display is subtly angled toward the driver. Newly standard for 2026 is Audi’s Virtual Cockpit Plus with a driver-customizable 12.3-inch HD digital cockpit display.

Thoughtful touches include dashes of aluminum and piano black trim, as well as tasteful ambient accent lighting on the dash, center console, and door trim (this is backlit through hundreds of laser-cut microdot perforations in the fabric door panels). The S3 also rolls with a panoramic sunroof, black headliner, stainless-steel-trimmed pedals and driver footrest, a handy coinbox on the dash to the left of the steering wheel, and knee-friendly padding on the sides of the center console. Carbon-fiber trim is optional.

The S3 lets you know via a dash message if you leave your phone in the wireless charger after shutting off the engine.

2026 Audi S3 ・ Photo by Ron Sessions

Infotainment and Connectivity

Although there are no physical volume and tuning knobs on or adjacent to the display screen, the driver can use small buttons for those functions on the steering wheel spokes. Audi also added a tiny audio power/volume/tuning disc on the passenger side of the center console. Embedded navigation is standard – free for the first three years and available by subscription thereafter. Navigation features include detailed satellite-based mapping with drone-like overhead topographical detail of streets, businesses, and houses. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are onboard as well. The S3 treats interior occupants to an enveloping 680-watt, 15-speaker, 16-channel surround-sound premium audio system. A customizable 10.1-inch MMI touch display gives acoustic feedback to input commands via touch, scroll, or swipe for displaying contacts, playlists, messages, and more.

2026 Audi S3 ・ Photo by Ron Sessions

Buckle Up

As you’d expect in a driver’s car, the S3 offers a good driving position and comes standard with supportive sport seats. These feature integrated headrests and ample lateral torso and thigh bolstering, but nothing too intrusive that might make ingress or egress awkward or uncomfortable. The heated, power-operated front buckets feature standard faux-leather with quilted, diamond-stitched Dinamica faux-suede inserts or optional Napa premium leather seat coverings. The driver’s bucket includes an extendable thigh support for longer-legged persons. Unavailable are cooled front seats. There is no driver back or torso massage feature offered either.

2026 Audi S3 ・ Photo by Ron Sessions

Peanut Gallery

Legroom is a bit tight for taller rear passengers, but tolerable for short trips if front seaters can slide their chairs forward just a skootch. Outboard seating positions have mild bolstering and pockets with upscale-looking, crosshatch-pattern quilted inserts. The head restraint for the center rear seat position can retract nearly flush with the top of the seatback, aiding rearward visibility for the driver when that section of the rear seat isn’t occupied. The S3 may be a small sedan but it’s from a luxury brand with products that aren’t stingy on the amenities. A triple-zone climate-control system not only sends cool or warm zephyrs of air to the rear-seat inhabitants but also allows them to control their own air temperature and airflow. The standard panoramic sunroof extends far enough rearward that rear seaters can enjoy the view. A pair of USB-C charge ports ease charging for the electronic devices of rear passengers.

2026 Audi S3 ・ Photo by Ron Sessions

Checked Bags

At 8.3 cubic feet, the Audi S3’s luggage capacity is modest even by small sedan standards, but there’s space for about four standard-size airport roller bags. Fold-down 40/20/40 split rear seatbacks allow longer items to be stowed inside. There’s also a deep well for gallon beverage jugs on the driver’s side of the trunk and some stash space for small valuables under the cargo floor where the S3’s battery and (if not equipped with run-flat tires) tire inflator kit reside.

2026 Audi S3 ・ Photo by Ron Sessions

Safety and Driver Assistance

The Audi S3 comes with 10 airbags and a decent array of standard driver assistance features, including forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning, blind-spot warning, rear cross-traffic alert assistance, a backup camera, and front and rear parking assist. But as with most European brands, the S3 groups several of its most advanced driver-assistance features into an optional, extra-cost Driver Assistance Plus package that adds adaptive cruise control with lane centering, and a surround-view upgrade to the standard backup camera which I consider must haves. It also adds traffic sign recognition (which failed to update multiple times in the test car), and a useful head-up driver display, as well as hands-on steering-wheel detection that enables annoying “hands on steering wheel” messages if both of the driver’s hands aren’t gripping the steering wheel tight enough when the adaptive cruise control is activated.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has not published crash test results for the Audi S3. Neither has the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, but the IIHS posted results for the structurally similar Audi A3 and gave the small sedan Good scores for small-offset and moderate-offset frontal impacts and an Acceptable score for its performance in side impacts.

2026 Audi S3 ・ Photo by Ron Sessions

Luxury Pocket Rocket

This is a sharp-handling small sedan that punches above its weight. The S3’s speed-dependent, variable-effort electro-mechanical rack-and-pinion steering is precise and lubricious in operation. Replacing the standard gas-charged shocks, the S3 test car was optioned with computer-controlled adaptive dampers which adjust the damping of each wheel individually in real time in response to road surfaces for excellent body control. The test car featured optional 19-inch summer performance tires which further sharpen steering response and grip but pass along more impact harshness and road noise than if you were using the standard all-season 18-inchers. The S3’s upsized brakes (14.1-inch cross-drilled and ventilated front rotors and 12.2-inch ventilated rear rotors from the RS 3) delivered good top-of-pedal brake response and impressive stopping power from speed with no fade. The throttle response of the 328-hp 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder is superbly crisp, and there’s ample torque for freeway merging and highway passing maneuvers. The S3 can scoot from rest to 60 mph in just over 4 seconds. EPA estimates of 23 mpg city/31 mpg highway/26 mpg combined are quite satisfactory considering the ample performance. I managed 25.3 mpg over a week of mixed in-town and highway driving. Gearshifts with the seven-speed automatic were quick and seamlessly clipped.

Drive modes in the S3 include Comfort, Auto, Dynamic, Individual, and Dynamic Plus. These can customize responses of the steering, throttle, transmission shifts, and if equipped with the electronic adaptive Sport Suspension, ride quality and body control. In Dynamic Plus, the quattro all-wheel drive can parse torque individually to each rear wheel via the torque-splitter function of the S3’s rear differential which was adapted from the top-line Audi RS 3.

2026 Audi S3 ・ Photo by Ron Sessions

Verdict

If you are wondering if the S3 is a pocket rocket or a luxury sedan, the answer is both. The trunk and back seat are a bit tight on space, but the S3 has plenty of scoot, an engaging personality on the road, and an abundance of upscale touches in the cabin. All-wheel drive provides balanced performance and reassuring stick when the weather turns sour. It’s easy on the eyes as well.

2026 Audi S3 ・ Photo by Ron Sessions